It has often been said that the position of women is the surest gauge of a people’s civilization. This assertion, though not absolutely, is approximately true. The evolution of altruism is one of the chief elements in human progress, and consideration for the weaker sex is one of the chief elements in the evolution of altruism.
According as more elevated ideas regarding women grew up among the so-called civilized peoples, the practice of purchasing wives was gradually abandoned, and came to be looked upon as infamous. The wealthier classes took the first step, and poorer and ruder persons followed their example. It is of no little interest to follow the course of this process.
In India, in ancient times, the Âsura form, or marriage by purchase, was lawful for all the four castes. Afterwards it fell into disrepute, and was prohibited among the Brahmans and Kshatriyas, but it was approved of in the case of a Vaiśya and of a Śudra. Manu forbade it altogether.2428 “No father who knows the law,” he says, “must take even the smallest gratuity for his daughter; for a man who, through avarice, takes a gratuity, is a seller of his offspring.”2429 Purchase survived as a symbol only in the Ârsha form, according to which the bridegroom sent a cow and a bull or two pairs to the bride’s father.2430 Manu expressly condemns those who call this gift a gratuity;2431 hence the Ârsha form was counted by Manu and other lawgivers as one of the legitimate modes of marriage.2432 The Greeks of the historical age had ceased to buy their wives; and in Rome, confarreatio, which suggested no idea of purchase, was in the very earliest known time the form of marriage in force among the patricians. Among clients and plebeians also, the purchase of wives came to an end in remote antiquity, surviving as a mere symbol in their coemptio.2433 Among the Germans, according to Grimm, it was only Christianity that abolished marriage by purchase.2434 Laferrière and Koenigswarter think it prevailed among the Saxons as late as the reign of Charles the Great, and that in England it was prohibited by Cnut.2435 In Lex Alamannorum, Lex Ripuariorum, ‘Grâgâs,’ and the Norwegian laws, real purchase money is not spoken of; and there is reason to believe that the “mundr,” mentioned in the elder ‘Gula-lag’ had gradually lost its original meaning of price for a bride.2436
In the Talmudic law, the purchase of wives appears as merely symbolic, the bride-price being fixed at a nominal amount.2437 The Mohammedan “mahr” is also frequently merely nominal.2438 Among the Finns, the purchase of wives had disappeared in the remote times when their popular songs originated.2439 Though it still was usual for a bridegroom to give presents to his bride and her parents, passages in the songs indicate that not even the memory of a real purchase survived.2440 In China, although marriage presents correspond exactly to purchase-money in a contract of sale, the people will not hear of their being called a “price”;2441 which shows that, among them also, some feeling of shame is attached to the idea of selling a daughter.
We may discern two different ways in which this gradual disappearance of marriage by purchase has taken place. It has been suggested that the sum with which the bridegroom bought the bride became a payment for the guardianship of her.2442 However this may be, the purchase-money became in time smaller and smaller, and took in many cases the form of more or less arbitrary presents. Only a relic of the ancient custom, as we have seen, was left, often appearing as a sham sale in the marriage ceremonies. Another mode of preserving the symbol of sale was the receipt of a gift of real value, which was immediately returned to the giver. This arrangement is said by Âpastamba to have been prescribed by the Vedas “in order to fulfil the law”—that is, the ancient law by which the binding form of marriage was a sale.2443 Generally, however, not the same but another gift is presented in return. Thus, at Athens, at some time which cannot be determined, but which was undoubtedly earlier than the age of Solon, the dower in the modern sense arose; and, as has been suggested,2444 this portioning of the bride by her father or guardian very probably implied originally a return of the price paid. Again, in China, exchange of presents takes place between the guardians of the bridegroom and the guardians of the bride; and this exchange forms the subject of a long section in the penal code, for, “the marriage articles and betrothal presents once exchanged, the parties are considered irrevocably engaged.”2445 In Japan, the bride gives certain conventional presents to her future husband and his parents and relatives, and, as to the value of these presents, she should always be guided by the value of those brought by the bridegroom.2446 Among the ancient Germans, according to Tacitus, the wife in her turn presented the husband with some kind of arms, and this mutual exchange of gifts formed the principal bond of their union.2447 Grimm also suggests that the meaning of the Teutonic dowry was partly that of a return gift.2448
