A thoughtful debunking of the American family's mythic past. Gillis
(History/Rutgers Univ.) quite ably proves that, contrary to popular
opinion, there never has been a "Golden Age" of family values. Each
generation has reacted to its own crises, Gillis argues, by
idealizing the family life of previous generations; today's
innovation is the belief that every 1950s family was as impeccable
as the Cleavers. In the '50s, parents turned for guidance to the
Depressionera generation, who in their day had clung to the
Victorians as exemplars. The greatest strength of the book is the
author's systematic demonstration that the rituals we now attach to
the elusive phrase "family values" are quite recent, most dating to
the Victorian era. Before the 19th century, families did not need
to create time to spend together. They had no choice but to sleep,
work, and eat together in their small communal space. By the 1850s
such forced mutuality had been displaced by a market economy, in
which fathers left the home to work, mothers became the guardians
of the hearth, and children were transformed from miniature adults
into idealized angels. With these new roles came important
supplementary rituals. Weddings, which had previously been simple
events, had by the turn of the century become lavish family
celebrations. The two-day weekend was created to promote the
Victorian ideal of intentional family togetherness, as was the
family meal, especially Sunday dinner. Holidays such as Christmas
were transformed into family-centered and commercial enterprises.
Gillis's work is well researched, the topic stimulating. Gillis
writes with an easy, contemporary style, although his familiarity
with the reader can be a bit jarring (he refers to early Europeans
as "our ancestors," presuming that his audience is entirely
Euro-American). In all, though, a useful contribution to the
history of the family, accessible to general readers. (Kirkus
Reviews)
Our whole society may be obsessed with "family values," but as John
Gillis points out in this entertaining and eye-opening book, most
of our images of "home sweet home" are of very recent vintage. A
World of Their Own Making questions our idealized notion of "The
Family," a mind-set in which myth and symbol still hold sway. As
the families we live with become more fragile, the symbolic
families we live by become more powerful. Yet it is only by
accepting the notion that our ritual, myths, and images must be
open to perpetual revision that we can satisfy our human needs and
changing circumstances.
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