For wives of the previous generation, the husband was king and the wife was the husband's "property." So when a wife was hit by her husband, she did not respond; when she was cursed, she did not trade insults.
對於上一代婦女來說，丈夫是天，自己則是丈夫的「財產」，因此打不還手、罵不還口是當太太的「本份」。