Abstract
This paper investigates how women's choices were severely limited in Catholic France of the 16th century, using as a source "The Return of Martin Guerre". Even though the main character had been abandoned by her husband for many years, according to law she could not seek a divorce. This examination shows how the growing influence of Protestantism and its more liberal views of marriage influenced the choices of the characters in the book, as well as those of everyone in Reformation Europe.

From the Paper
"Marriages of the time, even among peasants, were often arranged more for economic reasons than for any idea of romantic love. There is no evidence presented in the book that Bertrande or Martin knew each other very well before getting married, much less that they were in love. The marriage was most likely arranged by their parents to maximize the economic resources of both families."

Tags:calvinism, depardieu, feudalism

Abstract
This paper discusses that, in Whitaker and Napier's examination of process of family therapy, the authors find that the most progressive way of exploring conflict within families is structured through the family systems model, in which all behaviors of the family are addressed in order to assess the sense of commonality that unites the different aspects of the family.

From the Paper
"A family is a complex natural social system complete with its own properties and processes. As in any system no part stands alone and no process operates without influencing, to a greater or lesser degree, every other process and every component of the system. Social Work assessments and interventions cannot, therefore, be based on the consideration of any individual or process in isolation. A review of four components of family systems--patterns of interaction, boundaries, rules, and homeostasis--demonstrates how these variables influence each other and how an understanding of these systemic interrelationships is crucial to those conducting Social Work assessments and designing interventions.

Family systems evolve rules, roles, and power structures as well as the various forms of communication, conflict resolution.."

Abstract
This paper examines how the family is a basic unit of society and is usually regarded not only as indispensable but as the key element in socialization processes and in the perpetuation of societal values. It looks at how the family has been the basic unit of society from ancient times to the present and how although different cultures may view the family and certain kinship in a differing light, the basic family unit is a near-universal social reality, with the nuclear family of parents and children a norm understood by virtually everyone. It evaluates the changing status of the family over the years and analyzes how the nuclear family seems to be disappearing in a world where divorce and unwed motherhood are occurring at high rates.

From the Paper
"Many who feel family values are being lost are indeed making a value judgment on the new notion of the family. They see the traditional nuclear family as "the" family and any variation on that as a challenge to family values, thus excluding what Rubin would include--single-parent households, gay and lesbian households, couples without children, people who have children and live together without ever marrying, and members of divorced families, remarried families, blended families, and extended families (Rubin 19). Clearly, one reason people believe family values are disappearing is because they have a narrow definition of what constitutes a family and its values in the first place."

Tags:divorce, unwed, motherhood, children, household

Abstract
This paper is a literary critique about the novel "Pride and Prejudice". It comments on the view of marriage as portrayed through the characters in the novel.

From the Paper
"19th century England had serious social problems from the heyday of Royalty and Nobility. One of the most significant of these was the tendency to marry for money. A person sought a partner based on the dowry receivable and their allowance. This process went both ways: a beautiful woman might be able to snag a rich husband, or a charring and handsome man could woo a rich young girl. In these marriages, money was the only consideration. Love was left out, with the thought that it would develop as the years went by. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen comments that marriage in her time is a financial contract, where love is strictly a matter of chance. This is clearly evident from the very first line of the novel: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Austen, 1). "

Tags:austen, jane, love, marriage, money, prejudice, pride, view

Abstract
The author of this paper examines the institution of marriage between the years 1500 to 1800 in the United Kingdom and the various factors that influenced both the decision to marry and at which stage in life to marry. The paper contends that the decision to marry was not decided by one individual factor, but rather a combination of traditions and influences including love, choice and family interest but primarily, economic considerations. The paper attempts to show that, contrary to the commonly held belief, marriage and the marriage partner during this period was a matter of choice between the two individuals marrying and that in the United Kingdom, the conventions regarding marriage where much more liberal than in the rest of Europe.

From the Paper
"Despite there being no laws stating a need for parental involvement many more young people valued the advice of parents and kin or were given said advice whether or not they asked due to the thought that 'marriage is far too important a matter to be left to the individuals concerned.' Regardless of this there were frequent cases of young people eloping to Gretna Green or getting married having ignored all the advice of their parents. In general, among the majority of the common people, marriage partners were freely chosen whilst the guidance of friends and parents was taken into account. It was sensible to consult peers and family in order to protect one's own interests and to ensure economic assistance and help with connections, advice and gifts. A sound economic foundation on which to lay a marriage could only be achieved with the approval of parents and friends. The degree of this varied according to the social level of the individual in that both the noble and upper strata would obviously uphold a stricter control over love and courtship behaviour than those in the lower strata."

