Conjugial Love (Chadwick) n. 469

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469. The reasons why many men keep on at home a promiscuous wife are: (a) The husband is afraid of fighting a case in court with his wife, accusing her of adultery and so making the charge public property. For unless he has an eye-witness or something equivalent to convict her, he would be overwhelmed with insults, hidden ones in gatherings of men, and open ones in gatherings of women. (b) He is also afraid of his promiscuous wife's cunning excuses and the risk of judges taking her side, resulting in his name becoming notorious. (c) Apart from these reasons there are the conveniences of household functions to persuade him not to banish her from his house; as for instance if there are young children, for whom even a promiscuous woman can show a mother's love; if they have mutual duties to keep them together, which cannot be performed separately; if the wife has a relationship by birth or patronage with close or less close relatives, so that she has hopes of inheriting from them; if he had formed a pleasant association with her to begin with; and if she, after becoming promiscuous, knows how to humour her husband cunningly with pretty jests and a pretence of politeness so that she is not blamed. There are other reasons too which, because they are lawful grounds for divorce, are also lawful grounds for taking a concubine. For the reasons for keeping her on at home do not remove the grounds for divorce, when she has become promiscuous. Can anyone of any worth maintain the rights of the marriage bed and share a couch with a promiscuous woman? If it does happen here and there, this is not a conclusive proof against it.


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