Summary Of Chains By Laurie Halse Anderson

Martin Luther once said, “There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.” Marriage is seen as a beautiful thing, where a man and a woman fall in love with each other and make the immense decision to spend the rest of their lives together and work together to be happy. However, it wasn’t always that way. Think back to the 1770s. It was a very turbulent time period: colonists were rebelling against their British masters, and war was ravaging the colonies. The partnership of marriage was more important than ever as men went to fight. Most of the time, but not all the time, though, women were overly dependent on, overshadowed, and entirely controlled by their husbands.
Back in colonial times,
The two are Loyalists living during the Revolutionary War in a city held by the Patriots (at first), so they are in danger of getting caught, or at least until the British take NYC. First of all, Elihu isn’t addressed as Mister, as men are today. He’s called Master Lockton, while Anne is called Madam Lockton. The title of Master deeply implies the fact that men dominate the household and practically rule over their wives. Indeed, Master Lockton is a very controlling person. When he arrives at New York with Isabel and Madam Lockton, he “fixed his eyes intently on his wife” (LHA 29) and told her, “‘Do not fail me’” (LHA 29). See, he intimidates her. Though when their trick works and Madam Lockton convinces Bellingham and his soldiers to not inspect their chest, Master Lockton is content and congratulates her on that, calling her “dear” (LHA 34). However, for the most part Master Lockton is very authoritative and can be abusive; multiple times they fight. They shouted at each other, and they even threw things at each other (LHA 80). The second time they fight, Master Lockton tells Madam: “‘I command you to stay here, Anne. This is your duty and you will obey me’” (LHA 109). The power, the domination that the husband has over the wife is shocking. That’s almost like slavery. Therefore, Madam Lockton resorts to taking
For example, it used to be the norm in society, but nowadays only 48% of American adults are married, according to the US Census Bureau. Yet the sacred bond has become even more so. In the world today, most marriages are like the marriage of John and Abigail Adams: not only marriage, but real partnership. Both spouses have an equal say in issues, and the husband is no longer dominant. Women are more free to do what they want to do, work where they want to work. They’re still fighting for more rights, but we can all agree that the relationship between husband and wife has come a long way. Gone are the days where wives have to solemnly promise to obey their husbands above all things. The purpose of women’s lives used to be no more than to find a good husband. That one factor decided their entire future. Therefore, most of the time it wasn’t real love. Marriages were for personal gain. Since that changed, marriages have more love now. They have to frankly care for each other for it to work, and if it doesn’t work out, they can easily divorce. The difference was that back then, divorce wasn’t really a thing. The only way to end a marriage in the good old days was for one of the spouses to die, leaving the other a widow. The rise of freedom and more options for and in couples has improved in the past few decades. Never again will we see a Lockton-esque