| No matter in the ancient world or in today’s world,women’s divorce is always a problem that can not be ignored and worth discussing.In the early period of The Roman Empire,divorce was one of the main dissolution forms of marriage.The study of Roman women’s divorce can reflect the gender concept and marriage legislation at that time from one side.Although there have been rules about divorce since the founding of Rome,divorce was not common in early Roman society.After the three Punic Wars,with Rome’s economic prosperity and great changes in social fashion,“marriage with manus” gradually replaced by “marriage without manus”,the stability of marriage was seriously challenged,divorce increased greatly.This paper attempts to make a comprehensive analysis of the divorce issues in the early Roman Empire(mainly in the first three centuries)from the perspective of women,and to explore the changes in their status in marriage and family as well as the degree of emancipation through the study of women’s rights protection in divorce and the impact of divorce.This paper is mainly composed of three chapters.The first chapter starts with the social background of the early Roman Empire and discusses the changes in women’s status and marriage during the transition from republic to empire.With the changes in the economic and political system of Rome,the social atmosphere became more and more open,and women’s educational level and status in the family and society were improved.In terms of marriage situation,compared with the Republican period,the importance of religious sacrifice and fertility in the marriage concept of the Romans in the early empire was gradually reduced,while the importance of emotion was increased.The marriage of the upper class was also closely related to political and economic factors.A series of social changes contributed to the common divorce and remarriage in this period.The second chapter explores the main causes of divorce in the early empire and then analyzes the rights and limitations of women in divorce.With the change of the concept of marriage and family,the inability of wives to have children and excessive drinking are no longer the main reasons for husbands to divorce their wives,which reduces the constraints on women.In this period,divorce is no longer the husband’s unilateral right,the wife can also divorce,and the form of divorce is very simple.However,when it comes to filing for divorce,freedwomen and women under paternal power are more restricted than men.The third chapter,from the perspective of property,examines the economic impact on women in divorce by studying the issues of marriage assets,prenuptial gifts and other property return.Then the author discusses the influence of divorce on women themselves and their families from the aspects of women’s life after divorce,including women’s lives after divorce,the birth and upbringing of children,and remarriage. |
