Striking a Balance: Sibling Emotionality and the Negotiation of Power in an Eighteenth-Century Noble Family of the Austrian Netherlands

Abstract

This article examines the emotional dynamics between six siblings of the Merode family in the eighteenth century and the ways in which they used emotional expression as a mechanism to communicate and negotiate existing forms of power within their sibling group. Using the extensive personal correspondence between the siblings, the article explores how the hierarchical nature of their relationship related to expectations of unity, arguing that the siblings had to find a balance between keeping the peace and challenging inequality related to gender, age, and marital status. Sibling emotionality played an important role in negotiating these unequal power dynamics.