Husband and Wife; Or, the Theory of Marriage and Its Consequences (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. The Possible Meanings of " One Flesh." HERE are three conceivable views of the way in which man and wife are one flesh. It may be by his being joined to her flesh, so that she is the head and he is dependent; that is, he may come to her and enter into identification with her. This will hardly be maintained by any with whom we are now concerned, being a degree of Amazonianism which is not at present to be feared or debated. Or, it may be that neither is joined to the other so as to be identified with the other, but that both mutually approximate to form new flesh, a tertium quid, to occupy a position new for both, with new and similar relationships resulting on both sides, and the same limitations following in both directions. This idea of marriage, that it is what may be called an " equilateral" transaction, is, as has been said, the view of the old canon law as well as of the mediaeval civil law, both of which make marriage simply a contract. This is the interpretation of the " one flesh" principle at the basis of the arguments of those who infer that what is forbidden on the woman's side, in marriage, is also denied on the man's side. It is also assumed by all writers upon marriage, as far as is known, and assumed without any discussion, by critical men, as a starting-point, although it involves the entire validity and all the results of their arguments. It is of course, also, the view of most of the legislation of modern times, and the basis of movements which put man and wife on an equality, in other than family matters, to a greater or less degree. It is the principle that is shaping the trend of thought in many quarters, regarding all subjects connected with the marital relationship. If it is the truth, then the full consequences, which will be seen, m...