Women’s Storied Lives

Marriage

Marriage is a stage in life that many young women long for. A grandiose wedding ceremony, the day-to-day activities of a wife, and spending a large part of life intertwined with a loved one are often the focus of many young women’s future plans. Yet, some women dread this long-expected marriage. Up until quite recently, the legal status of married women followed a legal principal known as coverture. Upon marriage, the agency of a woman would be restricted. She would be a dependent of her husband, physically and emotionally. This law, although slowly fading, still affects women today.

This form of discrimination is not the only daunting thing about marriages. Some women in the U.S. could not legally get married until 2015. Being a wife, prior to this ruling, could never legally be part of the long-term goals of women in the LGBTQ+ community. Marriage became a sad reminder of the struggles they faced in the real world. Black women, especially during slavery, faced another form of marriage discrimination. Removal from their husbands during slave trades, forced relationships with slave-owners, and post-slavery racism preventing relationships between Black women and White men all tainted the idea of happy, peaceful marriages for these women.

Although these issues with marriage cast a negative outlook on being a wife, this is not to say that many women didn't long for the comfort and companionship that came with being married. These books highlight the ups and downs of marriage from 1800 to the present, focusing on the variety of experiences one could have based on culture, identity, or place in time.
 

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