Divorce : A Broken Marriage

Which marriages meet the requirements for dissolution is defined by legal standards. Over the last 200 years, the grounds for divorce in Western societies have expanded. These expansions have made divorce more accessible. Although the divorce rate has increased, there is not a clear link between the accessibility and this increase. Other key influences effecting divorce rates include economic, social, cultural, demographic and institutional factors.

In the 1970’s, divorce was relatively uncommon and difficult to happen. There needed to be adultery, abandonment, cruelty, intoxication or some other reason that made it necessary to end the marriage (“Why”). In today’s society, divorce happens every ten to thirteen seconds. Men and women fall in love, get married, and start a family. They make a vow to stay together forever and love each other unconditionally. However, not all marriages make it that far. Divorce occurs for multiple reasons such as financial problems, abuse, addictions, infidelity (cheating), and lack of communication. These factors, along with many others, not only affect the parents, but the children are affected as well.

Divorce did not exist in the Elizabethan time period. “Death—not divorce—was the great Elizabethan homebreaker” (Kirkland & Papp,2003). Divorce means broken or separated in a marriage. In the Elizabethan time period, nothing is broken in a marriage.

In ancient Israel, the husband could issue a divorce, but the wife could not, and it was very much the same throughout much of England’s history (Magnus Hirshfeld Archive for Sexology).

American family has declined drastically due to the high rates of divorce. This factor is being considered one of the biggest issues in the society. According to the current Divorce Rate-U.S.A. statistics point out that the divorce rate in the U.S.A. is the highest in the world, and

Throughout time, practices that were once never used, become more common. In the 1600s divorce was a forbidden practice or a last resort. Since then, laws have changed, and so hasn’t the stigma related with divorce. The guilt and fault that divorce once carried has vanished. According to the book Should I Keep Trying to Work it out, “In the United States, researchers estimate that 40%–50% of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation. The risk of divorce is even higher for second marriages, about 60%.” (Hawkins 42). As it became more common for couples in America to separate, divorce gradually became a normal part of so many lives. Why are so many couples separating now? Through research on EBSCO, and other findings, I will attempt to explain this question that so many people ask in today’s world. The divorce rate in America is drastically increasing over time due to new laws, certain generations, and relationship issues.

The effects of divorce on the American culture are immense. Social scientists have been studying these effects for many years now. The studies are continuing to confirm that the climbing rate of divorce in the American culture is hurting the society and also frequently devastating the lives of many American children. There are many areas in which divorce has a negative effect in the life of a child or an adult. Many of these effects also directly correlate to the effect on a society. However, there is hope. Although divorce is being more widely recognized as being harmful to both our culture and to the individuals involved, there are many ways that we as a culture can seek to reduce this harm and attain our goal of being a culture

easier for a man to divorce a woman, then women asking for divorce. There new reform created

As long as there has been marriage, there has been divorce. Divorce cases have dated as far back as the 1600’s. Originally, they were simple matters. Men, generally, received custody of the estate, assets, and children. Women would receive nothing. However, divorce reform came around in the 1970’s to fix this inequality. They introduced alimony payments and custody favoring women. With the changes to divorce law, came more complexity in deciding cases. Cases, such as Dan v. Karen, have to take into consideration lost opportunities, appropriate payment, and any future issues that might arise. In Dan v Karen, Karen gave up her job to take care of their children, moved away from her family so Dan could get a job, and provided for Dan when he did

When or if marriages dissolved, unfortunately, women did not have many legal rights over children or property. Any man or woman, who wished to divorce, could simply send the spouse a letter or even by declaring in front of witnesses that the marriage was over. There was no such thing as joint marital property and any children of the marriage belonged to the father. If the husband initiated the divorce, he must return the full dowry (B. M. James C. Thompson). There were a number of additional

Due to its adverse reputation, divorce was not widely practiced throughout the Puritan era (Smith). However, it was not classified directly as a sin itself (Smith). Divorce was rather the product of one’s sin; often blamed towards one party rather than both. In the early Puritan days divorce was only allowed under certain conditions. Such circumstances include death, adultery, false contract, neglect and violence, desertion, and failure to provide (Smith). With adultery, neglect and desertion, only the innocent party is free to remarry (Webster). Divorce was a means of keeping family safe and social order intact (Smith). Couples that found a mutual discordancy had to remain married until

About fifty percent of couples married in the 1970’s divorced, that raised from twenty percent just from the 1950’s, ruining the families and leaving the children in those families with two different homes causing a sense of two different lives. Divorce to some has become a sense of happiness, to make life easier. It is not. You lose close to everything: money, house, car, that love you once had, and if you had children, you can lose them too.

Divorce is becoming all too popular in our society today. When a couple experience tough times or have one too many arguments, they automatically think divorce. Despite its prevalence couples are not prepared for it’s long, drawn out, hurtful process. Divorce does not only hurt the individuals involved, it also affects the children tremendously. While many people don’t think divorce is a bad thing. Hollywood makes divorce look cool and uneventful. When in all reality, it is disruptive. Some people would say that divorce is a lazy way out of a marriage; the cowardly thing to do when a situation presents itself. Divorce is not the only answer to marital problems, in most cases.

In the world today, many men and women believe divorce is always a dreadful thing that occurs, but there is actually a beneficial side to it. Divorce has been around for many years and mainly just men were the only ones capable to make the decisions. Until, The Guardian states,” The 1857 Matrimonial Causes Act allowed ordinary people to divorce.” Under this new law, it was capable for women to make the decision, they just had to prove the facts to withhold a divorce. Following 1857, in 1923 there was a private member’s bill that allowed women to petition for a divorce for adultery. However, it only made it a little bit easier, they still needed to prove the reason. A few years later, they were able to pass another law, this law allowed divorce

“DIVORCE” – Just the sound of such word in any married couple or children’s ear can cause great agony that can even become terminal. Research and personal experience, has proven that in today's society, divorce is more common amongst newlyweds. Since 2009 the rate of divorce has increased to approximately forty percent, There are three out of every ten marriage that ends up in divorce before it reaches the stage of maturity, and the most prevalent results are – lack of communication and infidelity.