| Abstract: | Fried's (1967) work on authority in Greek households argues for a problematic relationship between power and prestige. The duality of patterning implicit in this approach, popular in the sixties, constrains our ability to appreciate the subtlety of power plays in homes like these as well as the complex character of the structure of authority. In an analysis of the power dynamics within households in a barrio popular in Quito, Ecuador, I argue that men, in their roles as husbands and fathers, do command in their households, but a description of the power dynamics in the household does not stop there. Men delegate much of their authority over the household to their wives, and this produces a series of contradictions as the developmental cycle of the household progresses. Changes in role behavior and relationships within the home as well as pressures external to the home have their effect and provide a means for women to accrue power. Appreciation of the contradictions within this system should limit disagreement among scholars about the gender of the person who has power, help account for intra-cultural variation, and direct attention to the dynamics of actual power plays within the home in Quito and other research settings. |
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