ABSTRACT

A more sociological approach to 'troubles' is that which looks at the problem, not merely as one of personality disturbance, but as one in which the immediate structure of social relations around the individual has been fractured and needs repair. William Goode looks at a number of contingencies which might befall the family and render it incomplete and therefore leave individual members without the support of normal social relations. Now William Goode's actual contribution here was the analysis of a sociological problem of the incomplete family. His World Revolution in Family Patterns indicates very clearly how aware he is of the extent to which family structure is affected by wider socioeconomic systems, while his After Divorce shows clearly that he is aware of divorce as more than a mere private trouble. An issue is a public matter: some value cherished by publics is felt to be threatened.