Illicit Monogamy : : Inside a Fundamentalist Mormon Community / / William Jankowiak.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2023
• VerfasserIn: Jankowiak, William,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

Angel Park is a Mormon fundamentalist polygamous community where plural marriages between one man and multiple women are common. In contrast to mainstream America’s idealization of the nuclear family and romantic love, its residents esteem notions of harmonious familial love, a spiritual bond that unites all family members. In their view, polygyny is not only righteous and sanctified—it is also conducive to communal life and social stability.Based on many years of in-depth ethnographic research in Angel Park, this book explores daily life in a polygamous community. William R. Jankowiak considers the plural family from the points of view of husbands, wives, and children, giving a balanced account of its complications and conflicts. He finds that people in polygynous marriages, especially cowives, experience an ongoing struggle to balance the longing for romantic intimacy with the obligation to support the larger family. They feel tension between deeply held religious convictions and the desire for emotional exclusivity, which can threaten the stability and harmony of the polygamous family. Men and women often form exclusive romantic pairs within plural marriages, which are tolerated if not openly acknowledged, showing the limits of the community’s beliefs. Jankowiak also challenges stereotypes of polygamous families as bastions of patriarchal power, showing the weight that interpersonal and social expectations place on men.Offering an unparalleled look at the complexity of a polygamous religious community, Illicit Monogamy also helps us reconsider relationships, love, and family dynamics across cultures and settings.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- A NOTE TO RESIDENTS OF ANGEL PARK -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- 1 PLURAL MARRIAGE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN -- 2 FUNDAMENTALIST POLYGAMY Contextual Background -- 3 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER Public Adoration, Private Qualification -- 4 DIFFERENT PHILOSOPHIES FOR ORGANIZING A FAMILY -- 5 PLACEMENT MARRIAGE OR SELF CHOICE Finding Your Soul Mate -- 6 MANAGING A MARRIAGE Expectation, Duty, and Preference -- 7 COWIFE JEALOUSY, REGRET, AND COOPERATIVE EXCHANGES -- 8 FAMILY POLITICS REVEALED THROUGH NAMING PRACTICES -- 9 THEOLOGY AND MOTHER CARE Full- Sibling and Half- Sibling Bonding -- 10 THEOLOGICAL PARENTHOOD AND THE MAKING OF THE GOOD POLYGAMOUS TEENAGER -- 11 THE LONELY WORLD OF POLYGAMOUS MEN -- CONCLUSION Themes and Trends -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- INDEX