Comments on several books on patriarchy. `Rural Society and the Search for Order in Early Modern Germany,' by Thomas Robisheaux; `Authority and Sexuality in Early Modern Burgundy (1550-1730),' by James R. Farr; `Peccato, Penitenza, Perdono. Siena 1575-1800: La formazione della coscienza nell' Italia moderna,' by Oscar di Simplicio.