Marriage/ Children
In the 19th century, women were married and having children by age 21. Those that didn't get married faced social criticism and shame, and they could not live with a man or have children. Women were supposed to have no "real" sexual contact before marriage, especially those from the middle and upper class. Most of these women learned about sex on their wedding night from their husband. Because sex within marriage meant frequent pregnancy, women had, on average, seven children in their life time, up to half of which didn't survive past age five. In 1870, approximately 1 in every 200 women died during childbirth, and because of this, sex could be psychologically traumatic for a woman. It was also thought that women had little to no sexual desire.
In England, there was a double standard placed on marriage. This made it so that once a woman is engaged, all of her property becomes her husbands. In addition, married women could not make contracts, appear in court, or start lawsuits. Men subsumed, or absorbed, their wife's legal personality, and were responsible for their crimes (excluding crimes such as murder).
Divorce was also occurring in England. For a man to get a divorce from his wife, he merely had to provide proof of adultery to not only get the divorce, but her property and the children too. A woman, however, could not use adultery to get a divorce. She had to show proof of cruelty, incest, rape, or desertion. Because of the long and difficult process, hardly 2% of couples got divorce.
In England, there was a double standard placed on marriage. This made it so that once a woman is engaged, all of her property becomes her husbands. In addition, married women could not make contracts, appear in court, or start lawsuits. Men subsumed, or absorbed, their wife's legal personality, and were responsible for their crimes (excluding crimes such as murder).
Divorce was also occurring in England. For a man to get a divorce from his wife, he merely had to provide proof of adultery to not only get the divorce, but her property and the children too. A woman, however, could not use adultery to get a divorce. She had to show proof of cruelty, incest, rape, or desertion. Because of the long and difficult process, hardly 2% of couples got divorce.