An essay on
marriage; or, The lawfulness of
divorce, in certain cases, considered:
addressed to the feelings of mankind. Philadelphia, PA: Printed
by Zachariah Poulson, Jr., 1788.
28p. Don’t you love it: “addressed to the feelings of mankind”? I’ll be Zechariah wrote it, too; I’d like to hear his wife’s side (since she
could not get published in 1788).
An essay upon
divorcement; writ for the good of both
sexes, shewing the lawfulness and unlawfulness, the conveniences and
inconveniences of divorces with a peremptory conclusion upon the fame,
occasion'd by the debates in the House of Lords, the 3d of this instant, upon
Sir Geo. Downing and Mrs. Forester, petitioning for a divorce, which will also
be an answer to Mr. Shuttlewood's wedding sermon intitled, Marriages made in
heaven. London: Printed for J. Baker, 1715. 42p.
Go ahead, laugh, I know you’re smiling.
Ariosto, Lodovico (1474-1533). Orlando Furioso. [Roland in a Mad Fury.] Begun in 1505 and being revised from 1516 to
32. One of the most influential poems
of the Renaissance, an epic poem of huge proportions of loves, ladies, knights
and arms. Orlando goes mad from love,
rage and jealously, which are fixed by the magic of a sorcerer, which in turn
help him and the Christians fight pagans.
Much love and chivalry, with some mention of divorce.
Austen, Jane (1775-1817).
Sense and Sensibility. Written in 1796, rewritten 1797-98, and
published in 1811. Story of love,
indulgence, betrayal and divorce.
Austen, Jane (1775-1877).
Emma. 1815.
Persuasion. 1818.
Mansfield Park. 1819.
Heroines in these novels battle various marriage & morals problems
including divorce with dignity and intelligence.
Bonald, Louis-Gabriel-Ambroise, vicomte de (1754-1840). On
Divorce. Translated and edited by
Nicholas Davidson; foreword by Robert
Nisbet. English New Brunswick,
U.S.A.: Transaction Publishers,
1992. 204p.
Boswell, James (1740-1795).
The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 1791.
One of the greatest biographies.
Including the Earl of Macclesfield’s divorce (1697-98) and a few other comments
on divorce.
Brown, Oliver Phelps.
The complete herbalist; or, The people their own physicians, by the
use of nature's remedies; describing
the great curative properties found in the herbal kingdom. A new and plain system of hygienic
principles, together with comprehensive essays on sexual philosophy, marriage,
divorce. Jersey City, NJ: Pub. by the author, 1872. 504p.
Self-published: why?
Browning, Robert (1812-1889). The Ring and the Book. 1842.
An Italian murder trial recounted from several angles, in which a
divorce has a part. One of the longest
poems in the English language, full of passion and exposition of psychological
truth.
Bunny, Edmund (1540-1618). Of divorce for adulterie, and marrying
againe. Amsterdam,
Netherlands: Theatrum Orbis
Terrarum; Norwood, NJ: W.
J. Johnson, 1976. 171p.
Buxtorf, Johann. Dissertatio de sponsalibus et divortiis. Basileæ, sumptibus hæred: Ludovici Regis, 1652. Jewish rites, ceremonies, social life &
divorce. 195p.
Byron, Lord George Noel Gordon (1788-1824). Don
Juan. c1818-21. A masterpiece of social satire, including a
few divorces on the way.
Bythewood, Daniel. An essay:
embracing, first, the divine authority of marriage, or the connubial
rite: secondly, the New Testament doctrine
of divorce and marriage, with occasional inferences: thirdly, human authorities, or uninspired writers, on the same
subject, as we find them, here and there, interspersed in church history: with brief reflections throughout, all of
which, in view of the purity, chastity, and holiness, of the church of Christ. Charleston:
W. Riley, 1837. 20p. You’ve met him, haven’t you?
Castamore. Adultery and the decline of marriage:
three tracts. New York,
NY: Garland, 1984. Reprint (1st work). Originally published: London:
Printed for Richard Baldwin, 1690.
