The idea of a marital bed has changed drastically throughout history, mostly because of the perception by society. Historically, in Shakespeare’s time, it was meant to represent an important milestone or an almost sacred thing in a relationship, due to the fact the couple would retire to their bed chamber – to their marital bed – after the wedding ceremony so that they could consummate their marriage. Non-consummation almost stood as grounds for an annulment even today in the more religious countries, and so in some ways, the marital bed could even be considered the place that the couple would truly become man and wife.
However, in more recent years, the idea of a marital bed has changed in societal view, since people no longer began to regard