Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1903-09-11
MARRIAGE IN RUSSIA.
The Spinstcr Has an Unpleasant Pros.
pect in that Line.


AS q daughter the Russian woman
is under the absolute sway Of her pa
rents. The coming of age makes no
alteration in her position, says the
Westminster Review. Until the day Of
her death, if she remains unmarried,
the place she occupies in the family
life is a place Of dependence upon the
will of her parents. When a woman
marries she changes the authority OF
parents for the no less unqualified au-
thorlty of husband. AS the Russian
statue says, no woman can rea-
sonably be expected to fully sat
isfy two such unlimited powers
as that of husband and parent"
The unlimited" power Of the parent,
therefore, is withdrawn and that Of
her husband substituted. She cannot
leave him even to visit a neighboring
town with a pass" from him. He
names the time she is to stay, and at
the expiration of the term she Is bound
to return or get it renewed. A hus-
band may appear in court Of law as
a witness against his wife, but wife
is not permitted to appear against her
husband. A woman's evidence Is re
garded also as of less weight than that
of man. when two witnesses do not
agree" the code runs, "the testimony
of an adult outweighs that Of child,
and the testimony Of man that of
woman"
According to the tenets of the Rus
sian Church, marriage is a sacrament
and is theoretically indissoluble. There
is no such thing as civil marriage
and divorce, except in one case, Is
practically unobtainable by woman.
The exception is the deprivation Of
civil rights and Punishment Of the
husband. If the wife chooses she can
follow her husband into exile, and Rus
sian literature is full of pathetic sto-
ries Of women, tenderly nurtured,
Drawing the terrors of the long Siberian
march. All children, however, born in
exile, are regarded as belonging to the
lowest class of society. If, on the
other hand, the wife seeks, on the plea
of her husbands Punishment, divorce,
the church in this case relaxes her
discipline and grants the plea. AL
though the statute recognizes adultery
and desertion as grounds for divorce,
the law is beset with such difficulties
that it is never resorted to except by
the wealthy, who can always make the
tardy wheels revolve more swiftly.
While divorce is difficult to obtain
which reach the same destination, only
by q different route. Laws In Russia
are made not to be broken, but to be
evaded, and both the civil and ecclesi-
astical authorities have learned the art
Of evasion to perfection. Marriages
has occurred In them, and If parties
are willing. the rest is only question
of money. In some parts of the en-
pire the marriage service Is enacted
with this contingency in view. The
certificate may be left undated, or the
age of the contracting parties omitted
In some parts of Little Russia a rela.
tive, during the ceremony, gives the
bride slap. to prove In case Of need
that she has married under c0mpul-
sion. Women who succeed In obtaining
a separation from their husbands on
the ground OF informality are received
into society, are allowed to marry
again and may even be separated
again without loss Of position. There
is, however, a more healthy public
spirit arising. which tends strongly In
favor OF an adjustment of the present
laws.