Divorce in Victorian England (6 photos)

Today, in most countries, people can easily separate and agree either peacefully or through court on the division of property and custody of children. But this was not always the case.





In England, before 1857, getting a divorce was very, very expensive and difficult, but after 1857 it was a little cheaper and a little easier. It was necessary to go through several stages and first, one of the spouses (or both) came to the church court to ask for permission to live separately. The wife could then leave home. That is, it was not a divorce, but a separation - they no longer lived together, but they also could not get married again. My husband paid an annual allowance, which was about one-fifth of his income for the year. A woman in those days was practically unable to work, or she was faced with hard slave labor.



Then there were several options: the marriage could be annulled in extremely rare cases. Usually it was male impotence and the girl, marrying him, remained innocent. This happened to the poet and critic of the period, John Ruskin, when he lived with his wife for 6 years without ever having sexual relations. His very patient wife, it is worth noting, was able to achieve a complete annulment of the marriage. This meant that, in essence, there was no marriage.





It was also possible to come to a divorce, but only if there was infidelity. Male infidelities, of course, were taken into account, but the public and the court were more concerned about female infidelity. When permission to travel was received, the spouse, offended by adultery, could sue his lover to compensate him for moral damage. For treason, at least two witnesses were needed, and if there were none, then the divorce was usually refused.



At the same time, if a man could still get a divorce or annul the marriage, then for women it was much more difficult. No one took her husband’s adultery seriously; more powerful reasons were needed, like incest (there was a case when a woman was given a divorce when her husband cheated on his wife with her sister) or polygamy. Unfortunately, physical violence against a woman was also not considered a reason for divorce.



Just in 1857 the Law on Divorce Proceedings was passed and after that things became a little easier. A serious change was made for wives: if a man left them, then she could partially manage his property. Also, a woman could go to court if the betrayal was not limited to polygamy and/or incest. Now a divorce was granted if there was infidelity, physical violence, cruelty, sodomy, and if the husband did not appear at home for more than two years.



In 1873 the law also changed. If in the past children almost always remained with their father, now the judge could decide in favor of the mother. But at that time, children, nevertheless, more often remained with their fathers, and he could be an alcoholic, use physical violence in the family, indifferent, a womanizer - it doesn’t matter.

The rules were changed only 12 years later, when legislators decided to leave children with those who did not cheat in marriage. And widows also began to receive the right of guardianship, whereas previously the husband could write in his will any guardian, even a person from the street.