Most of the poor married legally but a significant minority did not. Marriage conferred a legal obligation for the husband to support his wife, but a cohabitee had no such right. Age, race, ethnicity, family and occupation are the reasons why couples prefer cohabitation. The resemblance of stable cohabitation to marriage comes out most clearly in the violence cases. It is noted that the most of the poor who lived in cohabiting unions lived among and interacted with their married neighbours.
Voluntary cohabitees were more often pressured to marry by authorities and their families, since they had no impediments to marriage.
Women accepted free unions, but seldom as a first choice. Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view. Purchase chapter. Cite this Share this. Showing a limited preview of this publication:. Cite this chapter. Frost, Ginger S.. Living in sin: Cohabiting as husband and wife in nineteenth-century England , Manchester: Manchester University Press, , pp. Frost, G. In Living in sin: Cohabiting as husband and wife in nineteenth-century England pp.
Manchester: Manchester University Press. Living in sin: Cohabiting as husband and wife in nineteenth-century England. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. Manchester: Manchester University Press, Frost G. In: Living in sin: Cohabiting as husband and wife in nineteenth-century England. Manchester: Manchester University Press; Copied to clipboard. Copy to clipboard. Share this chapter. Supplementary Materials. Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product. Register Log in.
Living in sin. Chapters in this book 16 Front matter. Enter the discount code at the checkout before the offer ends on 24 December:. Downloaded on 1.
