De Obra y Palabra: Patterns of Insults in Mexico, 1750-1856

Abstract

Countless judicial complaints ranging frommalos tratos(domestic mistreatment) to assault to insults contain the phrasede obra y palabra(by deed and word). Mexicans of the period 1750 to 1856 understood that the two aspects of injury—verbal and physical—were equally important. While violent acts harmed the body, words attacked an individual's honor and reputation. Therefore harm was conceived of as both physical and verbal, and the connection between the two was inherent in judicial formulations and the expression itself.