Emotions and Migration in Argentina at the Turn of the 20th Century

Abstract

Revealing the lives of migrant couples and transnational households, this book explores the dark side of the history of migration in Argentina during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Using court records, censuses, personal correspondence and a series of case studies, María Bjerg offers a portrayal of the emotional dynamics of transnational marital bonds and intimate relationships stretched across continents. Using microhistories and case studies, this book shows how migration affected marital bonds with loneliness, betrayal, fear and frustration. Focusing primarily on the emotional lives of Italian and Spanish migrants, this book explores bigamy, infidelity, adultery, domestic violence and murder within official and unofficial unions. It reveals the complexities of obligation, financial hardship, sacrifice and distance that came with migration, and explores how shame, jealousy, vengeance and disobedience led to the breaking of marital ties. Against a backdrop of changing cultural contexts Bjerg examines the emotional languages and practices