Husbands, Masculinity, Male Work and Household Economy in Eighteenth-Century Italy: The Case of Turin

This article aims to investigate the role of married men and their work and assets in the economy of the households belonging to the middle and lower classes of eighteenth-century Turin. According to traditional representations, the husband/father was expected to be the pater familias, to act as the main provider and the economic leader of the family. In addition, in getting married he was expected to achieve economic independence. This research offers evidence that in Turin these tasks were part of an ideological and cultural construct, rather than the concrete experience of all adult men. Moreover, there were not necessary links between marriage, mastery and leadership. Male labour was irregular and piecemeal and husbands/fathers could not always ensure a regular economic contribution to their family. In several circumstances, they could not perform the role of economic leader of the household since marriage did not mark the possibility for a man to freely handle either his heritage and assets or the resources brought by his wife. Finally the article suggests that this model of masculinity was in competition with another coexisting ideology that allocated to both spouses the responsibility for the survival of the family.