In rural Sri Lanka, marital tension, frequently leading to violence, is an increasing problem. This article explores how the house becomes both the source of problems and a possible solution to them. By examining the way that the social, material, and symbolic dimensions of houses are made to interact, I show how women effect the shaping of social relations and homemaking. Specifically, I focus on how houses become spaces where women are expected to embody the ideals of wifehood and motherhood, thereby creating and maintaining a ‘good house’. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted over fourteen months in a rural village, I illustrate the ways in which women actively engage in strategies to construct and preserve their houses as spaces free from violence. I describe how women, in addition to their traditional caregiving roles, employ the science of architecture (vāstu vidyava) to restructure their houses as a way to promote peace and prosperity. As a result, houses emerge as strategic allies in women's lives, facilitating their pursuit of the desired ‘good life’.

中文翻译：

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归咎于房子：僧伽罗农村妇女为维护婚姻所做的努力

在斯里兰卡农村地区，婚姻关系紧张是一个日益严重的问题，经常导致暴力。本文探讨了房子如何成为问题的根源和可能的解决方案。通过研究房屋的社会、物质和象征维度相互作用的方式，我展示了女性如何影响社会关系和家务的塑造。具体来说，我关注的是房屋如何成为女性被期望体现妻子和母亲理想的空间，从而创造和维护一个“好房子”。根据在一个乡村进行了十四个月的民族志研究，我阐述了妇女如何积极参与建造和保护其房屋作为免受暴力空间的战略。我描述了女性除了传统的护理角色之外，如何运用建筑科学（瓦斯图维迪亚瓦）重建他们的房屋，作为促进和平与繁荣的一种方式。因此，房屋成为女性生活中的战略盟友，帮助她们追求理想的“美好生活”。