What kind of relationship are we talking about?

A couple of weeks before my grandfather died, I visited my grandparents and was moved by the sight of them sitting hand-in-hand, smiling and gazing into one another's eyes like young lovers. They were devoted to each other. My grandfather was very much the master of the house, and made all the major decisions. My grandmother was positively proud to by his wife. She obeyed him and deferred to him. She would have done anything for him, and from the way happiness shone out of her, it is clear that she felt not the slightest bit down-trodden or resentful. I remember her almost dancing into a room and filling it with warm smiles and joyful laughter. Head of the household my grandfather may have been, but he was no bully. He was an old-fashioned English gentleman who was kind and gentle and did not want anyone to be intimidated by him even though he was frightfully clever and had the precense and authority to command obedience. I very much doubt that he ever used any kind of ‘discipline’ on my grandmother, whether physical or otherwise.