2. The Bunker Family
• Archie: Archie fulfills the traditional gendered role as family
patriarch and breadwinner. He is an ignorant and bigoted
loading dock worker disturbed by the changes occurring in
American society in the 1970’s. Archie is an
undereducated, socially misguided, politically conservative
churl who is never at a loss for words.
• Edith: An antidote to Archie's callous demeanor is his sweet
but slightly ditsy wife, Edith. Edith also holds a traditional role
within the family serving as housewife, mother and all around
kinship maintainer. Also known as "dingbat” (an Archie
euphemism), Edith does Archie’s bidding, endures his verbal
diatribes and meekly attempts to diffuse the tensions within
the family through light hearted banter; her objective is to
avoid confrontation.
• Gloria: Unlike her mom, Gloria is no wilting lily. Like her
father, she is not afraid to voice her opinion. The only child of
Edith and Archie, Gloria is a feminist and a liberal thinker who
often advocates on behalf of the socially marginalized. Gloria’s
role within her marriage is non-traditional; she’s the sole
breadwinner while her husband completes his college degree.
The couple live with Edith and Archie. Gloria is often caught in
the middle when it comes to the verbal sparring matches
between her father and husband.
• Mike: Mike Stivic is Archie's live-in son-in-law, a liberal
college student and an intellectual who is married to Gloria.
Nicknamed “Meathead” by Archie, Mike is a sensitive idealist, a
righter of wrongs, a voice for the disenfranchised, and the
liberal lightening rod to Archie’s conservative bombast. The
confrontations between Archie and Mike serve as the basis for
much of the Bunker family conflict.
3. Cohesion
Through their communication, family members
develop, maintain or change their patterns of
cohesion.(31)
The Bunker family is a cohesive work in
progress. It could be argued that they border
on being enmeshed. Close living quarters
means everyone is in the others pocket.
This, coupled with horizontal and vertical
stressors, create dialetical tensions that
influence their communication and challenge
their cohesion. Yet, despite their contrasting
principles, opinions and world views, it seems
that the Bunker’s penchant for verbal
wrangling is their dysfunctional way of bridging
the generation gap – an attempt to achieve
relational closeness. They also appear to be a
loyal clan, one in which each member
maintains some semblance of individuality.
4. Adaptability
…for the times they are a changing.
“Rigid: Family members experience very low levels
of change, as well as authoritarian leadership and
strict roles and rules." (32)
Adaptability in the Bunker family system is a
mixed bag.
Change is not Archie’s strong suit; rigid is his
middle name. Disturbed by societal
changes including the emerging roles of
women and minorities, Archie tries in vain to
control his world. He clings steadfastly to his
rituals, rules and role as leader of the pack.
He’s top dog.
Edith accommodates Archie and while she
seems more willing to adapt and experience
change -to keep the peace - she typically
defaults to Archie's leadership role and rules.
Conversely, Gloria and Mike are much more
flexible. They are more open and
adaptable. They embrace change, are
much more willing to share decision making,
and to shift rules and roles.
5. Communication and Family Conflict
“Conflict occurs when one person’s
behavior or desire blocks the goals of
another” (210)
“A conflict between two members of the
family will affect other members.” (211)
Archie abhors change. His blue collar
conservative views stand in direct contrast
to Mike’s academic, liberal leanings.
Archie’s dogged attempts to maintain
control of his family, his rules, his role and his
world are thwarted by Mike’s intellectual
challenges and belief systems. Mike is a
barrier to Archie’s goals.
Diametrically opposed, Archie and Mike
create patterns of conflict in the form of
endless arguments about the least little
thing. This dynamic resonates and impacts
the family system.
6. Family Developmental Stresses
“The past and present family stresses, are affected
by all levels of the larger system in which the family
operates. These are the life course concerns –
social, cultural, economic and political contextual
factors.” (245)
Civil rights, women’s liberation, the Vietnam
war, Watergate, political and social unrest; all
the realities of the day and sources of great
stress for the Bunker Family. The trajectory of
each individual’s life course is impacted by
these significant historical changes.
