Barbaric as it sounds to most of us in this day and age, it was fairly typical in most cultures for a husband to have the right to "discipline" (as the English common law put it) his wife under certain circumstances. If mama had gien Vito a reason to hit her, he would have.

To read a chilling account of this practice in Afghanistan today (and to read a really great novel), pick uo A Thousand Splendid Suns.