Comrades would speak out to condemn the appearances of an act whose essence was attributed to the limitations of human nature, or community norms, or the legacy of religion. Socialism had succeeded in ripping the veil off women’s heads, but not in the minds of their men. It had managed to tear chains carrying crosses from their wives’ chests, but those chains still shackled their husbands’ brains. There was little to do other than wait for the times to change or, as my mother saw it, to defend yourself.
