Marriage In Free Society by Edward Carpenter by Edward Carpenter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
At first, this small book seems like it might be a backwards glance at what marriage is. But in fact it’s not. In many ways, surprisingly contemporary in how it outlines problems in marriage, Carpenter anticipates many of our social issues today.
What is significant about this work is that he poses “free society” in terms of the freedom of ownership. He foretold of a future when women should be free as well… free to earn her own living wages, same as any man.
While this small gem is scattered throughout the book, Carpenter foresees a future when marriage has to be between two free agents, rather than as a mode of domination of a man towards a woman. He tells a tragic tale of women stuck in servitude, raised separately from men, promised a life of everlasting romance but bound through economic needs to a husband. I was surprised at how fresh I found his outlook.
There are of course, some instances when Carpenter betrays his dated sensibilities, such as when speaking of sex (that women don’t want it nearly as much, and men are just crazy over it) But his general treatment is idealistic. He paints a portrait of marriage as equals, outlining how society needs to change how it raises its young in anticipation of a hard wrought equality of two partners whose love can only grow through true commitment. It seems our ideas of marriage can benefit from some of his temperament, rather than embracing marriage as either one long endless honeymoon or one long endless ball of drama.
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