On the other hand, the purchase-sum was transformed into the morning gift and the dotal portion. A part—afterwards the whole—was given to the bride either directly by the bridegroom or by her father. Manu says, “When the relatives do not appropriate for their use the gratuity given, it is not a sale; in that case the gift is only a token of respect and of kindness towards the maidens.”2449 This gift was called “çulka,” or her fee; but its close connection with a previous purchase appears from the fact that it passed in a course of devolution to the woman’s brothers, and one rendering of the text of Gautama which regulates this succession, even allowed the fee to go to her brothers during her life.2450 In modern India, according to Dubois, men of distinction do not appropriate the money acquired by giving a daughter in marriage, but lay it out in jewels, which they present to the lady on the wedding-day.2451 Among the Greeks of the Homeric age, the father did not always keep the wedding-presents for his own use, but bestowed them, wholly or in part, on the daughter as her marriage portion. At a later period, the bridegroom himself gave the presents to his wife, when he saw her unveiled for the first time, or after the νὺξ μυστική.2452 Among the Teutons the same process of development took place. Originally, the purchase-sum went to the guardian of the bride, partly, perhaps, to her whole family; but by-and-by it came to be considered her own property,2453 as Tacitus says, “Dotem non uxor marito sed uxori maritus offert.”2454 This was the case among the Scandinavians at the date of the inditing of their laws, and among the Langobardi from the seventh century.2455 “La dot,” says M. Ginoulhiac, “n’est autre chose que le prix de la coemption en usage dans la loi salique; elle fut donnée à la femme au lieu de l’être à ses parents, qui ne reçurent plus que le solidum et denarium, ou le prix fictif, et après la mort de l’épouse, une partie de la dot.”2456 In Lex Alamannorum and Lex Ripuariorum, only a dos which the wife receives directly from her husband is spoken of.2457 And it seems probable that the morning gift, which has survived very long in Europe,2458 originated in the purchase-sum, or formed a part of it,2459 though it has often been considered a pretium virginitatis.2460 According to ancient Irish law, a part of the “coibche,” or bridal gift, went to the bride’s father, or, if he was dead, to the head of her tribe;2461 but another part was given by the bridegroom to the bride herself after marriage. The same was the case with the Welsh “cowyll”;2462 and the Slavonic word for bride-price, “vĕno,” came to be frequently used for dos.2463
Speaking of the ancient Babylonians, Herodotus says that “the marriage portions were furnished by the money paid for the beautiful damsels.”2464 Among the Hebrews, as it seems the “mohar,” or a part of it, was given to the bride herself.2465 We read in the Book of Genesis that Abraham’s servant “brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebecca: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.”2466 Professor Robertson Smith is inclined to believe that, in Arabia, before Mohammed, a custom had established itself by which the husband ordinarily made a gift—under the name of “sadâc”—to his wife upon marriage, or by which a part of the “mahr” was customarily set aside for her use.2467 But under Islam the difference between “mahr” and “sadâc” disappeared, the price paid to the father becoming the property of the woman.2468
But it is not only in the history of the great civilized nations that we find marriage by purchase falling into decay. Among several peoples who are still in a savage or semi-civilized state, the custom of purchasing the wife has been modified, and of a few it is expressly stated that they consider such a traffic disgraceful.2469 The change has taken place in exactly the same way as we have seen to be the case with higher races.
On the one hand, the purchase has become more or less a symbol. In some cases the gift no longer represents the actual value of the girl, in others it is followed by a return gift. Thus, in Oregon, “the wife’s relations always raise as many horses (or other property) for her dower, as the bridegroom has sent the parents, but scrupulously take care not to turn over the same horses or the same articles.”2470 The Ahts consider it a point of honour that the purchase-money given for a woman of rank shall, some time or other, be returned in a present of equal value.2471 Similar statements are made with reference to the Patagonians,2472 Mishmis,2473 and certain tribes in the Indian Archipelago.2474 Among the Bagobos of the Philippines, if the newly-married couple are satisfied with each other, the father of the wife gives the half of the purchase-sum back to the husband;2475 whilst, in Saraë, the girl’s father, at the wedding, has to return even five times the price which he received from the bridegroom’s father at the espousals, the return gift, however, becoming the common property of the married couple.2476 Among the Badagas of the Neilgherries also, the return gift is generally greater in value than the sum which has been paid for her.2477 Several other peoples contract marriages by an exchange of presents.2478
On the other hand there are peoples among whom the purchase-sum, or a part of it, is given to the bride either by her father or by the bridegroom himself. But, as this may be an indirect way of compensating the bridegroom for the price he has paid, it is in many cases almost impossible to distinguish between this custom and the one last mentioned. It is equally hard to distinguish between the cases in which the bride receives a part of the price from her father, and those in which she receives a gift from the bridegroom directly. But perhaps the greatest difficulty of all is to make out whether the presents obtained from the bridegroom formed originally a part of the bride-price or were only a means of gaining her own consent. Among the Eskimo, the lover presents clothes to the lady, who puts them on, and is thenceforth his wife.2479 Among the Dacotahs, men ask for consent to marriage by sending the price of the girl, and in addition often give presents to the object of their esteem.2480 Speaking of the South American Guanas, Azary says, “Toutes les cérémonies du mariage se réduisent à un petit présent que le mari fait à sa prétendue.”2481 Again, among the Javanese,2482 Kalmucks,2483 and Ahl el Shemál, a Bedouin tribe of Syria,2484 the money or articles which the father receives for his daughter are generally looked upon as a settlement or provision for the wife; and among the Pelew Islanders,2485 Mishmis,2486 Bashkirs,2487 Votyaks,2488 &c.,2489 she receives a larger or smaller part of the bride-price.
