Synopses & Reviews
Malinowski is known internationally as one of the founders of social anthropology, as the creator of modern field work, as a great writer and an inspiring teacher. Until now little has been known about his personal life and thoughts. This book reveals for the first time his marriage and domestic life, and clarifies his relationships with colleagues, with his students and with a wide spectrum of friends. The letters in The Story of a Marriage were written by Malinowski and his wife, Elsie Masson, from 1916 to her death in 1935. They chronicle their meeting and their subsequent extraordinary marriage, showing Malinowski in a new light, not just as a teacher and scholar, but as husband, father and friend. His wife, so far largely unknown, is shown as a humorous, courageous and talented woman.
Volume I covers the letters written in Australia and New Guinea, from their first meeting in 1916 to the beginning of 1920 when they leave for Europe. Volume II begins with their arrival in England in April 1920 and details their lives together as he achieves success and international fame while her illness, multiple sclerosis, gradually forces her retreat from action and involvement.
The Malinowskis lived in half-a-dozen countries and visited many more, and the letters record their wandering life. They bring in leading figures such as Sir James Frazer, and Malinowski's students, many of whom went on to become famous anthropologists themselves. There are also fascinating glimpses of attitudes and day-to-day life in the twenties and thirties, including the rise of Nazism and Fascism.
Synopsis
Much has been written about the work of Bronislaw Malinowski but little is available about his personal life and thoughts. These letters, available for the first time, were written by him and Elsie Masson from 1916 to her death in 1935. They chronoicle their meeting and subsequent extraordinary marriage in a highly accessible and revealing way, also telling the story of his remarkable, courageous and largely unknown wife and personalise Malinowski, not just as a teacher and scientist, but as a husband, father and friend. There is a tremendous variety in the correspondence. The Malinowskis lived in half a dozen countries and visited many more and their gypsy lifestyle, his brilliant successes in his professional life, the tragedy of her illness, as well as their continuing love story are all recorded. The letters bring in luminaries such as Sir James Frazer, and Malinowski's students, many of whom went on to become famous anthropologists themselves. There are also fascinating glimpses of attitudes and day-to-day life in the twenties and thirties, including the rise of Nazism and Fascism. Volume I presents the letters written between 1916 and the beginning of 1920 in Australia and New Guinea. They start with a retrospective diary letter from Elsie Masson to Bronislaw Malinowski and detail their first meeting and eventual falling in love. Malinowski describes his third, and final, time of fieldwork in New Guinea, in the Trobriand Islands, 1917-1918. He then returns to Australia where, despite opposition from Elsie's parents, they marry and then spend a year there. At this time they both succumb to the Spanish 'flu epidemic but, having recovered, then move to England.
Synopsis
First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Synopsis
While much has been written about the work of Malinowski, little is known about his personal life. These letters, available for the first time, offer an insight of the man not just as teacher and scientist but as a husband, father and friend.
Table of Contents
v. 1. 1916-20 -- v. 2. 1920-35.