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(Nettle, MS., n. d.). The actual process of moving out is sometimes 

 accompanied by much hubbub (Kroeber, 1925 b). Custom demands, 

 however, that, once the divorce is completed, both partners accept it 

 casually. As a rule, the Mohave comply with this cultural injunction. 

 As stated elsewhere (Devereux, 1950 f), the socialization of the Mo- 

 have cliild occurs early in life, so that, thereafter, liis libido and 

 aggressions are distributed relatively homogeneously over the tribe as 

 a whole. Hence, no single individual is invested with an unusually 

 large and distinctive amomit of object cathexis. An example to the 

 contrary is afforded by the alleged marital fidelity of twins. This 

 was attributed elsewhere (Devereux, 1941) to the fact that the prefer- 

 ential treatment meted out to twins, and a number of other character- 

 istic events of their early lives, delay their socialization, and condition 

 them to the formation of intense attachments. Another atypical 

 example is that of persons who commit incest. I have tried to show 

 (Devereux, 1939 a) that the Mohave interpret incest as a manifesta- 

 tion of an individual's unwillingness or inability to become detached 

 from his proximate family, and to partake, through emotional social- 

 ization, in the complex give-and-take pattern of tribal relations. 



A corollary of this attitude is the Mohave evaluation of "romantic 

 love." The tale of Tristan and Isolde, and of Romeo and Juliet, which 

 I related to them, caused a great deal of consternation. As for Tcatc, 

 she once smilingly remarked : "You sigh every time you mention your 

 sweetheart." The behavior of the lovelorn is considered undignified 

 and unworthy of an adult, as soon as the breach is final. Before di- 

 vorce occurs, the husband (or wife) may exhibit intense jealousy and 

 even rage (Case 24). He may even compel his wife to submit to an 

 examination of her private parts, for evidences of intercourse, and 

 may even threaten to shoot her. In brief, he may go to great lengths | 

 in his attempts to preserve the status quo, without being unduly ham- 

 pered by possible adverse reactions on the part of the group (Davis, 

 1936). 



However, once the bond is broken, the finality of the new situation 

 must be, and mostly is, accepted with equanimity. It is very seldom 

 indeed that, acting in cold blood, a man paints his face black, like a 

 warrior on the warpath, and, arms in hand, attempts to take revenge 

 on the man who abducted his wife. As a rule, this procedure is only 

 resorted to half jocularly, and one man, married to a passive male 

 homosexual who deserted him, actually attempted to do this just to 

 give the tribe something to laugh about (Devereux, 1937 b) . This does 

 not mean, of course, that even a deserted husband, who is supposed to 

 display more equanimity than a deserted wife, shows no grief reaction 

 whatsoever. In fact, in at least one case the deserted husband killed 

 liis ex-wife's new husband. These, however, are exceptions and are 



