List of Tables and Diagrams 9
INTRODUCTORY 11
1．The Study in Outline 13
2．Place and People 21
PART ONE： The Family Life of Old People 31
3．Home and Family 33
4．Living near Relatives 43
5．The Family System of Care 54
6．Man and Wife and the Home Economy 76
7．Sons and Daughters 93
8．Brothers and Sisters 114
9．The Extended Family and the Kinship Network 126
10．Family and Community 139
PART TWO： The Family and the Social Problems of Old Age 155
11．Retirement 157
12．Poverty 175
13．Isolation，Loneliness，and the Hold on Life 188
14．Who Claim State Care？ 206
15．Keeping the Family Together 215
16．Conclusion 227
Postscript 1963：Moving towards a General Theory of Family Structure 235
APPENDIXES 257
1．A Further Note on Method 257
2．Three Interview Reports 263
3．Examples of Diaries Kept by Old People 296
List of References 314
Index 323