Tags:english economics consensual self-sufficient apprenticeships freedom consent courting aisle eloping, gretna green, courtship spouse

Abstract
This paper examines the theoretical assumptions underlying psychoanalysis and social psychology and how these approaches attempt to explain the concept of gender, particularly within the context of 'the family'. It provides both an overview of these approaches together with critiques of their respective strengths and weaknesses.

From the Paper
"Feminist object relations theory postulates that early interpersonal interactions within the family lay the foundations for the development of the mind, and hence individual identity, which then becomes the basis for later relations with others. In contrast to Freudian psychoanalysis, which emphasizes the importance of the father, advocates of this approach argue that it is mothers, as the primary caregivers, and with whom children spend most of their time, that are the formative influence for both boys' and girls' sense of gender identity. Chodorow (1978, 1989) suggests that although the sex of the child is biologically determined, the forms that masculinity and femininity take are social constructions, born out of the mother/infant dyad, which itself reflects the sexual division of labor within society."

Tags:constructionism, determinism, feminism, freud, identity, psychoanalysis, psychology, social, theory

Abstract
This paper outlines the concept of everyday life and establishes the relationship of the home to the everyday. It considers the contested notions of the everyday and also explores the competing views of the concept of the home and in turn, the different ways in which men and women are associated with the home through the construction of gender roles. It examines the writings of Felski and Lefebvre, who both emphasize the importance of the temporal and spatial qualities of the everyday in the construction of gender roles and validifies the claim that women are more immersed in the routine and repetition of the everyday than men.

From the Paper
"From the evidence so far, it would be tempting to agree unequivocally that women are indeed more immersed in the repetition and routine of everyday life, through their positions within the home. However, different sociological approaches disagree as to the extent to which these, along with relations between men, modernity and the public world are mutually exclusive. Lefebvre (1968) perceives all these concepts to be rigidly dualistic, hence his belief that women, through their relations to the home, are so engaged with the repetition of the everyday that they lack both the mindset and the opportunity to escape it. He sees the home as a symbol of anti-modernity, and the cyclical structure of the everyday as an encroachment on the nomadic, linearity of existentialism."

Tags:domesticity, everyday, lefebvre, life, linear, men, women

Abstract
This paper examines how marriage and family are one of the most important areas of sociology, how society is brought up in a family context and how marriage is a very pervasive social institution. It looks at how, in modern European society, more women are working outside the home and demanding an equal share of the decision-making power in the family. It talks about the changing state of marriage and the family in modern European society and also adds the dark side of it. The aim is to show the reader the rapidly change of family and marriage which has become a very serious social problem and has led European society to crisis.

From the Paper
"Marriage has become increasingly dissociated from parenthood. This has
happened in three main ways: the number of childless couples has been
rising, children are increasingly born outside marriage and the rising rate
of divorce separate children's parents (Sociology, 1999:380). The rate of families with dependent children has increased since the beginning of the 1970s (Social Trends, 1996:43) (fig 2). In 1961, 2 per cent of the population lived in households consisting of a lone parent with dependent children, but by 1998 this had increased to 7 per cent."

Tags:crisis, european, family, independent, marriage, society, thought, women

Abstract
The paper closely examines some of the various representations of marriage in "Pride and Prejudice", in order to show how its author, Jane Austen, uses the theme of marriage as a vehicle to explore and critique the repressed social and economic status of women of her time. The paper uses the expedient marriage of Charlotte Lucas to Mr. Collins as an example of how Austen highlights the economic insecurities facing women of a certain age in Regency society. The paper explores whether Austen's novel was intentionally limited to topics such as marriage because it was the only accessible form of self-definition for young ladies in her society, and focuses on Jane's marriage to Mr. Bingley to illustrate this point. Finally, the paper highlights the marriage of Elizabeth to Mr. Darcy and questions whether the fairy-tale conclusion of Austen's novel simply accommodates social expectations or rather constitutes a new promise of hope for women at the turn of the nineteenth century.

From the Paper
"Given the poor education and limited employment options available to women during Austen's time the only possibility of security for financially dependant women was the prospect of finding a marriage partner. Not to succeed in the marriage market place was to fail in the most urgent of female missions, as winning a husband was essential if a young lady wished to occupy a fully respectable position in society. The motive for marriage as financial necessity is expressed most clearly in Pride and Prejudice through the character Charlotte Lucas. Aged twenty-seven, without "having ever been handsome"(1995:113), without an especially large 'portion' and with no great expectations "I ask only a comfortable home;" (1995:115) she rationalises her decision to marry Mr. Collins "solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment."(1995:113)"

Tags:Regency, society, women, status, husband, self-definition, repression