Abstract
As women’s studies have discovered in every field from history to biology, the lives of women challenge the existing paradigms that were constructed to explain the lives of men. Stairm powerfully demonstrates that women in a Tunisian town living within the secluded confines of domestic life can exercise enormous power. Women write the birthday cards, keep the kin networks in touch, and provide the care when dependents need it. Part of the reason for women’s centrality in the family is their sheer longevity. In addition they knew perhaps especially well hew to give care and attention and perhaps as a result reap more rewards at the end of their life than men. Troll and Schwartz’ most memorable contribution is their recanceptualization of women’s achievement. Anthropologists examine women’s power in macroperspective by comparing different cultural values towards women’s activities. Psychologists view power at the microscopic level within the context of the individual woman and her family.
