Marriage In The 1800s

Marriage in the 1800’s In the late 1800’s living as equal partners in a marriage was un heard of. The husband would work and take care of the finances and the wives were expected to bear children and take care of the household. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, divorce rate skyrocketed from about 2 divorces per 1,000 marriages to about 22 per 1,000 and to date it has dropped to about 12 divorces per 1,000 marriages, though far less people are getting married. Kate Chopin suggests that removing the ties of marriage can be freeing in “The Story of an Hour”. Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” focuses on having strength to leave an abusive relationship as a woman, although during that time divorce was barely an option. Chopin

Mallard experiences a flood of emotions as she is informed she is newly widowed. The reader first recognizes that Mrs. Mallard had been living in an unhealthy marriage when Chopin makes clear, “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely… There would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself” (Chopin 2). Mrs. Mallard was embracing the fact that she would not have to live by the rules of her husband. She wouldn’t need to live up to anyone else’s expectations nor would she have to worry about being equal. In “A Doll’s House” we see Nora constantly trying to live up to her husband’s expectations of beauty along with his excessive need to have things done his way. When living up to the expectations of a spouse instead of being equals, one would tend to feel less confident, unworthy and in some cases

In the late 1800’s divorce was merely accepted by most. For a woman to be strong enough to leave an abusive or toxic relationship took a lot of guts. Towards the end of “A Doll’s House” Torvald is crucifying Nora in a shameful way, he says, “You are ill, Nora; you are delirious; I almost think you are out of your mind” (Ibsen 266). What is expected of Nora after this behavior from her husband is to forgive, forget and move on. Nora realizes she is better than that and it was an honest mistake, not understanding the law and the full extent of her actions. Nora tells him she does not love him anymore and in that moment the reader sees empowerment in Nora and her demeanor. Nora had the strength to stand up for herself and not continue to be treated in ways Torvald felt he could treat her. When this play was first written, people were in outrage about the ending, Ibsen was asked to write an alternate ending where Nora did not leave Torvald. This shows that in the 19th century leaving a marriage, even and unhealthy and toxic marriage was frowned