Page 171 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Catholic Confraternities, Kinship and Social Discipline

manifest and probably the whole village was aware of this particular sit-
uation. In spite of this faux-pas, both spouses remained members of the
confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and later had important responsi-
bilities within this association. Marie Julienne was Visitor of the Sick be-
tween 1847 and 1850; George-Joseph was Director of the Processions from
1841 until 1850. In this particular and exceptional case the former ‘sin’ was
probably forgiven because the couple was determined to participate in the
active religious life of the parish in a politically difficult time.
It is not easy to elicit when precisely sexual discipline began to loosen
among the officers; it can, however, be assumed that the troublesome time
after the French Revolution and after the proclamation of the Helvetic Re-
public in Switzerland played a crucial role. Among the officials of the period
1798–1811wefind twomen whohad certainlyhadillicitsexualintercourse:
one of them, Jean-Augustin Frossard, even had two illegitimate children
before he appears in the book of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacra-
ment as an alms collector in 1799. To be sure, both illicit fathers did not
remain in the association for a long time, but the difficulties of the repub-
lican period probably prompted the confraternities to temporarily accept
the support of men whose career was not irreproachable.
Although most confraternity officials themselves did not visibly indulge
in illicit sexuality, this was not always the case for their families. Even
among the Arlettaz/4 branch, deeply involved in confraternal life in the
eighteenth century, and its descendants, prenuptial conception and some-
times illegitimacy were no absolute exceptions. Pierre-Joseph Arlettaz
(*1769), miller and Prior of the Blessed Sacrament in 1831, had a child 4
months after his marriage with Anne-Sophie Balet in 1793; also several of
his sons and nephews had sexual intercourse before marriage. This was
partly due to specific careers and life trajectories of the family members:
some of them became soldiers in Italian armies and spent long periods
abroad. We know from many examples that mobility and a soldier´s life
encouraged other models of sexual behaviour.
Our observations suggest that sexual discipline – or indiscipline – could
represent a familial pattern over several generations but that substan-
tial differences could arise among a larger kin group. This case can be de-
scribed among a militantly devout family of the early nineteenth century,
the arl/2b group. It corresponds with the devout milieu around brothers
Fidèle and Michel-Joseph Arlettaz from Liddes: in this group we observe
more substantial solidarities with other devout or pious families which
tend to form a devout sub-society within the parish.

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