--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For centuries, divorce in the West was a…" description: "\"For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of control - a legislative chastity belt designed to ensure that a wife had one master, while a husb..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/amanda-foreman-9894_chastity_for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a_384534.jpg" --- # For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of… ![“For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of control - a legislative chastity belt designed to ensure that a wife had one master, while a husband could enjoy many mistresses. It is as though, having denied women their cake for so long, the makers have no wish to see them enjoy it.” quote by Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/amanda-foreman-9894_chastity_for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a_384534.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/amanda-foreman-9894_chastity_for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a_384534.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f85/amanda-foreman-9894_chastity_for-centuries-divorce-in-the-west-was-a_384534.jpg) > “For centuries, divorce in the West was a male tool of control - a legislative chastity belt designed to ensure that a wife had one master, while a husband could enjoy many mistresses. It is as though, having denied women their cake for so long, the makers have no wish to see them enjoy it.” [Amanda Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-foreman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historically, divorce laws served to keep women dependent, limiting their freedom while men retained multiple partners. **In simple terms:** Divorce laws once controlled women, freeing men. Key Takeaway Advocate for equitable legal reforms. Themes gender equality legal history women's rights marriage law social control Mood reflective inquisitive historical Type educational activist When to use this quote - Family law reform - women's empowerment - historical analysis - policy advocacy - education curricula Key Concepts Patriarchal legal systems feminist theory social justice Questions to Reflect On - What remnants of control exist in today's laws? - How can we ensure truly equal marital rights? A Different Perspective Modern reforms may still embed subtle biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Centuries Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries-divorce-3481103/) [Chastity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastity/) [Chastity Belt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chastity-belt-863977/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Divorce West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce-west-3481102/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [Like a chastity belt, the package tour keeps you out of mischief but a bit restive for wondering what you missed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/like-a-chastity-belt-the-package-tour-keeps-you-out-of-mischief-but-a/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [“Do you have everything you need?" No. She needed blinders to keep from staring at him, and a box of tissue to wipe the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-st-claire/do-you-have-everything-you-need-no-she-needed-blinders-to-keep-from/) [Roxanne St. Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxanne-st-claire/) > [Someone told me the delightful story of the crusader who put a chastity belt on his wife and gave the key to his best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/someone-told-me-the-delightful-story-of-the-crusader-who-put-a/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Ah, for the love of God. Keep it in your pants, Danny, or I swear I’ll find you a chastity belt if I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-raines/ah-for-the-love-of-god-keep-it-in-your-pants-danny-or-i-swear-i-ll/) [Hunter Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-raines/) > [You've really got to wear a chastity belt in Washington to preserve your journalistic virginity. 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Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-v-gordon/) > [It is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-not-always-from-valor-or-from-chastity-that-men-are-brave-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Love clamors far more incessantly and passionately at a closed gate than an open one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/love-clamors-far-more-incessantly-and-passionately-at-a-closed-gate/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [Reason and justice tell me there's more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/reason-and-justice-tell-me-there-s-more-love-for-humanity-in/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Chastity is oftener owing to diffidence and shame, than to fortitude of reason or virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/chastity-is-oftener-owing-to-diffidence-and-shame-than-to-fortitude/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [The soul whose bosom lust did never touch Is God's fair bride; and maiden's souls are such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/the-soul-whose-bosom-lust-did-never-touch-is-god-s-fair-bride-and/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [But there is a beauty every girl has—a gift from God, as pure as the sunlight, and as sacred as life. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/but-there-is-a-beauty-every-girl-has-a-gift-from-god-as-pure-as-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Amanda Foreman > [When I read 'The Master', I felt that I had read a true classic. 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McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [The soul whose bosom lust did never touch Is God's fair bride; and maiden's souls are such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/the-soul-whose-bosom-lust-did-never-touch-is-god-s-fair-bride-and/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Chastity is oftener owing to diffidence and shame, than to fortitude of reason or virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/chastity-is-oftener-owing-to-diffidence-and-shame-than-to-fortitude/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is not always from valor or from chastity that men are brave, and women chaste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-not-always-from-valor-or-from-chastity-that-men-are-brave-and/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Love clamors far more incessantly and passionately at a closed gate than an open one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/love-clamors-far-more-incessantly-and-passionately-at-a-closed-gate/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [Reason and justice tell me there's more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/reason-and-justice-tell-me-there-s-more-love-for-humanity-in/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [I get a little angry about this highhanded scrapping of the look of things. 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