Summary Of Lawrence Stone's Family, Sex, And Marriage In England

During the 1800s, the social structure changed due to the Industrial Revolution. The middle class expanded. Although not all the members of this class were of the same status, they all shared the same values. They all believed in the importance of hard work and morality. One very important value was family togetherness. During this time period, middle-class families worked to preserve this family togetherness, as well as their prosperity, which they did by raising their children well. Women were more involved in maintaining family unity and the raising of children than men.

In the Regency Era, marriage was a necessity for both genders. Men and women looked for sensible spouses who would be socially acceptable to marry. During this time, it was not uncommon to arrange a marriage or marry for money or status. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas illustrate the primary reason for marriage during the Regency Era: economics.

The transformation of English society during the Victorian era brought with it numerous industrial, cultural, as well as social changes. The overwhelming influx of population from rural to urban areas and the various new job opportunities created by factories and London?s sudden shift to industrialism affected not only the public, but also the personal lives of its residents. A new class system had begun to form, beginning with the emergence of a new middle class. Women were especially affected by this, because as they were expected to live off of their husbands and thrive solely on society and their own families, it became increasingly important to marry well and remain in high

There are many ways that the idea of the “traditional” family has changed over the past several centuries. For instance prior to the 19th century family was often considered anyone who lived within a household whether related by blood or not. This included employees and extended family. “The biological family was less sacrosanct, and less sentimentalized, than it would become in the nineteenth century.” (Coontz 35) In society at the time it was socially unacceptable to be separate and not included as part of a family household. Over time the term family came to encompass the immediate family, a husband, wife and their children. During the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s there were emerging ideas of family that were not widely accepted as traditional or normal, these included single parent homes with only a Mom or Dad, Stepfamilies and

Luke Fox Mrs. Robilotta AP English 7th period August 30th 2017 Stone Soup and woman and The Future of Fatherhood Rhetorical Analysis Families are breaking apart, divorce rates are at an all-time high, and the traditional nuclear family is becoming something of the past. This is leading many people to wonder "What happens next?" Is society heading in the right or wrong direction? Should increasing divorce rates be a celebration of progressing forward in society and destroying failing marriages or should divorce be something to look down upon? With families breaking apart many people want to know how we can mend the divide and find a way to get parents back together again. But yet others insist that sometimes it can be beneficial for families to split apart, in order to get away from a suffocating and unhappy marriage. In the essays Stone Soup by Kingsolver and Woman and the Future of Fatherhood by Whitehead the two authors cover the topic of divorce and broken families and formulate rhetorical strategies in order to convince the audience of their stance, however, Whitehead made the superior arguments because of the tone she used and her better credibility. One reason that Whitehead created the superior argument is because of the tone she used. Whitehead used an accusatory tone while Kingsolver used a more critical tone. At first it may seem like that both authors choose to establish tones that might deter the reader, but upon reading the pieces it becomes clear that

Marriages tended to be for strategic purposes rather than love, so family life in the Elizabethan Era was different than family life today ("Elizabethan Family Life” 1).

To explain, in both the pre-industrial and urban industrial periods men were pushed into and dominant in public life, whereas women were pushed into and expected to be in the private sphere, commonly the household. In both periods, the gender roles of men expected them to be the “money-earners” as well as the heads and decision-makers of families. On the other hand, gender roles of women expected them to stay home to raise and nurture children as well as do the household work as the domestic servants of the families. Though there were comparisons between both historical periods, there was a significant difference for women in the urban industrial period as some women, specifically widows began to work, though their gender roles reckoned them to be in the private sphere. Additionally, in the urban industrial period when the men went off to war, women replaced their roles and would also work in the public sphere to provide financial support to their families. Not to mention, there were contrasts between both historical periods when viewing family size and form. In pre-industrial times, monogamous marriages and living with extended families were the norm as religion viewed marriage as sacred and private, as well as assistance was required in establishing cottage industries