From marriage by purchase we have thus reached the practice of dower, which is apparently the very reverse of it. But, as we have seen, the marriage portion derives its origin partly from the purchase of wives. Where, as among the Marea,2490 the endowment becomes the exclusive property of the husband, it is, no doubt, intended to be a compensation for the bride-price; whilst, among other peoples, money or goods for which the man has bought his wife are handed over to her by the father as a marriage portion which, in a certain way, belongs to her. Yet, as we shall see directly, the dowry does not in every case spring from a previous purchase.
The marriage portion serves different ends, often indissolubly mixed up together. It may have the meaning of a return gift. It may imply that the wife as well as the husband is expected to contribute to the expenses of the joint household. It is also very often intended to be a settlement for the wife in case the marriage be dissolved through the husband’s death or otherwise. But as, in such instances, the husband generally has the usufruct of the portion, as long as the union lasts, it is in many cases impossible to discern whether the original meaning was that of a return gift to the man or of a settlement for the woman.
We read in the ‘Laws of Manu,’ “What was given before the nuptial fire, what was given on the bridal procession, what was given in token of love, and what was received from her brother, mother, or father, that is called the sixfold property of a woman. Such property, as well as a gift subsequent and what was given to her by her affectionate husband, shall go to her offspring, even if she dies in the lifetime of her husband.”2491 The Hindu law recognizes the dominion of a married woman over this property (her “strîdhan”),2492 but the husband has nevertheless power to use and consume it in case of distress.2493 At Athens, the administration of the dower certainly belonged to the husband, who might defray with it the expenses of the marriage, and even had a right to alienate the movable objects forming a part of the marriage portion.2494 But it did not become his property. If the marriage tie was dissolved through divorce or through the husband’s death, the dower had to be restored to the woman, who, as a security for this restitution, had a mortgage, consisting generally of a piece of real property;2495 or if, in case of divorce, the husband did not restore the dower, he paid, whilst it was retained, nine oboli every month as interest.2496 The Roman dos was intended to be the wife’s contribution towards the expenses of the marriage state.2497 It became the husband’s property, as if it were a patrimony which he had a right not only to administer, but even to dispose of independently of the will of his wife.2498 This confusion of the dower with the patrimony was tolerable as long as marriage was contracted for life, but became very disastrous during the period when divorces were frequent. At the end of the Republican era, therefore, the husband’s right to dispose of his wife’s marriage portion was limited. It had to be restored in case of divorce, as also in case of the marriage being dissolved through the husband’s death. The Lex Julia de adulteriis prevented him from alienating dotal land without the wife’s consent, or mortgaging it even with her consent; and the legislation of Justinian prevented alienation with the wife’s consent, and declared the law on the subject applicable to provincial land.2499 The general tradition of the Roman dos was carried on by the Church, the practical object being to secure for the wife a provision of which the husband could not wantonly deprive her, and which would remain to her after his death.2500 The Roman dotal right, more or less modified in the laws of the different countries, underlies modern European legislation; the husband generally administers and has the use of his wife’s dotation, but it remains her property.2501
Among the Germans of early times, the bride-price which was handed over to the woman as her marriage portion became her exclusive property, of which the husband could not dispose.2502 Besides this dos, she received from her parents an endowment, as a sort of compensation for her inheritance, or as an advance on it. This also was her private property, at least so far that it went to her if the marriage was dissolved.2503 Among the Slavs, the dower seems originally to have been given to the wife as a security in the event of her needing independent support; and, among the Poles and Bohemians, the husband could make no use of it, unless he left his own goods as a deposit.2504 In Wales, a woman received not only a part of the bride-price, “cowyll,” but also a marriage portion from her father, called “agweddi” (representing the “tincur” of the Irish), which, during cohabitation, belonged to husband and wife jointly. In case they separated before the end of seven years, the wife was to receive this portion back; and in any case, even if she left her husband for no reason before the seventh year, she had her “cowyll.” If the separation took place after this period, the property which the wife brought with her was divided.2505
