The purpose of my study is to contribute to our understanding of the complex ways in which race/ethnicity, class, gender and legal status intersect to shape the experiences of wife abuse among women. In this study, I analyze the experiences of one group of abused women -- Indian women in the U.S. I examine how Indian women's experience of abuse, and their reaction to it is shaped by the patriarchal gender relations within the family, as well as by their class status, their legal status, and their status as a minority racial/ethnic group in the U.S. I also examine Indian women's strategies of accommodation, negotiation and resistance to abuse. / Master of Science