A History of Matrimonial Institutions, Vol. 2 of 3Howard, George Elliott
History
A History of Matrimonial Institutions, Vol. 2 of 3
Howard, George Elliott
Families; Marriage -- History
[Footnote 330: "From the meaning of pain inflicted on the
body it [cruelty] has in recent years attained the extended
meaning that includes pain inflicted on the mind. Coldness and
neglect may now almost of themselves constitute such cruelty
as, coupled with misconduct, will give the right of divorce.
The time may very reasonably be looked forward to when almost
every act of misconduct will in itself be considered to convey
such mental agony to the innocent party as to constitute the
cruelty requisite under the Act of 1857. The difference already
is very marked when we compare the 'cruelty' of today with the
thrashing by the husband that constituted cruelty thirty years
ago. Probably in those days the doctrine of a husband's right
to administer physical correction to his wife was not entirely
discredited. Today it is possible for a woman, with celerity and
at little cost, to separate herself from her husband if she be
able to prove that he is either a brute or a monster. Forty years
ago the vast majority of women were indissolubly tied to their
husbands though the whole world knew them to be both brutes and
monsters. It is a great change in a short period."--MONTMORENCY,
"The Changing Status of a Married Woman," _Law Quart. Review_,
XIII, 191, 192.]
[Footnote 331: LECKY, _op. cit._, II, 202, 203.]
While depriving the ancient spiritual tribunals of the monopoly
of matrimonial jurisdiction which they had so long possessed,
Parliament made a proper concession to the scruples of the regular
clergy. By the act a divorced person, whether guilty or innocent,
is permitted to marry again if he likes; but a clergyman of the
"United Church of England and Ireland" is not compelled to solemnize
the marriage. Should he refuse, however, he cannot legally prevent
a brother-minister of the establishment from using his church or
chapel for the celebration; and this last provision has in our own
day become a standing grievance on the part of those who denounce
such a celebration as a "defilement" of the sanctuary.[332]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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