The Hebrews, in early times, generally gave daughters as a dowry only a part of the “mohar.” Afterwards a woman who married was endowed with a portion called “nedunia,” of which the husband had the usufruct as long as the marriage lasted.2506 The Mohammedans, as a rule, settle very large dowers on their wives; and it is generally stipulated that two-thirds of the dowry shall be paid immediately before the marriage contract is made, whilst the remaining third is held in reserve, to be paid to the wife in case of her being divorced against her own consent, or in case of the husband’s death.2507 And whatever property the wife receives from her parents or any other person on the occasion of her marriage, or otherwise, is entirely at her own disposal, and not subject to any claim of her husband or his creditors.2508 Speaking of newly-married people among the Mexicans, Acosta says, “When they went to house they made an inventory of all the man and wife brought together, of provisions for the house, of land, of iewells and ornaments, which inventories every father kept, for if it chanced they made any devorce (as it was common amongest them when they agree not), they divided their goods according to the portion that every one brought.”2509
Among races at a lower stage of civilization2510 the dowry commonly subserves a similar end—that is, in case of separation or divorce, the wife gets back her marriage portion, though the husband, as it seems in most cases, has the usufruct of it as long as marriage lasts. But, in savage life, the dowry plays no important part. Often nothing of the kind exists,2511 and, where it does, the portion generally consists of some food, clothes, household goods, or other trifles,2512 and occasionally of cattle.2513 Ultimately, as we have seen, the dowry is due to a feeling of respect and sympathy for the weaker sex, which, on the whole, is characteristic of a higher civilization.2514 And, as we have spoken of a stage of marriage by capture and another stage of marriage by purchase, we may now speak of a third, where fathers are bound by law or custom to portion their daughters.
Thus the Hebrews2515 and Mahommedans2516 consider it a religious duty for a man to give a dower to his daughter. In Greece the dowry came to be thought almost necessary to make the distinction between a wife and a concubine παλλακή;2517 and Isaeus says that no decent man would give his legitimate daughter less than a tenth of his property.2518 Indeed, so great were the dowers given that, in the time of Aristotle, nearly two-fifths of the whole territory of Sparta were supposed to belong to women.2519 In Rome, even more than in Greece, the marriage portion became a mark of distinction for a legitimate wife.2520 It was the duty of the wife to provide her husband with dos, and a woman herself had a legal claim to be provided with a dower by her father or other paternal ascendants.2521 And, though later on, Justinian in several of his constitutions declares that dos is obligatory for persons of high rank only,2522 the old custom did not fall into desuetude.2523 The Prussian ‘Landrecht’ still prescribes that the father, or eventually the mother, shall arrange about the wedding and fit up the house of the newly-married couple.2524 According to the ‘Code Napoléon,’ on the other hand, parents are not bound to give a dower to their daughters,2525 and the same principle is generally adopted by modern legislation. Yet there is still a strong feeling, especially in the so-called Latin countries, in favour of dotation. This feeling, as Sir Henry Maine remarks, is the principal source of those habits of saving and hoarding, which characterize the French people, and is probably descended, by a long chain of succession, from the obligatory provisions of the marriage law of the Emperor Augustus.2526
In this course of development, the marriage portion has often become something quite different from what it was originally. It has in many cases become a purchase-sum by means of which a father buys a husband for his daughter, as formerly a man bought a wife from her father. Euripides, transferring to the heroic age the practice of his own time, makes Medea complain that her sex had to purchase husbands with great sums of money.2527 “Pars minima est ipsa puella sui,” the Latin poet sings. And, in our days, a woman without a marriage portion, unless she has some great natural attractions, runs the risk of being a spinster for ever. This state of things naturally grows up in a society where monogamy is prescribed by law, where the adult women outnumber the adult men, where many men never marry, and where married women too often lead an indolent life.