Both the history of the family and of the woman have been based, in general, on grounds other than those consistent with authentic, integral humanism. They have been exclusively developed from the relationship between circumstances, life cycle, strategy, social mobility, inheritance rules, market and ideology of the ruling social system. However, such important things as love, friendship, and any other type of emotional values have been overlooked. A full understanding of the history of the family must be based on a sound reflection set in the right contextual framework, selecting not just spacio-temporal coordinates, but also the adequate reference framework. The latter is provided by each period’s views, and it is also the focus of this paper.