“Stress occurs when the individual’s level of
personal functioning cannot manage the
problems in his or her environment.” (242)
Archie is a man in his 50’s, a veteran of WWII
who longs for the days when “girls were
girls, and men were men.” His individual
, generational and historical time are stuck in a
bygone era. Vertical stressors unique to the
Bunkers, converge with the horizontal stressors of
the 1970’s, creating major disruptions in the
family system.
7. Unpredictable Stress and Family Coping
Patterns
Unpredictable Stresses: the result of circumstances that disturb
life patterns but cannot be anticipated from a
developmental or life course perspective.” (277)
A man, posing as a police officer knocks on
the Bunker’s kitchen door. Edith is the only one home.
She answers the door.
He asks her assistance.
He says he’s looking for a rapist that was
last seen in her neighborhood.
Edith is trusting and naïve. He’s an
authority figure. She assumes he’s safe.
She lets the man into her home.
Edith finds out too quickly that the police
officer is, in fact, the rapist himself.
He attempts to sexually assault her.
8. Stressors
“Past experiences with crises prepare family
members to understand new crises when
they occur, but they may also re-
traumatize.” (279)
Gloria understands. She is also a victim of a
sexual assault. At the time, she was
counseled on the difficulties of prosecuting
a rape charge in that day and age; re-
victimization was rampant, so she opted not
to pursue.
Archie uses Gloria’s experience as an
example for Edith to move on – to not get
involved – it would be too disturbing for her.
Gloria says avoidance is wrong, that Edith
must face the reality of her experience to
help her cope.
True to form, the Bunkers repeat their well
worn patterns of communication even in
crisis. Archie and Mike Argue, Gloria gets
caught in the middle and Edith avoids.
9. Stages of Family Crisis
Shock/Denial
“Denial is transformed into an intense desire to
recapture what was lost.” (285)
• After the assault Edith lives in a state of
shock and fear.
• She feels guilty for her part in the assault
– after all, she let the intruder into her
home, her safe haven.
• Despite being the only victim that can
identify the rapist and regardless of
Gloria’s urging, she refuses to cooperate
with police. She wants to forget that the
incident happened.
• She busies herself with mundane tasks in
an effort to forget and to recapture
what was lost – her sense of well being.
• Just the sight of the assailants tie triggers
fear and panic.
10. Recoil
• Archie is angry and frustrated
by Edith’s inability to cope.
She’s no longer fulfilling her
role.
• Despite Mike’s attempts to
console her, Edith cries out that
she’s to blame. The assault
never would have happened if
she hadn’t let the man into her
home.
11. Depression
• Edith’s anger, fear and guilt
eventually turn inward. She isolates
herself, refuses to talk about the
assault, to leave the safety of her
home and to speak with police.
• Archie attempts to understand and
console Edith, to alleviate her fears.
• Archie uses his limited relational
currencies to try and comfort Edith.
Positive verbal statements
“everything’s going to be alright,”
and physical intimacies like touching,
holding and hugging to support and
comfort Edith.
• Gloria uses her known resources – her
own attempted rape experience - to
inform and educate her mother; to
reassure her that it wasn’t her fault.
12. Reorganization
The Turning Point for Edith
• Gloria is supremely frustrated by her
mothers avoidance and her “selfishness”
when she refuses to identify the assailant
in a police line-up.
• Gloria yells and screams at her mom.
She pleads with her that her refusal may
put the rapist back on the street -
setting the scene for more women to be
victimized by him. Gloria cries out in
anger that Edith is not the woman she
knows and loves - she no longer
considers Edith her mother.
• Angry, Edith slaps Gloria’s face. In that
moment, she’s freed from her emotional
shackles. Edith has an awakening, she
finally recognizes what needs to be
done. She puts her coat on and asks
Archie to drive her to the police station.
13. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Galvin, Kathleen M., Carma Lee
Bylund, and Bernard J. Brommel. Family
communication: cohesion and change.
8th ed. Boston: Pearson Allyn and
Bacon, 2012. Print.
