Description
Book SynopsisNot long after her father died, Afsaneh Najmabadi discovered that her father had a secret second family and that she had a sister she never knew about. In Familial Undercurrents, Najmabadi uncovers her family's complex experiences of polygamous marriage to tell a larger story of the transformations of notions of love, marriage, and family life in mid-twentieth-century Iran. She traces how the idea of marrying for love and the desire for companionate, monogamous marriage acquired dominance in Tehran's emerging urban middle class. Considering the role played in that process by late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century romance novels, reformist newspapers, plays, and other literature, Najmabadi outlines the rituals and objects---such as wedding outfits, letter writing, and family portraits---that came to characterize the ideal companionate marriage. She reveals how in the course of one generation men's polygamy had evolved from an acceptable open practice to a taboo best kept secret. A
Trade Review“Afsaneh Najmabadi’s creative mélange of history and memoir makes a compelling case for microhistory and even more specifically for personal history as a living document and an archive to be explored in uncovering Iranian social history. I greatly appreciate how Najmabadi has brought history to life.” -- Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, author of * Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran *
“Few scholars elevate the personal to the theoretical with the economy and elegance of Afsaneh Najmabadi. She translates a claim that her father had a secret second family into a journey of research, producing exquisite reflections on urban/space transformations that facilitated familial change. Stories are not just stories, as Najmabadi interrogates them to extract and advance their enduring theoretical significance. She sweeps into history and history making.” -- Suad Joseph, general editor of the * Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures *
“This well-written book is both informative and entertaining. Recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.” -- G. M. Farr * Choice *
Table of ContentsCast of Characters ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
In Lieu of an Introduction 1
1. Marrying for Love 13
2. Objects: Letters, Wedding Clothes, and Photographs 41
3. Meanings of Marriage: Forming a Family or Providing Sexual Pleasure 75
4. Urban Transformations 111
Epilogue: Naming Marriage, Naming Kin 127
Notes 131
Bibliography 149
Index 155
