solved if only we could get women backninto the fold where they belong.nThat these issues must be considerednin their true complexity, marked byncontradiction and paradox, is rightfullynurged upon us by Carl Degler in AtnOdds, his well-researched and nonpolemicalnhistory of women and the familynin America from the revolution tonthe present. Faced with the task of presentingnan account of ideas, attitudesnand sensibilities, rather than a chronologynof clearly delineated events, ProfessornDegler has organized his materialnaround the key questions thatnhave surrounded the evolving relationshipnbetween women and the family:nWhat prerogatives does the wife andnmother have with respect to her malenpartner.” Who will define and controlnsexuality, fertility, abortion.? How willnopportunities, first in higher educationnand then in the job market, change thensocial arrangements of women and thenfamily.” And finally, how will suffragenand subsequent equality under the lawnalter woman’s allegiance to her husbandnand children.-*nIn each instance, as Degler notes,nwomen have expanded their possibilitiesnin order to control their unique destiniesnand not simply accept the role definitionsnforced on them by others;n. . . the history of the family is bestnunderstood by recognizing thatnchanges in the role of women—particularlynin what has been called thenextension of individualism to womenn—the awakening to self—have beennat the root of that history. As womennhave changed in their relations tonmen and children, the family has beennaltered. For in the end that is the familyn: a congeries of relationships amongnparents and their children. But insteadnof considering these alterationsnmerely as responses to exogenous ornoutside forces, they also need to benacknowledged as flowing fromnchanges in women’s self-perception.nYet, just as self-determination is nevernwillingly granted by those with power,nso it is also never unqualifiedly wel­n24inChronicles of Cttltarencomed by those without, as At Oddsnclearly goes on to demonstrate.nWhile the women’s voices that Deglernallows to echo eloquently throughnhis pages speak naturally enough onnboth sides of every round in the greatndebate over the extension of women’snrights, what is truly impressive is thenintelligence, sensitivity and vitality theirnwords express. Indeed, as the force ofntheir words accumulates, the readerncomes to realize that the current controversiesnneed to be viewed from thengathered perspectives of over 200 years.nIn 1867, Caroline Dall, for instance,nmade the case that a woman was firstnher own person, and only second thenwearer of roles traditionally prescribednby the family unit—“We have not laidna secure foundation for any statementnon the subject unless we have made itnclear that ‘woman’s rights’ are identicalnwith ‘human rights’; that no father,nbrother, or husband can have all thenprivileges ordained for him of God, tillnmother and sister and wife are set freento secure them according to instinctivenindividual bias.”nX he central fear raised by such assertionsnas Ms. Dall’s has always beennfueled by the belief that human rightsnwere incompatible with a woman’s domesticnrole. In these terms the wholenhistory of woman’s self-perception hasnunfolded as she has attempted to widennher sphere of influence without denyingnthe legitimate demands placed upon hernby the family. In each instance, whethernwomen were gaining access to higherneducation or the polling booths,nprophets of doom predicted that womennwould flee from their family obligationsnIn the Mailnin hordes. Yet although such pessimismnhas proved groundless, as Degler’s evidencenshows, change in the family isnstill seen as a serious threat:n.. . with each advancement. . . therenwere those of both sexes who warnednthat the integrity of the family, or society,nor perhaps civilization itself wasnput at risk by the idea that womennwere individuals, with interests thatnmight be different from men’s or thenfamily’s. And although in every casenin the past these prophecies of disasternhave proved false, neither thenprophecies nor the fears that generatednthem have died out. For the familynand woman’s relationship to it arenstill undergoing change. No socialnchanges seem so threatening as thosenthat take place within the family becausenthe family has been for so longnthe ultimate sanctuary of men andnwomen.nIn reaching out to establish their individuality,nwomen have encounterednthat insurmountable roadblock alreadynexperienced by too many men: the unavailabilitynof meaningful jobs. Ournidentity, our character, is very much anfunction of a reciprocal set of exchanges.nThe first involves a turning inwardnwhich is nurtured by the intimate lovingnand long-term commitment made possiblenby the family—between spouses,nbetween parents and children and beyondnin a myriad of possible networks.nThe second includes having some stakenin getting the world’s work donenthrough practicing the skills of somenvocation or profession. These two areasnof human experience serve a complementarynrelationship, balancing off ournThe Oracle in the Heart by Kathleen Raine; The Dolmen Press, George Allennand Unwin Ltd.; Mountrath, Portlaoise, Ireland. A collection of poems from 1974nto 1978, largely inspired by the elements of nature.nUnions and the Public Interest: Collective Bargaining in the Government Sectornby Sandra Christensen; The Fraser Institute; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.nAn examination of the growth of public-sector unions, how they compare to thenprivate sector, and several practical suggestions for how to cope with the problems posednby public sector labor disputes.nnn