Wife
Relationships (Outline) |
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A wife (pl.: wives) is a
Etymology
The word is of Germanic origin from the
Changes after marriages
After marriage, it is generally expected in many cultures that a woman will take her husband's
Related terminology
A woman on her wedding day is usually described as a
In the older customs, which are still followed by the
Unlike
The term wife is most commonly applied to a woman in a union sanctioned by law (including
Termination of the status of a wife
The status of a wife may be terminated by
Legal rights of the wife
The legal rights of a wife have been subject to debate since the 19th century in many jurisdictions. The subject was in particular addressed by
Exchanges of goods or money
In some parts of the world, traditional payments or exchanges are typically made, including:
- the bride or her family bring her husband a dowry,
- the husband or his family pay a bride price to the bride's family,
- both payments are exchanged between the families,
- or the husband pays the wife a dower.
The purpose of the dowry varies by culture and has varied historically. In some cultures, it was paid not only to support the establishment of a new family, but also served as a condition that if the husband committed grave offenses upon his wife, the dowry had to be returned to the wife or her family. Due to this condition, the dowry was often made
Changing of name upon marriage
In some cultures, particularly in the Anglophone West, wives often change their surnames to that of the husband upon getting married. For some, this is a controversial practice, due to its tie to the historical doctrine of coverture and to the historically subordinated roles of wives. Others argue that today this is merely a harmless tradition that should be accepted as a free choice.[11] Some jurisdictions consider this practice as discriminatory and contrary to women's rights, and have restricted or banned it; for example, since 1983, when Greece adopted a new marriage law which guaranteed gender equality between the spouses,[12] women in Greece are required to keep their birth names for their whole life.[13]
Childbearing
Traditionally, and still in many cultures, the role of a wife was closely tied to that of a mother, by a strong expectation that a wife ought to bear children, while conversely, an unmarried woman should not have a child out of wedlock. These views have changed in many parts of the world. Children born outside marriage have become more common in many countries.[15][16]
Although some wives in particular in Western countries
Differences in cultures
Antiquity
Many traditions like a dower, dowry and bride price have long traditions in antiquity. The exchange of any item or value goes back to the oldest sources, and the wedding ring likewise was always used as a symbol for keeping faith to a person.
Western cultures
Historical status
In ancient Rome, The Emperor
Christian cultures claim to be guided by the New Testament in regard to their view on the position of a wife in society as well as her marriage. The New Testament condemns divorce for both men and women (1 Cor 7:10–11) and assumes monogamy on the part of the husband: the wife is to have her "own" husband, and the husband is to have his "own" wife (1 Cor 7:2). In the medieval period, this was understood to mean that a wife should not share a husband with other wives. As a result, divorce was relatively uncommon in the pre-modern West, particularly in the medieval and early modern period, and husbands in the Roman, later medieval and early modern period did not publicly take more than one wife.
In pre-modern times, it was unusual to marry for love alone,[30] although it became an ideal in literature by the early modern period.[31] In the 12th century, the Roman Catholic Church drastically changed legal standards for marital consent by allowing daughters over 12 and sons over 14 to marry without their parents' approval, even if their marriage was made clandestinely.[32] Parish studies have confirmed that late medieval women did sometimes marry against their parents' approval.[33] The Roman Catholic Church's policy of considering clandestine marriages and marriages made without parental consent to be valid was controversial, and in the 16th century both the French monarchy and the Lutheran church sought to end these practices, with limited success.[34]
The New Testament made no pronouncements about wives' property rights, which in practice were influenced more by secular laws than religion. Most influential in the pre-modern West was the
If a woman did not want to marry, another option was entering a
Contemporary status
In the 20th century, the role of the wife in Western marriage changed in two major ways; the first was the breakthrough from an "institution to companionate marriage";
Today, some women may wear a wedding ring in order to show her status as a wife.[47]
In Western countries today, married women usually have an
Women's income affects the dynamics of heterosexual love relationships
This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (January 2023) |
The effect of women's income on heterosexual relationships’ dynamics depends on several factors. If the couple has strong traditional values, the income of women will affect men's gender identity and affect their well-being.[51] If they have strong liberal values, the income of a woman will make the woman the provider of the house and put the man in a more domestic role. However, in most cases, a couple will a mutually dependent relationship, where the woman's income is needed, but at the same time women have to do the majority of the housework.
