PADRE PADRONE PADRETERNO | 1976 | JOYCE LUSSU

Padre, padrone, padreterno. Breve storia di schiave e matrone, villane e castellane, streghe e mercantesse, proletarie e padrone by Joyce Lussu, first published in 1976, traces the condition of women through history from antiquity to modern times, exploring the intersections of class, power, and gender. With an eye turned to social history and feminism, Lussu weaves accounts of female figures from different strata—enslaved, elite, rural, witch-persecuted, merchant, proletarian—into a narrative that confronts patriarchal structures, religious and cultural domination, and class oppression. The style is both analytical and personal: Lussu combines rigorous socio-historical research with reflections on identity, resistance, and possibility. The book's significance lies in its challenge to traditional historical narratives by centering women not as objects but as agents, revealing how the “father”, “master”, “God-father” are symbolic as well as literal sources of power. Its contribution was especially felt in the 1970s feminist movement in Italy, offering a historically grounded framework for understanding gendered oppression.