Reprint (2nd work). Originally
published: London: Printed by R. Roberts, 1700.
Cather, Willa Sibert (1873-1947). The Song of the Lark. 1915.
The pull & struggle of domestic and marital duty as the issue of
divorce grows stronger.
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de (1547-1616). The Interludes of Cervantes. Translated from the Spanish Sylvanus
Griswold Morley. New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 1969 (1st printed in 1948). 223p.
First scenario, “The judge of the divorce court.”
Chopin, Kate. Madame Celestin’s Divorce. 1894.
8p.
Cicero, Marcus Tullius (106-43 B.C.). The
Offices. 44 B.C. Translated by Thomas Cockman. On the offices of a good person, Cicero
encourages a standard above the law, commenting on the virtues of honesty even
in divorce.
Code of Hammurabi. c1780 B.C.
Translated by L. W. King.
Divorce optional for a man, but he had to restore dowry, she assumed
custody of children, and he had to assign her an income. But if she had been a bad wife, he could
send her away with nothing or even degrade her to the position of slave. She could be cause against him, and recover
dowry; but if she was proven a bad
wife, she was drowned. No action
against the husband either way.
Cosci, Cristoforo. Christophori Cosci De separatione tori
coniugalis, tam nullo existente seu soluto, quam salvo vinculo matrimonii
ejusque effectibus: opus
archiepiscopis, episcopis, judicibus ecclesiasticis .. utilissimum cum summariis et indice locupletissimo. De separatione tori coniugalis
Florentiae: Ex typis Magnae Ducalis
Typographiae, 1856. 650p.
Cras, Henrik Constantijn (1739-1820). Disputatio
juridica de matrimonio ex sententiâ celebb. Amstelaedami: Apud Petrum
den Hengst, 1799. 87p. Including views of Immanuel Kant &
Johann Gottlieb Fichte.
Crispin, Edmund (1921-1978). The long divorce. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1970 (1st 1951). 237p.
Harmondsworth; New York,
NY: Penguin Books, 1981. 190p.
(1st 1951, 223p.)
Reprint of the ed. published by Dodd, Mead, New York, NY: in series:
Red badge detective.
Darwin, Charles. Descent of Man. 1871.
A couple of small sections in which marriage and divorce practices of
various aboriginal tribes are described.
Deledda, Grazia (1871-1936). After the divorce, a romance. Translated from the Italian by Maria Hornor
Lansdale. New York, NY: H. Holt, 1905. 341p. Translated from the
Italian by Susan Ashe; with an
introduction by Sheila Macleod.
London; New York, NY: Quartet Books, 1985. 174p.
Translated from the Italian by Susan Ashe. Evanston, IL:
Northwestern University Press, 1995.
174p.
Dix, Dorothyi. Illustrated by
James A. Swinnerton. Fables of the elite. New York, NY: R.F. Fenno & Company, 1902.
261p. Animals dealing with
social problems, including: The bearess
whose indifference charmed, The donkey who learned to kick, The hen who
understood the game, The bearess who wanted a career, The elephantess who tried
to be cute, The bear who was happy though married, The lion who knew it all,
The donkey who admired his own perspicacity, The bears who solved the divorce
problem, The bear who found nothing in economy. The sketches originally appeared in the columns of The New York Journal.
Donnelly, Ian, ed. Of wives and wiving: a manual of instruction, exhortation &
admonition gathered from older authors for the guidance, delight & moral
fortification of contemporary readers.
Chicago: H. Regnery Co.,
1949. 83p.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (1859-1930). Sherlock
Holmes: The Adventure of the Devil’s
Foot. 1910. A character laments his love to a woman he
could not marry, because his wife had left him and the “deplorable English
laws” prevented him from divorcing his departed wife.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan (1859-1930). Sherlock
Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles. 1901.
Intricate to the plot is a man’s offer to marry a woman, providing that
she divorce.
Dreiser, Theodore (1871-1945). Sister Carrie. 1900.
