Frolicksome Women & Troublesome Wives: Wife Selling in England

Wife selling is generally seen as a means by which a brute could dispose of his wife. French visitors claimed any man tired of his wife could dispose of her at London's Smithfield Market, yet the Home Office minster claimed it never happened.

Wife selling is claimed to be of ancient origin, yet some elements of it are surprisingly modern. The practice of sellign a woman in an open market with a halter round her neck was said to be degrading, yet there are cases where the women seem to have been willing, or even to have initiated the sale. Prices ranged widely, from a few pence to hundreds of pounds, and the age range and geography also was very diverse.

Women became legally invisible on their marriage, yet that did not make them powerless. They were prominent in many 18th century food riots, sometimes urged on by their men in the belief that soldiers would not fire on them.

Wife sales involved 2 processes: the widely condemned sale often overshadowed the less recognised re-marriage which was sometimes celebrated with a traditional dinner shared with friends, and even with churchbells rung in celebration.

The story describes wider issues of women's rights and what became almost exclusively female punishments: that of the ducking stool and the scold's bridle or brank. It also describes what defined a marriage, how this changed over time, and the various alternative forms of unmarriage when the relationship failed.