atives. A frequently cited image of Bulgaria at that time was
the man riding a horse or donkey empty-handed while his wife walked
behind carrying a heavy load. The position and influence of the wife,
however, was far greater than this image implies. Few husbands made
decisions or took action affecting the family without prior consultation
with their wives.

Age was respected because it represented the accumulation of wisdom and
experience. This greater wisdom and experience also gave the older
members of the family authority over the younger ones. Children were
highly valued as tokens of successful marriages and as economic assets,
but they were not fussed over. Although they were expected to take their
places as active members of the family at a relatively early age by
performing light household tasks, running errands, and tending animals,
they were also given considerable freedom to play. Until they reached
maturity, children were expected to do what they were told by their
parents or by other adults without question.

This traditional family system provided for great stability. Each member
knew his place in society and knew what was expected of him, and he
generally felt secure and satisfied.

The gradual industrialization and urbanization that took place between
the two world wars slowly introduced changes into the traditional family
system--at first among the urban population and eventually among the
peasantry. Most notable among the changes was the shift toward the
nuclear family unit and the disappearance of the extended family
household. This reduced the authority of the father over his adult
children, who now formed an independent economic and social unit. It
also gave greater freedom to young people in choosing their mates and,
thereby, in their relations with each other. Within the nuclear family
the relationship between husband and wife became a more egalitarian one.
Relations between parents and children also became less authoritarian,
although the father's relations to his children continued to be rather
formal.

The changes in family life and in the role of the family in society that
began to take place between the two world wars accelerated during World
War II in keeping with the rapid rate of economic change. The greatest
assault on the traditional system, however, came in the second half of
the 1940s and early 1950s when the new communist government set out to
revamp Bulgarian society. The already