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Gender Roles in Different Cultures
An interesting aspect of marriage stories is the relative similarity of gender roles in many parts of the world. The finding is not unique.1 Marriage relationships in different cultures often resemble each other. Against this background of similarities, however, some cultural variation exists. Marriage stories portray both the similarities and differences.
Most folkstories published in the United States are identified as coming from different parts of the world (e.g., British folkstories, African folkstories). Editors of these works generally emphasize a desire and effort to preserve the cultural atmosphere of the stories. As a result, although texts can change with retelling, these culturally defined tales tend to retain their unique world view.
Stories from Three Major Culture Areas
In three major areas of the world, Europe, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, folkstory gender roles reflect their culture of origin. In both Europe and East Asia, male dominance is of great importance. Husbands are likely to be the Boss, or to change into the Boss by the end of the story. Wives accommodate to these men in somewhat different ways. In European stories, direct confrontation by wives is all but intolerable. To survive, women must be either compliant or devious. Some East Asian stories portray similar patterns. In others, wives may prevail even when directly confronting and challenging male rule, a situation much less likely in European stories. Gender roles in African stories differ markedly from the other areas; African spouses tend to be assertive and more egalitarian in their relationship. Nevertheless there exist indications of male supremacy in some stories, and even an occasional story of wife abuse. Both these qualities are much less prevalent in African stories than in those from the other parts of the world.
European Stories
European stories tend toward Good Woman/Boss marriages. In some stories, wives are Good Women from the beginning; in others the wife starts out as a Shrew and is transformed into a Good Woman. This emphasis on compliance seems to be part of the European historical and cultural heritage.
Anderson and Zinsser summarize the findings of current research into women's history as follows:
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. . .gender has been the most important factor in shaping the lives of European women.
. . .all European women. . .were subject to. .. European culture's largely negative views of women.
Considered innately flawed, less valuable, and thus inferior to men, all women were supposed to be subordinate to men.
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These views still echo in currently published European tales. Despite revisions from repeated retellings, the stories retain the negative and subordinate views of women.
Interesting regional differences exist, however, in how the wife reacts. Wives in Russian stories tend to be confrontational and aggressive (Shrews) and those in British stories, docile and compliant (Good Women).
In Russian stories, women are abused and usually forced to change into compliant Good Women. Many plots exemplify the Russian proverb, "A hen is not a bird, and a woman is not a person." The prevalence of wife beating in Russian folkstories is reflective of earlier Russian history when a woman was totally subject to her husband's authority. She was often required to live in segregated quarters and could be sold into slavery if her husband was in debt. Many women rebelled under such harsh conditions.
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