Arranged Marriages In The Historical Era

Not only were arranged marriages common in the historical era in which the story takes place, but often women were still seen as property. Women were nothing more than a form of animal, to be used and exploited for “arm-candy,” sex, powerful men in her family, social or economic gain, and dowries. Women were forced into marriages with men they didn’t love, and often barely knew. They were simply pawns in a mans world and were used as such to benefit the men who ‘owned’ them. A man would always own a woman; she would never be free. Her father controlled her every move- until she was married. Then her husband took her decisions over. Even upon becoming a widow, if she had any sons, they would control their mother lives and make decisions on her
behalf, even is she was fully capable of doing it herself. The Mallards have no children mentioned in the texts, so upon the death of her husband she believed she was finally out from underneath the control of a man for the remainder of her life.