--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The common view of marriage as a…" description: "\"The common view of marriage as a primitive institution implies in the man more than arbitrary superiority, such as he exercised over the child, which s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/henry-adams-1542_arbitrary_the-common-view-of-marriage-as-a-primiti_2062720.png" --- # The common view of marriage as a primitive institution… ![“The common view of marriage as a primitive institution implies in the man more than arbitrary superiority, such as he exercised over the child, which still remained free. The woman's slavery was assumed to be for life.” quote by Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/henry-adams-1542_arbitrary_the-common-view-of-marriage-as-a-primiti_2062720.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/henry-adams-1542_arbitrary_the-common-view-of-marriage-as-a-primiti_2062720.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/henry-adams-1542_arbitrary_the-common-view-of-marriage-as-a-primiti_2062720.png) > “The common view of marriage as a primitive institution implies in the man more than arbitrary superiority, such as he exercised over the child, which still remained free. The woman's slavery was assumed to be for life.” [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage historically placed men above women, treating women as property, especially over children. **In simple terms:** Old marriage treated women as property. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge gender inequality. Themes history gender power Mood reflective critical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - Legal reforms - education - family law Key Concepts Patriarchy social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect modern relationships? - What steps can promote equality? A Different Perspective Changing norms can be slow and resisted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ## Related quotes > [“Marriage was nothing but a primitive form of torture;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-campisi/marriage-was-nothing-but-a-primitive-form-of-torture/) [Mary Campisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-campisi/) > [The married woman as family provider beside the man, often also in place of the man, but always however subservient to the man's dominion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-key/the-married-woman-as-family-provider-beside-the-man-often-also-in/) [Ellen Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-key/) > [Men fearing their innate power, pushed woman back into slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/men-fearing-their-innate-power-pushed-woman-back-into-slavery/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [My view has always been that marriage means love, and an excellent way of describing your love for another person is to make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-jarrett/my-view-has-always-been-that-marriage-means-love-and-an-excellent-way/) [Valerie Jarrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-jarrett/) > [Having a traditional view of marriage should not be seen as discriminatory, unfortunately the bill has promoted this notion. 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