Given the important influence of Marx and Engels in the analysis of social structure, the remarkable impact of their work on the study of the role of women in the family is not surprising. However, their heritage in this sociological field has given rise to very polarized interpretations. This article wants to bring some light denouncing the contradictions of Marxism when studying the role of women in the family. For that purpose, the contributions of Marx and Engels are compared in order to gauge possible differences in the positions of two authors who in other areas have presented a very homogeneous thought. The results obtained allow us to affirm that, despite its undeniable influence on feminist thinking, the Marxist analysis of the role of women in the family is weighed down by Marx?s marked patriarchal and androcentric bias and, at least, by the poor theorizing of Engels
