"Misfortnet Marriages": Discussing Divorce in Household Words

Abstract:This article explores how the campaign for, and changes to, the matrimonial and divorce laws of England in 1857 were approached in one very discrete area of Dickens's professional output, namely in his role as the "Conductor" of Household Words. It examines how the issue of divorce and the campaign for reform of the divorce laws, as well as the concurrent campaign for reform of married women's property rights, were approached from a journalistic perspective, both in Household Words and the Household Narrative of Current Events, whether an opinion as to the justice or efficacy of the divorce laws as they existed at the start of the run of Household Words in 1850 was expressed, and how the proposed changes to extant divorce laws were covered in Dickens's periodical publication.