CRUZ DAS almas: a BRAZILIAX village PIERSON 



137 



similar dishes for special occasions such as a wed- 

 ding dinner. 



Inversion of role, however, in which the woman 

 seeks to exercise authority over her husband and 

 to exact obedience from him is rare and, if it oc- 

 curs, is severely condemned by both men and 

 women. A woman in the village is notorious for 

 having once gone to the hotequim and feito es- 

 candalo (created a scandalous disturbance) to get 

 her husband to leave off gambling and come home. 

 The opposition to gambling is not censured but 

 her appearance in a public place and her attempts 

 to exercise control over the husband's behavior 

 are not only resented by the husband but univer- 

 sally condemned. "A man governed by a 

 woman never amounts to anything," is a common 

 remark in this connection. "A house where the 

 woman is the boss," said a farm woman, "is no 

 good. That's the truth. In a house where the 

 man wants to do something and his wife says, 

 'You can't do that, I don't like it,' that kind of a 

 house is upside down." 



Not even in lesser matters is any tendency at 

 inversion tolerated. An older woman in the vil- 

 lage, a person of "forceful personality," was heard 

 to say to her husband, "Quim, get me the candle 

 holder there under the table." To which the hus- 

 band immediately replied, "Fa voce! TJai! (Go 

 get it yourself ! Why * * * ) ." The impli- 

 cations in voice and other gesture were, "Why do 

 you ask me to do that? That's your job." 



The "double standard" of sexual morality to 

 which reference has already been made is a con- 

 comitant of the inferior status of woman. It is 

 clearly defined and recognized in the community. 

 "Don't be a fool," said a mother to a son by whom 

 a girl in the community had become pregnant 

 and who, by reason of the fact that he was under 

 legal age while she was older, would not be re- 

 quired by law either to marry the unmarried 

 mother or to make a legal settlement, "You don't 

 need to marry her. You know you can marry 

 anyone you want. The one that's been dirtied 

 {flea suja) by this is her, not you." "Poor girl," 

 said a woman in the village, referring to the same 

 person, "What bad luck! If she were a boy, it 

 would be different. Nothing ever sticks to a boy." 

 "A man if he does good," said a farm woman, 

 "that's good ; and if he does bad, that's still good. 

 But a woman ! If she does the least little thing. 



she's talked about." "The girl to whom I'm en- 

 gaged," remarked a young farmer, "never goes 

 out with me unless her sister or brother is along. 

 That's the way it should be. Because if it isn't, 

 and for any reason we don't get married, no one 

 will say anything about me, but the girl will be 

 talked about by everyone. The least little thing 

 and people are talking." 



This double pattern extends to other behavior. 

 "A man can go any place he likes," said a young 

 farmer. "He can come home late, at any hour. 

 But a woman ! That's different !" A young 

 farmer who recently married a village girl does 

 not allow his wife to go to the village unless he is 

 along. Instead, the mother and sisters come to 

 the farm to visit her. The young married woman, 

 however, is quite happy and proud of her strong, 

 robust young Inisband. "A man can dance with 

 anyone but he won't let his wife dance with no 

 one but him," said an elderly woman in the village, 

 describing the prevailing pattern, to which at- 

 tention has already been called. "When I get 

 married," a young farmer remarked, "I certainly 

 won't let my wife dance with other men. When 

 I'm here, I won't dance either, except with her. 

 But when I'm away, that's different!" When a 

 friend said jocularly, "And maybe she'll dance 

 with others when you're away." "If she does," 

 was the reply, "I'll give her a beating." 



There is little, if any, difference in status among 

 the women of the community. The group is 

 largely homogeneous. No women especially stand 

 out above the rest. A few live in better houses and 

 dress somewhat better. A certain degree of pres- 

 tige also attaches to such activities as those of the 

 midwife, the "blessers," the principal patroness, 

 the teachers, aJid the girls who sing at religious 

 ceremonies. If any of these persons, however, 

 does not behave toward all the others as equals 

 and tends to reveal a feeling of superiority, her 

 prestige suffers correspondingly. 



In addition to failing to live up to her expected 

 role, one of the means by which a woman's status 

 is lowered is to give herself over habitually to 

 alcoholic drink. Said a villager, "I won't have 

 anything to do with a woman who puts a glass of 

 ■phiga to her mouth." On the other hand, a 

 woman's status may be improved beyond that ordi- 

 narily accruing to her sex if she evidences unusual 

 intelligence or shows other special competence. 