At the beginning of the 1970s the traditional dynamic was that women performed domestic labor and that men worked for income due to the economic pressures in place.[52] Eventually, second wave feminism challenged this dynamic. Starting in the 1980s, correlations between higher income of women and higher rates of divorce began decreasing.[53]
The economic independence theory[53] establishes that if one side of the couple provides more than 60% of the total income of the couple, there is a dependence effect. Therefore, in recent decades women have had a major increase in their economic independence. At the same time, women have had to wrestle with other economic decisions, such as the postponement of motherhood.[54]
Asia cultures
Hinduism
In Indo-Aryan languages, a wife is known as Patni, which means a woman who shares everything in this world with her husband and he does the same, including their identity. Decisions are ideally made in mutual consent. A wife usually takes care of anything inside her household, including the family's health, the children's education, a parent's needs.
The majority of Hindu marriages in rural and traditional India are arranged marriages. Once they find a suitable family (family of same caste, culture and financial status), the boy and the girl see and talk to each other to decide the outcome. In recent times however the western culture has had significant influence and the new generations are more open to the idea of marrying for love.
Indian law has recognized rape, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse of a woman by her husband as crimes. In Hinduism, a wife is known as a Patni or Ardhangini (similar to "the better half") meaning a part of the husband or his family. In Hinduism, a woman or man can get married, but only have one husband or wife respectively.
In India, women may wear vermilion powder on their foreheads, an ornament called Mangalsutra (
Buddhism and Chinese folk religions
Japan
In Japan, before enactment of the Meiji Civil Code of 1898, all of the woman's property such as land or money passed to her husband except for personal clothing and a mirror stand.[56] See Women in Japan, Law of Japan
Wife in Abrahamic religions
Wife in Christianity
Christian marriage as based on biblical teachings and conditions, is to be between one woman and one man, that God Himself joined them and that no human is to separate them, according to Christ's words (Matthew 19:4-6). The New Testament states that an unmarried Christian woman is to be celibate or is to become the Christian wife of one husband to avoid sexual immorality and for his sexual passion (1 Cor 7:1-2 & 8–9). The New Testament permits divorce of a Christian wife by a Christian husband only if she has committed adultery (Matthew 5:32). The New Testament allows a Christian widow to (re)marry a man she chooses (1 Cor 7:39) but forbids a divorced Christian woman to remarry because she would be committing adultery if she did (Matthew 5:32). As such she is to remain unmarried and celibate or be reconciled with her husband (1 Cor 7:1-2 & 8-9 and 1 Cor 7:10-11). A Christian wife can divorce a non-Christian husband if he wants a divorce (1 Cor 7:12-16). Christian husbands are to love their Christian wives as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:25) and as he loves himself (Ephesians 5:33). The Christian wife is to respect her husband (Ephesians 5:33). Christian husbands are to not be harsh with their Christian wives (Colossians 3:19) and to treat them as a delicate vessel and with honor (1 Peter 3:7).
Wife in Islam
Women in general are supposed to wear specific clothes, as stated by the hadith, like the hijab, which may take different styles depending on the culture of the country, where traditions may seep in.[57][58] The husband must pay a mahr to the bride.[59]
Traditionally, the wife in Islam is seen as a protected, chaste person that manages the household and the family. She has the ever-important role of raising the children and bringing up the next generation of Muslims. In Islam, it is highly recommended that the wife remains at home although they are fully able to own property or work. The husband is obligated to spend on the wife for all of her needs while she is not obligated to spend even if she is wealthy. Muhammad is said to have commanded all Muslim men to treat their wives well. There is a hadith by Al-Tirmidhi, in which Muhammad is said to have stated "The believers who show the most perfect faith are those who have the best character and the best of you are those who are best to their wives."[60]
Traditionally, Muslim married women are not distinguished from unmarried women by an outward symbol (such as a wedding ring). However, women's wedding rings have recently been adopted in the past thirty years from Western culture.[61]
Wife in Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism
Women in Judaism have a range of rights and obligations ( see main article Jewish views on marriage). Marriage takes place on the basis of a Jewish marriage contract, called a Ketubah. There is a blur of arranged marriages and love marriages in traditional families.
Married women, in traditional families, wear specific clothes, like the
Hebrew Bible
Once, a man called Shechem, a Hivite, offered a dowry to get an Israelite wife, but was rejected, since he was not an Israelite himself. Genesis 34
In ancient times there were Israelite women who were Judge,
There is a widely held expectation, which has existed for most of recorded history and in most cultures, that a wife is not to have
In parts of the world, adultery may result in violent acts, such as
As of September 2010, stoning is a legal punishment in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and some states in Nigeria[66] as punishment for zina al-mohsena ("adultery of married persons").[67]
See also
References
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