Modern Marriage and How to Bear It

In late Victorian England, a woman dared to ask what no one else would: What if marriage itself was the problem? Maud Churton Braby's incendiary treatise dissects the institution of marriage with surgical precision, arguing that widespread marital discontent was not a personal failing but a systemic one. Drawing on Tolstoy, George Meredith, and her own incisive observations, Braby examines why both men and women increasingly dreaded the altar, what psychological dynamics trapped spouses in unhappy unions, and how society's rigid expectations crushed authentic connection. This is not a bitter screed but a careful, reasoned critique of a sacred institution. Braby writes with compassion for both sexes, recognizing that traditional marriage placed impossible burdens on everyone. More than a historical curiosity, this book captures a pivotal moment when women first organized their frustration into coherent argument, laying groundwork for the century of upheaval to come. For readers interested in feminist history, Victorian society, or the evolution of marriage as an institution, Braby offers a window into the private doubts that dared not speak their name.