Relating self to family and society: An investigation of adults’ intergenerational narratives

The stories people tell about their mothers’ and fathers’ experiences—intergenerational narratives—connect individuals with their families and the larger culture. We wanted to explore the gender-typing of intergenerational narrating and of the passing on of family and general history. A sample of N = 135 German adults (20–77 years, 52.6% female) were asked for one intergenerational narrative from each parent. The topics of the stories, as how vulnerable the protagonist was depicted, and the amount of family knowledge varied by gender of both the parent and the participants in line with the traditional gender master narrative. Narratives transmitting family knowledge explained why members were missing or relations interrupted and highlighted differences/commonalities, whereas narratives focussing on the parent displayed them as a powerful agent in the world. About a third of the narratives referred to general historical circumstances and times. Findings are discussed within the master narrative framework.