In “Stone Soup”, Kingsolver made several references to her childhood paper doll family to describe the differences between “traditional” and “nontraditional” families . She compared her paper dolls to the modern day “broken” families that are typically frowned upon in today’s society. She supported her arguments with statistics and historical facts, referencing to the economic boom of the 1950’s and how it affected a typical family in that time period. Not only has this author experienced divorce first hand and expresses this using text-to-self, but she addressed her past ignorance to divorce. “Once upon a time I held these beliefs about divorce: that everyone who does it could have chosen not to do it. That it’s a lazy way out of marital problems.” (Kingsolver). In order to truly understand a predicament such as a failed marriage, one must first be affected by it in some way rather

During the early 1800s, marriage was seen as a fortification of wealth and power through the unification of two families instead of a declaration of endearment, as reflected through the materialistic marriage customs in the Antebellum South. Generally, a man’s parents designated a future spouse for their son, based off of a woman’s familial ties and financial stature, due to the economic ramifications that the marriage had upon each party involved (O’Neil). Although financial characteristics of the bride’s family were primarily the deciding factor, men typically prefered to marry a compliant woman with “piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity” (Fontin), considering that the gender roles at the time denounced women with ambitious or assertive

The value given to marriage in the 18th century is examined by Jane Austen in pride and prejudice. These values are further explored and evaluated by Letters to Alice. Pride and Prejudice shows the urgency and importance placed on marriage as a vehicle for getting wealth, social status, and a home for women of the 18th century. Letters to Alice brings new insight into the context surrounding the motives of marriage in Pride and Prejudice, whilst also providing insight into the marriages of Weldon’s own era. Charlotte Lucas is characterised as a woman not ‘thinking higher either of men or matrimony,’ but she still marries Mr Collins

During this period, Men were expected to take on a number of responsibilities that were set for them, often having them focus on taking on the job of providing for their family, which often was a precarious line to tread on due to the fact that job security wasn’t guaranteed. This proved detrimental as this would create circumstances where due to possible

    The essay “Stone Soup” highlights many topics related to the common “issue” of families who are binuclear. Throughout the years, divorce has become a recurring event in couple’s marriages. In the essay, Kingslover writes, “.. a culture in which serial monogamy and the consequent reshaping is families are the norm— gets diagnosed as ‘failing’.” By saying this, the author basically expresses her disapproval of our society's views of “broken” families.  People too often judge what they see on the outside, and do not pay enough attention to what truly occurs in the lives of these families. Being a complete family—a father, mother, and children— is what defines normalcy to society, but how often does this work? The author of “Stone Soup” wrote, “To judge a family’s value by its tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for its cover.” To rephrase it simply, just as it is unfair to judge a book by its cover, it is evenly unfair to determine a family's successfulness by simply looking at how together or not together they present themselves. The idea of the nuclear family is not necessarily the ultimate way to achieve happiness, and throughout “Stone Soup,” the author intends on explaining that to us. A family containing step siblings, step parents, half-brothers and half-sisters, and multiple grandparents, could possibly be the happiest family, or maybe even the unhappiest, but it is not us who determines that. Nor is it the standard society has set for

The love affairs of those living in England in the 1880’s prove to be vastly different from those experienced today. For instance, marrying first cousins was not uncommon, although arranged

Family relations started to weaken during the second revolution in America and New England because with new employment opportunities for women, men and children in New England and America, families had the ability to become free or separate from each other, move away, or have an employment in which their gender or age might not have otherwise allowed today. “In short, the Industrial Revolution in early America created a standard of hard work, individuality, and in some cases, an equal amount of importance dedicated to career and family.”

England has always had a rich history of interesting cultural traditions but arguably none as prevalent as marriage. Marriage, the union of two people with emotional ideals and expectations, are brought on by many different factors that include: for love, for money, for climbing social status, escapism, survival, etc. In Jane Austen’s novels, she focuses on the importance of marriage in her world because she wanted to emphasize how marriage is the most important life event of a woman as this would determine her place in society. Persuasion shows readers good and bad examples of marriage: the amiable Crofts and other couples such as Sir Walter & Lady Elliot and the Smiths. Jane Austen uses the Crofts to support the importance of marriage