Stepmothers at Law in the Long Eighteenth Century
Tim Stretton, Saint Mary’s University, Nova Scotia
Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor, Cardiff University
A Leverhulme Lecture supported by the Cardiff Romanticism and Eighteenth-Century Seminar (CRECS) and the School of History, Archeology and Religion (SHARE)
Monday 29 February 2016, 5.15pm
Room 2.01, John Percival Building, Cardiff University
The Cardiff Romanticism and Eighteenth-Century Seminar (CRECS) is delighted to host a public lecture from Dr Tim Stretton, Professor of History at St Mary’s University, Nova Scotia. Come along on Monday 29 February to hear about his current research on the cultural image and legal status of the stepmother in Britain over the long eighteenth century—a topic that will appeal to anyone interested in intersections between law, gender, and kinship. In Tim’s own words:
The focus of my research is the legal position of married women in the English past, tracing the Common Law idea of ‘coverture’ over many centuries, prior to the dismantling of most of its effects between the 1870s and 1925. Under coverture, most of a wife’s legal autonomy was ‘covered’ by her husband’s, so that she could not independently hold or enjoy property, and without his permission she could not enter into contracts, take part in lawsuits or write a will. This curtailing of a married woman’s legal independence was more severe than under any other comparable legal regime in Europe. And yet in practice a number of women managed to wield power, use equitable devices such as trusts to maintain control of property, and make use of legal exceptions to evade coverture’s worst effects.
Against this backdrop of harsh rules and a more flexible reality, the figure of the stepmother provides an interesting case study for examining female autonomy, male fears, and the cultural (as well as legal and economic) effects of law.
In this paper I will reflect on some of the practical problems stepmothers faced; the fears that they raised in heirs and other family members (seen in the curious English rule excluding ‘half bloods’ from inheriting from their ‘full blood’ siblings) and some of the undercurrents that might help explain (or complicate) broad changes in attitudes to stepmothers over time.
As ever, the lecture will be followed by an opportunity to ask the speaker questions and engage in debate, and also by a wine reception. We hope you can make it!
For more details, please email Dr Sophie Coulombeau (coulombeaus@cardiff.ac.uk), or keep an eye on the CRECS blog https://crecs.wordpress.com/