A man decieves and plans to divorce his wife to be with Caroline Meeber,
or Sister Carrie.
Du Bois, Dorothea (Annesley). The divorce. London: J. Wheble,
1771. 18p.
Dunning, William M., ed.
Domestic happiness portrayed; or,
A repository for those who are, and those who are not married. By the most classic authors, ancient and
modern ... including two prize essays, together with several articles written
expressly for this work. New
York: C. Spalding, 1831. 428p.
Erasmus, Desiderius (d. 1536). De matrimonio christiano,
accessit Ludovici Vivis De conjugii origine & utilitate discursus. First published in Basel, 1526, under
title: Christiani matrimonii institutio.
13p. LOC.
Erasmus, Desiderius (d. 1536). Déclamation des louenges de
mariage, 1525. Genève: Droz, 1976.
247p. Translation of Encomium matrimonii.
Erasmus, Desiderius (d. 1536). Dilutio eorum quae Iodocus
Clithoveus scripsit adversus declamationem Des. Erasmi Roterdami suasoriam
matrimonii. Introduction, texte et
commentaires par Émile V. Telle.
Paris: J. Vrin, 1968. 107p.
Euripides (484-406 B.C.).
Medea. 431 B.C.
Translated by E. P. Coleridge.
The woman, Medea is deserted by Jason, and her great love is turned into
hatred by the betrayal.
Faulkner, William (1897-1962). These thirteen. Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. New York, NY: J. Cape & H. Smith,
c.1931. 358p. Franklin Center, PA:
Franklin Library, 1979 (1st 1931).
296p. Including “Divorce in
Naples.”
Fisher, Sydney George. The cause of the increase of divorce. Philadelphia, 1890. 20p.
France, Anatole [pseud. Of Jacques-Anatole François
Thibault] (1844-1924). Penguin Island. 1908.
Translated by A. W. Evans. An
epic allegorical & politcal satire, where penguins become men, where in
small sub-plot in which a maiden wants a divorce.
Hardy, Thomas (1840-1928).
Jude the Obscure. 1896.
Hardy’s final novel, which caused an outcry. Crossed love affairs force the issue of divorce.
Hardy, Thomas (1840-1928).
Tess of the D’Urbervilles. 1891.
Marriage, conflict and a bit of fatalism with a threat of divorce and great
tragedy.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
(1804-1864). The Scarlet Letter.
1850. A classic that has had
many prints under several houses and usually available at a local library. The story is a sensitive account of Hester
Prynne who had to wear the scarlet colored letter “A” for her adultery, who
faced ostracism with courage, dignity and self-respect in a Puritan
community. A good story for a woman who
has encountered shame in her divorce.
Jackman, Isaac (1776-1795). The divorce, a farce: as it is performed at the Theatre-Royal,
Drury-Lane. London: G. Kearsly, 1781. 40p.
James, Henry
(1843-1916). One of the undisputed
masters of modern literature and among the fisrt “cosmopolitan” novelists. The
Portrait of a Lady. 1881. Isabel confronts her destiny, and at 28
years old we are left wondering whether she will ever divorce; but we have seen her grow into an amazing
astute woman who will draw a distinct line in a sand at sometime in the near
future. The Ambassadors. 1903. James considered this his best work. The marital tensions and obligations that
ensue, among contemplations of divorce, but a man returns to his roots, having
lived abroad he now knows truly “how” to live in virtue.
Kipling, Rudyard (1865-1936). The Bronckhorst Divorce
Case. 1888. 11p.
Lawrence, David Herbert (1885-1930). Sons
and Lovers. 1913. Married life of the Morels, sometimes
contemplating divorce.
Lawrence, William (c1613-1681). Two great questions determined by the
principles of reason & divinity:
I. Whether the right to
succession, in haereditary kingdoms, be eternal and unalterable? Neg.: II.
Whether some certain politick reasons may not be sufficient grounds of
divorce? London: Printed for Richard Janeway, 1681. 35p.
