Or was he a dominant male who felt threatened about her being a witch?
My vote is for the latter!

I think you're right; of course Darrin was raised old school where the man provided for his family and the wife took care of the house and kids.

Discovering that his wife could have anything with just a wave of her hand; or in Samantha's case a twitch of her lip had the same effect as if he found out he had married rich. I imagine that's why he preferred Samantha to Sheila; he saw Samantha as a down to earth woman. Someone he could take care of; instead of Sheila, who in all likelihood would've eventually turned him into someone he's not and wouldn't like being. Insisting that Samantha cease all witchcraft was his way of affirming his position as head of the house.

Was he justified? From his point of view, he was. But, in reality he was not; he was stifling her natural abilities. He should have not been so restrictive in his "no witchcraft" mandate. He should've simply told her to resist the temptation to use her witchcraft for every situation. This seemed to be her actual intent, to learn to do things the "mortal" way.

Granted she deceived him. But that's no excuse for him to totally forbid her from ever using witchcraft.
Besides, maybe she didn't tell him sooner because she was affraid of his reaction. And, as it turned out, that was completely justified!

Dick York said his take on the role was that Darrin feared anyone finding out - and if they did he would lose Samantha. So that was how he played it. By the time Dick Sargent took over Darrin didn't seem to object as much unless it was something big (like getting him a promotion or something).

But the scriptwriters were more black and white about it - Darrin had to object because that was the premise of the show. Only occasionally did you see York's Darrin be okay with her using magic.

My favorite episode of the series deals with this. It's "A is for Aardvark" from the first season. Samantha isn't being forced into the no witchcraft lifestyle. It's what she wants as well. Which is evident in that episode.

Samantha deceived Darrin about her true nature, so Darrin certainly was justified in insisting that Samantha act in the way she had presented herself, as a mortal.

I agree with you. Good point.

To answer the question, the definitive answer is YES. Whatever the man says the wife must obey without question. That's the secret to a happy marriage. :talk:

To answer the question, the definitive answer is YES. Whatever the man says the wife must obey without question. That's the secret to a happy marriage. :talk:

And a nervous breakdown. :lol: