A History of the Wife (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780060931568)

How did marriage, considered a religious duty in medieval Europe, become a venue for personal fulfillment in contemporary America? How did the notion of romantic love, a novelty in the Middle Ages, become a prerequisite for marriage today? And, if the original purpose of marriage was procreation, what exactly is the purpose of marriage for women now? Combining "a scholar's rigor and a storyteller's craft"(San Jose Mercury News), distinguished cultural historian Marilyn Yalom charts the evolution of marriage in the Judeo Christian world through the centuries and shows how radically our ideas about marriage have changed. For any woman who is, has been, or ever will be married, this intellectually vigorous and gripping historical analysis of marriage sheds new light on an institution most people take for granted, and that may, in fact, be experiencing its most convulsive upheaval since the Reformation.

Author: Marilyn Yalom
ISBN-10: 0060931566
ISBN-13: 9780060931568
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Language: English
Published: 12/13/2013
Pages: 464
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 8.06h x 5.36w x 1.14d