Getting Married By George Bernard Shaw
THE BISHOP. Oh no. I mean ancient Rome. [He seats himself on theedge of the table]. Ive just come to the period when thepropertied classes refused to get married and went in formarriage settlements instead. A few of the oldest families stuckto the marriage tradition so as to keep up the supply of vestalvirgins, who had to be legitimate; but nobody else dreamt ofgetting married. It's all very interesting, because we're comingto that here in England; except that as we dont require anyvestal virgins, nobody will get married at all, except the poor,perhaps.
Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw
EDITH. She got married. When she had three children--the eldestonly four years old--her husband committed a murder, and thenattempted to commit suicide, but only succeeded in disfiguringhimself. Instead of hanging him, they sent him to penal servitudefor life, for the sake, they said, of his wife and infantchildren. And she could not get a divorce from that horrible murderer. They would not even keep him imprisoned for life. Fortwenty years she had to live singly, bringing up her children byher own work, and knowing that just when they were grown up andbeginning life, this dreadful creature would be let out todisgrace them all, and prevent the two girls getting decentlymarried, and drive the son out of the country perhaps. Is thatreally the law? Am I to understand that if Cecil commits a mur-der, or forges, or steals, or becomes an atheist, I cant getdivorced from him?
THE BISHOP. Somebody must begin, my dear. Ive a very strongsuspicion that when it is drawn up it will be so much worse thanthe existing law that you will all prefer getting married. Weshall therefore be doing the greatest possible service tomorality by just trying how the new system would work. 041b061a72