Kōrero: Gender inequalities

Attitudes to divorce, 1887 (1 o 2)

Attitudes to divorce, 1887

Access to divorce was difficult for women, and those who were beaten or otherwise treated badly by their husbands attracted considerable public sympathy. This 1887 cartoon shows blindfolded Justice holding a divorce-extension bill and saying, ‘I demand that this unhappy woman be released from her contract. Her husband is making a hideous mockery of her life.’ A minister, representing the church, responds, ‘No, my dear Madam, they are husband and wife and to part them would be unscriptural.’

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: J-065-026

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Anne Else, 'Gender inequalities - Sexuality', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/cartoon/28626/attitudes-to-divorce-1887 (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Anne Else, i tāngia i te 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 20 Jun 2018