Whores,Whore-Chasers,and Swine: the Regulation of Sexuality and the Restoration of Order in the Nineteenth Century German Divorce Court

Abstract

This article suggests that in a society experiencing economic and political upheaval, marriage, and especially the language used to talk about marital break down, was placed at the forefront of an attempt to bolster the idea of the sexual balance of power and proper gender role division. An analysis of the depositions presented at divorce cases in one court in the Prussian Rhine Province between 1814 and 1871 demonstrates that social organization was dependent on sexual and productive categories, which in turn held the key to marital stability. Those couples who appeared in the divorce court illustrate how gender relations within marriage were being negotiated and contested around these two poles and how abusive language and violence were used to reassert or undermine power and authority within the marriage relationship.