Lawrence, William (c1613-1681). Two great questions determined by the
principles of reason & divinity:
I. Whether the right to
succession, in haereditary kingdoms, be eternal and unalterable? Neg.: II.
Whether some certain politick reasons may not be sufficient grounds of
divorce? London: Printed for Richard Janeway, 1681. 35p.
London, Jack [JackGriffith] (1876-1916). The
Son of the Wolf. 1900. Divorce mentioned in passing as a man,
remarried to a native, contemplates her virtues and his longing for someone of
his own kind.
Madan, Martin, 1726-1790.
Thelyphthora; or, A treatise on female ruin, in its
causes, effects, consequences, prevention, and remedy; considered on the basis of the divine law: under the following heads, viz. marriage,
whoredom, and fornication, adultery, polygamy, divorce; with many other incidental matters; particularly including an examination of the
principles and tendency of stat. 26 Geo. II c. 33. commonly called The marriage
act. 2d ed. London:
Printed for J. Dodsley, 1781. 3
volumes. I have to find this somewhere,
just to look through it—now own it.
Maugham, William Somerset (1874-1965). Of
Human Bondage. 1915. Domestic troubles, infidelity & divorce,
end in a most romantic marriage proposal.
The Moon and Sixpence. 1919.
Domestic ironies, infidelity and tragedy; the origin of the quote:
“The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small.”
Maupassant, Guy de. Bel-Ami. [Good Friend.] Story of a Parisian rogue who conives,
marries & divorces, not out of love but out of selfishness.
Melville, Herman (1819-1891). Typee. 1846.
Fictional version of his visit to the Marquesas, area north of French
Polynesia, in which he describes his exploits and the Typee people who have odd
customs of marriage, ploygamy and divorce.
Mill, John Stuart (1806-1873). The Subjection of Woman. 1869.
A historic and heroic defense for the equality of women with men by one
of the most respected philosopher/economists of the time.
Milton, John (1608-1674). The doctrine and disipline of divorce. London:
Printed by T. P. and M. S., 1643.
48p. London: [n.p.] 1645. 82p.
Milton, John. The doctrine and discipline of divorce: in two books: also the judgement of Martin Bucer; Tetrachorden; and an
abridgement of colasterion.
London: Printed for Sherwood, Neely
and Jones, 1820.
Montaigne, Michel Eyquen de (1533-92). Essays. Translated by Charles Cotton. 1580-8, published posthumously in 1595. Much commentary on varied issues, including
a smattering on divorce.
O'Leary, A. Demonology, or, Love, courtship and
marriage, divorce and stirpiculture.
Chicago: National Institute of
Science, 1898. 317p. I’ve got to see this to truly understand,
because I’m sure I don’t from the title.
Olen, Stanley. Screwed by lawyers and judges. Chatham, NJ: Olen, 1977. 136p. I wonder what he thinks? And I’m not sure just where to place this.
Plutarch (45-119 A.D.).
Alcibiades. Translated by John Dryden. 75 A.D.
Hipparete attempted to divorce Alcibiades, but instead he carried her home.
Plutarch (45-119 A.D.).
Cicero. Translated by John Dryden. 75 A.D.
Biography if Cicero, great Roman orator, his successes and troubles,
including the divorce of his wife Terentia.
Plutarch (45-119 A.D.).
Pompey: 106-48 B.C.
Translated by John Dryden. 75
A.D. The exploits of Pompey, who also
divorced his wife for infidelity.
Plutarch (45-119 A.D.).
Sylla: 138-78 B.C.
Translated by John Dryden. 75
A.D. The exploits of Lucius Cornelius
Sylla, who also divorced and caused the divorce of many.
Poe, Edgar Allan (1809-1849). The Oblong Box. 1844.
A married couple in the story hid their differences, which are clearly
leading to divorce.
Pound, Ezra Loomis (1885-1972). Moeurs Contemparaines: From Poems from Lustra. 1918.
Poems of troubled lives, including Clara, twice divorced and lately in a
convent.
Quran. Surah 2:
The Cow; Surah 33: The Confederates; Surah 65: Divorce.
