Outline of Marriage in the Victorian Era
In the Victorian era, marriage was not as romanticized or fairytale-like as depicted in many novels of the time. On the contrary, love actually played a very minor role in the majority of matrimonies that took place. An engagement was entered into as one would approach a business deal, and there were some generally accepted rules and guidelines to follow.
The Rules
* It was illegal to marry your deceased wife’s sister. You could marry first cousins, but attitudes changed towards the end of the 19th century, and this became frowned upon.
* Victorians were encouraged to marry within the same class (remember the views on social mobility!). They could marry up, but to marry down meant marrying beneath yourself (Soames).
* A woman entering into the institute of marriage had to be equipped with a dowry. The husband-to-be had to prove that he could support his new bride in the lifestyle she was accustomed to.
* An unmarried woman could inherit money and property after she reached the age of 21, but once married, all control would revert to her husband. A woman could not have a will for her own personal possessions; since the control was in her husband’s power, he could distribute her property in any way he likes, even to his illegitimate children (if he has any).
* Women married because they had a lack of options; they were not formerly educated, and were only instructed in domestic duties. They needed someone to support them, and were encouraged to marry and have children ("The Rules of Marriage").
The Courtship
* Marriage was a carefully contemplated subject for a woman; since she would lose control over any possessions once married, it was not somethin...
... middle of paper ...
...and helped to strengthen the family line, divorce was neither economically or socially practical. It would guarantee the family losing some of its strength and influence by giving up property and wealth.
Works Cited
“Marriage and Divorce in Victorian England.” Charlotte's Web: A Hypertext on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. .
"The Rules of Marriage in the Victorian Era.” .
Soames, Enoch. “Marriage in the Victorian Era.” The Charlock’s Shade. 18 February 2004.
Wells, Richard A. “Manners Culture and Dress of the Best American Society.” King, Richardson, & Co. Publishers. Springfield, MA. 1893. .
Even though married women could not own property or anything of the sort, single women were able to own land, make a contract, initiate lawsuits, and pay taxes. Even with the privelages bestowed upon the...
Marriage is another aspect of families in the 1700's that is very different from today. Most girls in the 1700's married extremely early around th...
Women during the medieval period had certain role with their husbands, depending on his social status. The wives were placed into a class according to their husband’s line of work or social status (Time Traveler’s 54). This social status may be favorable, but not all wives were able to make it into the elite social status. Once the woman was committed, and married to her husband, she was totally controlled by her husband. Even though the wife was able to maintain the same social status of the husband, she lost a lot of rights after she married. Women during the medieval period not only lost a lot of their rights, but also became somewhat of a slave to the husband in many ways.
women to be married, married, and widowed. In the state of marriage, women were forced to be the
Before her marriage, a woman was allowed to own properties, run businesses, enter contracts, file lawsuits, be charged with crimes and keep her own earnings. However, once married, all of her prior rights became invalid as her legal identity merged with her husband’s. The husband would have control over all properties she had owned before and any she would gain afterwards. The only way for women to keep their property ownership intact was to stay single. However, to maintain such status was nearly impossible. In the early 19th century, almost all jobs and professions excluded women-employment. This left women who wished to stay single with only their personal and familiar weal...
Wealth and family status was a determining factor upon marriage. Women were expected to have a dowry from their family that would allow them to be auctioned off to suitors. The marriage market was much like the stock exchange in that it allowed
During the late eighteen hundreds, according to society, women were not allowed to have their own identities. Their thoughts and opinions were irrelevant. Women were far from being an equal to their spouse. Married women with children had a role to play and were not expected to deviate from that role, unless they were mentally incapable. Society instilled what was to be expected, therefore women should know their position in a marriage.
The major movement regarding marriage in the eighteenth century was from church to state. Marital laws and customs, once administered and governed by the church, increasingly came to be controlled by legislators who passed many laws restricting the circumstances and legality of marriages. These restrictions tended to represent the interests of the wealthy and uphold patriarchal tradition. Backlash to these restrictions produced a number of undesirable practices, including promiscuity, wife-sale, and divorce.
the life of the women, therefore marriage was often viewed as imprisonment and a burden. The
Not being married was not always accepted as what it is today. People of the older generation were forced into marriage, even if they didn’t love that person. It was more of the concept of “they will learn to love each other.” Whereas today, anyone has the option of when to get married, who to marry, or even to never get
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen shows examples of how most marriages were not always for love but more as a formal agreement arranged by the two families. Marriage was seen a holy matrimony for two people but living happil...
Throughout the early 1800s, British women often played a subordinate role in society, flexed by many obligations, laws, and the superior males. A young woman’s struggle for independence and free will can often be compared to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the various men in their lives; whether it be father, brother or the eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one can either be in it for the right reasons such as love or for the wrong reasons such as advancing social status. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women that eventually bore the idea that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen demonstrates a women’s struggle within a society that stresses the importance of marriage and strict behavioral customs. As evidenced by the Bennett daughters: Elizabeth, Jane and Lydia, as well as Charlotte Collins, marriage for young women was a pursuit that dominated their lives.
Marriage has some degree of secrecy. The bride and the groom may appear stunning in their wedding suit and gown; have an expensive party and lots of friends to celebrate with, and the wedding may qualify to be called grand, but there is always some secrets about the families of the bride and the groom that are rarely let out. The secrets in fact are so serious such that if revealed the wedding would automatically be stopped. In Jane Eyre, Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester claimed that had he known before his wedding to Bertha Antoinetta that Bertha’s mother was a mad woman locked up in a lunatic asylum, he would not have married her. Also unknown to the Mason’s, Mr. Rochester was not entirely h...
“Marriage in the 19th century.” Marriage in the 19th century N.p. n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2013.
Throughout the early 1800s, British women most often were relegated to a subordinate role in society by their institutionalized obligations, laws, and the more powerfully entrenched males. In that time, a young woman’s role was close to a life of servitude and slavery. Women were often controlled by the men in their lives, whether it was a father, brother or the eventual husband. Marriage during this time was often a gamble; one could either be in it for the right reasons, such as love, or for the wrong reasons, such as advancing social status. In 19th century Britain, laws were enacted to further suppress women and reflected the societal belief that women were supposed to do two things: marry and have children. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen portrayed a women’s struggle within a society that stresses the importance of marriage and strict behavioral customs. As evidenced by the Bennett daughters: Elizabeth and Jane, as well as Charlotte Collins, marriage for young women was a pursuit that dominated their lives.