In Stephanie Coontz’s talk at Dickinson College she discusses some common myths about the history of “the” family. She discusses not only the myths, but also several realities behind these aspects, which include single- parent families, divorce, free choice of marital partner, and separate spheres for men and women.
She begins by saying that it was a complete myth that single-parent homes have been uncommon until today. In fact single parent homes were the norm for most of history because of high death rates. It wasn’t until the 1970s’ that single- parent homes happened due to divorce over death. Many times single- family homes were joined by a stepfamily. The stepfamily has always been seen as a nontraditional form, but actually has been seen …show more content…
Many hunter-gatherer societies had divorce rates just as high as today. Even in many Christian communities the church offered loopholes for lower and upper-class people to obtain divorce, despite it being prohibited by Jesus in The Bible. As the 30s’ and 40s’ approached, divorce
became much more difficult especially for women. Divorce could only be requested if the person was not at fault, so if the person was miserable they rarely could escape their marriage. Coming to modern day societies both men and women have much better laws protecting and allowing divorce and it is very common in society.
Coontz’s discusses the many changes and choices people had in regards to martial partners. Despite what common belief might be, throughout history marriages were much more about an agreement and partnership rather than love.
Upper class many times would marry an equal or higher power to keep the wealth in the family. Lower class would still marry based on who would be the best business partner and could help expand the family’s farmlands. It wasn’t until the
Enlightenment and French Revolution when people began to realize they
She begins by saying that it was a complete myth that single-parent homes have been uncommon until today. In fact single parent homes were the norm for most of history because of high death rates. It wasn’t until the 1970s’ that single- parent homes happened due to divorce over death. Many times single- family homes were joined by a stepfamily. The stepfamily has always been seen as a nontraditional form, but actually has been seen …show more content…
Many hunter-gatherer societies had divorce rates just as high as today. Even in many Christian communities the church offered loopholes for lower and upper-class people to obtain divorce, despite it being prohibited by Jesus in The Bible. As the 30s’ and 40s’ approached, divorce
became much more difficult especially for women. Divorce could only be requested if the person was not at fault, so if the person was miserable they rarely could escape their marriage. Coming to modern day societies both men and women have much better laws protecting and allowing divorce and it is very common in society.
Coontz’s discusses the many changes and choices people had in regards to martial partners. Despite what common belief might be, throughout history marriages were much more about an agreement and partnership rather than love.
Upper class many times would marry an equal or higher power to keep the wealth in the family. Lower class would still marry based on who would be the best business partner and could help expand the family’s farmlands. It wasn’t until the
Enlightenment and French Revolution when people began to realize they