The Subjection of Women · Question
How does The Subjection of Women develop the theme of Marriage as Bondage?
Answer
The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill develops Marriage as Bondage across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
Mill critiques the institution of marriage, describing wives as legal bond-servants with no rights to property, children, or personal autonomy, and argues that marriage is the only remaining legal slavery.
The chapter describes women's dependence on men as a 'primitive state of slavery' that has only been mitigated, not abolished.
Marriage is described as the only remaining legal bondage, with the wife's position worse than that of slaves in some legal systems.
Mill declares marriage the only remaining legal bondage, a monstrous contradiction to modern principles, and the sole case of human servitude after the abolition of negro slavery.
Evidence in the book
- I
The chapter describes women's dependence on men as a 'primitive state of slavery' that has only been mitigated, not abolished.
- Chapter II: The Marriage Contract and Legal Subordination
Marriage is described as the only remaining legal bondage, with the wife's position worse than that of slaves in some legal systems.
- Chapter IV: The Benefits of Equality and the Influence of Women
Mill declares marriage the only remaining legal bondage, a monstrous contradiction to modern principles, and the sole case of human servitude after the abolition of negro slavery.
