Environment
The following passage dating from 1863 portrays the environment within which political feminism arose in the United Kingdom and is an excerpt from a treatise on international commercial law, part of a section describing conditions under which a person may be considered unable to enter into a commercial contract. Following the discussion of individuals unfit due to "want of understanding" – covering minors as well as "lunatics and drunkards" is a heading covering individuals unable due to "want of free-will": married women. Levi was a barrister and his words give his opinion of the legal situation, one which was prevalent at the time.
| “ | By marriage, the personal identity of the woman is lost. Her person is completely sunk in that of her husband, and he acquires an absolute mastery over her person and effects. Hence her complete disability to contract legal obligations; and except in the event of separation by divorce, or other causes, a married woman in the United Kingdom cannot engage in trade. | ” |
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—Leone Levi, International Commercial Law, 1863 |
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Read more about this topic: Women's Suffrage In The United Kingdom
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