Chapter 12: Maturity and Old Age
Coming of Age in Samoa
Margaret Mead
Summary: Mead discusses the changes that men and women go through after they are married or are considered adults (even if unmarried). She covers two major topics: the changes when individuals get married, and when they become old. When a couple gets married, they do not become a "unit" like we do; they are still under the household of either of the families, unless the husband is the son of the chief. The changes impact men more than women, since their social roles are more relevant than those of women. However, when they age, man's importance in the village is decreased, while the knowledge and power of a woman is increased.
Discussion: In this chapter Mead makes various comparisons to our own civilization. For example, wanting to have one's own home and family when we get married; or the so known arguments and jealousy between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. I don’t think there was any sense of independency in Samoa, like we have in our society. The fact that an older man’s knowledge is not given much importance is also very different from our own culture, or at least how we think is supposed to be.
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