Drawing on her extensive interviews and an examination of psychological, social, and legal dimensions, Browne presents a unique portrait of the dynamics and development history of conjugal violence. She shows that, in many ways, the victims are a lot like the rest of us, and argues that much of what happens in the early stages of these relationships is consistent with the romantic tradition of male-female interaction. Finding reasons where others have seen masochistic pathology, Browne shows how these women, like other victims, adapted their behaviour to their tormentors to minimize the...