Getting Married · Chapter
Economic Slavery Again the Root Difficulty explained
This chapter argues that until women achieve economic independence, marriage will remain a form of slavery.
What happens
This chapter argues that until women achieve economic independence, marriage will remain a form of slavery. It challenges the notion that allowing divorce equates to frivolous abandonment, and questions the government's Labor Exchanges for excluding wives and mothers from employment services, thereby reinforcing women's economic dependence.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it delivers the story’s emotional and psychological peak by exp…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Economic Dependence of Women
The chapter centers on the argument that women's economic dependence on husbands makes marriage a form of slavery, and that true reform requires economic independence.
- Critique of Marriage as an Institution
Marriage is described as a 'slavery' when women lack economic independence, and the chapter defends the right to divorce without moral condemnation.
Key passages
“The husband, then, is to be allowed to discard his wife when he is tired of her, and the wife the husband when another man strikes her fancy? One must reply unhesitatingly in the affirmative; for if we are to deny every proposition that can be stated in offensive terms by its opponents, we shall never be able to affirm anything at all.”
If we refuse to accept any idea just because opponents describe it in harsh terms, we will never be able to support anything. So yes, both spouses should be free to leave a marriage when they wish.
The author defends the principle of divorce against a loaded rhetorical question.
“But the question reminds us that until the economic independence of women is achieved, we shall have to remain impaled on the other horn of the dilemma and maintain marriage as a slavery.”
This question highlights that without women's economic freedom, we are stuck with marriage being a form of bondage.
The core thesis: economic dependence forces women into marital servitude.
“What do these Exchanges do when a woman enters and states that her occupation is that of a wife and mother; that she is out of a job; and that she wants an employer? If the Exchanges refuse to entertain her application, they are clearly excluding nearly the whole female sex from the benefit of the Act.”
If a woman goes to a Labor Exchange and says her job is being a wife and mother but she is unemployed, what happens? If they reject her, they are excluding most women from the law's benefits.
The author critiques the Labor Exchanges for not recognizing domestic work as legitimate employment.
