«He Could Not Hold His Passions»: Domestic Violence and Cohabitation in England (1850-1905)

Violence between working-class cohabiting couples in England revealed both convergence with and divergence from the experience of married couples. Men were the aggressors far more often, and motives for violence centered on jealousy and money. However, cohabitees also fought when one partner wished to marry and the other did not, and also over custody of children. Many of these incidents revealed men’s concern with honor and masculinity. The courts, too, were ambivalent in dealing with these cases. Though treating the couples as if they were married, judges also held the men responsible for living in «concubinage», despite the fact that many of these couples could not legally marry. This brought judges into conflict with juries and also revealed contradictions in the Victorian state’s approach to cohabitation.Dans la classe ouvrière anglaise, on trouve à la fois des ressemblances et des différences dans la violence conjugale, selon qu’elle s’exerce au sein de couples mariés ou vivant en concubinage. Dans ce dernier cas, les hommes sont plus fréquemment les agresseurs, et leurs mobiles tiennent principalement à la jalousie et à l’argent. Néanmoins, les concubins se battaient également lorsque l’un d’entre eux souhaitait le mariage mais pas l’autre, de même qu’au sujet de la garde des enfants. Bon nombre de ces incidents révèlent une préoccupation des hommes vis-à-vis de l’honneur et de la masculinité. Les tribunaux adoptaient une attitude ambivalente face à ces affaires: bien qu’ils traitassent les couples comme s’ils étaient mariés, les juges tenaient également les hommes pour responsables de la situation de concubinage, alors même que beaucoup de couples ne pouvaient se marier pour des raisons juridiques. Ceci suscitait des conflits entre juges et jurés et mettait en lumière les contradictions dans la manière dont l’état victorian traitait la cohabitation

‘Vindictiveness on Account of Colour’?: Race, Gender, and Class at the English Divorce Court, 1872–1939

This article uses 116 divorce or separation cases involving people of color between 1872 and 1940 to interrogate the role of the state in adjudicating racially mixed marriages in Britain. These examples demonstrate the rising population of imperial subjects within the U.K., but also that marital cases could reverse in-migration, due to embarrassment and expense for all parties. In addition, gender and class factors limited the impact of race in the court. Men’s advantages in bringing cases overcame some racial prejudices, and rich men, whatever their color, could hire effective representation. Race only impacted divorce cases when women could play on stereotypes of violent men, or when men of color were co-respondents and thus broke up homes. Still, the number of undefended cases limited the influence of race in most divorce suits