Raynal, Guillaume Thomas François. Histoire du divorce de
Henri VIII. roi d'Angleterre, et de Catherine d'Arragon. Amsterdam, Netherlands: [n.p.] 1763. 258p.
Rossi, Alice S., ed. Essays on sex equality [by] John Stuart Mill
[1906-73] & Harriet Taylor Mill [1807-58]. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1970. 242p.
The story of John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill.
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616). King Henry the VIII. 1613.
Play about King Henry VIII’s divorce from Katharine in order to marry
Anne Bullen.
Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950). Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy. 1903.
A playwrite, literary and social critic, taking to task the social
mores, including marriage and divorce, being especially adept at pointing out
paradoxes and hypocrisy in a satirical manner.
Shirazi, Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa’di. The
Gulistan of Sa’die. 1258. Story 46 relates a short of how a rich man
longed to see his ugly daughter marry, finally to a blind man; then how the rich man refuses the healing of
the blind man, lest he see and file divorce.
Tacitus, P. Cornelius (56-120 A.D.). The
Annals. 109 A.D. Translated by Alfred John Church &
William Jackson Brodribb. Marriage
& divorce are part of the burgeoning Roman empire.
The Cases of impotency
and virginity fully discuss'd: being
the genuine proceedings, in the Arches-Court of Canterbury, between the Honourable
Catherine Elizabeth Weld, alias Aston, and her husband Edward Weld, Esq., of
Lulworth-Castle in Dorsetshire.
Published by John Crawfurd.
London: Printed for Thomas
Gammon, and sold by W. Mears, 1732. 79p. What?
“Fully discuss’d”? Or was it “disgusted”?
Tolstoy, Leo [Count Lev Nikolayevich] (1828-1910). Anna
Karenina. 1875-1877. Translated by Constance Garnett. Anna and Vronsky in extramarital love covert
then openly conspire in Anna’s attempt to divorce.
Tolstoy, Leo [Count Lev Nikolayevich] (1828-1910). War
and Peace. [Voyna i mir] 1862-1869. One
of the great novels of world literature set against Napoleon’s invasion, is
epic in nature, but defies categorization because of its depth in
charaterization, origanization, sociological and historical study. Marital conflict, illegitimacy, love,
domestic upset, the trouble/scandal of divorce and domestic tranquility all
work themselves through this massive epic masterpiece.
Virgil (60-19 B.C.).
The Aeneid. Translated by John Dryden. 19 B.C.
Roman epic. Aeneas is
shipwrecked, and Dido, queen of Carthage, falls for him. She kills herself when Aeneas leaves.
Voltaire (1694-1778).
Fragment des instructions pour le
prince royal de ***. A Londres,
Netherlands: M. M. Rey, 1767.
30p. (the last leaf blank). An attack on the Catholic Church for
usurping the authority of rulers, including "Du divorce."
Wagner, Johann Georg (1718-1723). Meditatio iuridica de
divortio et convictus coniugalis separatione:
vulgo, Von der Scheidung zu Tisch und Bett. Sumptibus Io. Christophori Krebsii,
1723. 76p.
Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur:
A Tale of the Christ.
1880. First appearance of,
“marriage is the first step to divorce,” from Massala to Judah.
Wharton, Edith (1862-1937).
Ethan Frome. 1911.
Through struggles of life, Ethan even contemplates leaving, then sees at
last the true love of his Mattie.
Wilde, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills (1854-1900). Importance
of Being Earnest. 1895. Witty masterpiece in which several
characters muse about various topics, developing the subtle topic of being
“earnest” and briefly touching marriage, love and divorce.
Wollstonecraft, Mary.
Maria or theWrongs of a Woman. 1798.
“Wrongs of a woman” are the evil injustices perpetuated upon women by abusive
men, and hence defense to divorce such a man.
But in that day, “what virtuous woman thought of her feelings? It was her duty to love and obey the man
chosen by her parents and relations, who were qualified by their experience to
judge better for her, than she could for herself.”