The Unadjusted Girl, With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis — John Shaqi
The Unadjusted Girl, With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior AnalysisThomas, William Isaac
Science
The Unadjusted Girl, With Cases and Standpoint for Behavior Analysis
Thomas, William Isaac
Female juvenile delinquents -- Case studies; Young women
Dear editor, I have the greatest confidence in the goodness of my
husband. Perhaps he has lost his reason for a time, but he is not
corrupt. I am almost sure that when he reads my letter he will come
back to his senses and will behave as a man and as a decent person
should behave. I beg you to print my letter as soon as possible and
help to restore a broken family.[35]
Contrary to this we have the device of public confession, a definition
of the situation in terms of self-condemnation. The following is a
public apology which gives the injured husband favorable public
recognition and seeks a reconciliation.
33. I myself drove out my good and true husband in a shameful manner
and placed the guilt at his door, and although he is angry he is
decent enough not to say anything to anybody. He takes the blame on
himself. All my friends and acquaintances think that he is really
the guilty one.
I have been married for the last eleven years and up to two years
ago I thought that somehow I should end my life peacefully, although
I have caused many a quarrel.... My tongue is sharp and burning....
My husband always forgave me. Many times he cried and a week or two
would pass by quietly. And then again I could not be quiet. Quite
often I would start to fire away at the table and he would get up,
leave the house, and go to a restaurant. When he returned he had
some more. And according to my behavior my husband began to treat me
roughly....
At this time we tried business for ourselves ... and owing to
numerous reasons my husband had everything in my name; I was the
owner of everything that we had. After that I began to rule over him
still more, and when he saw that he could do nothing with me he
stopped speaking to me.
I have tried everything to dirty his name. Oh, now my conscience
troubles me when I see three live orphans wandering about. Would it
not be better if the community had forbidden me to marry in order to
avoid such a family-tragedy.
I am a snake by nature and this is not my fault; that’s how I am. My
friends meet him and they tell me that he does not say a word about
our tragedy. He says: “I am doing the best that I can and when I am
able to give a home to my children, then I will worry about them.”
And I am afraid that some day he will take away the children from me
and then I shall be left alone like a stone.[36]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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