Divorce and Separation

Of the four articles that we read for our classes this previous week, the one that stood out to me the most was “When Love Goes Wrong.” I have always found taken great interest in legally related topics, and this particular article was particularly intriguing because it delved into divorce from a unique perspective which I had been previously unexposed to. The rural town in which the author studied historical cases of divorce was at a very interesting crossroads in time and society. While cultural practices had historically dictated the process of marital bonding and separation, the ascension of the reforming Catholic Church as the source of moral, and often legal, authority was coupled with the time studied and thus greatly impacted the systemizing and outcome of many aforementioned cases.
Before the establishment of the importance of the Catholic Church in rural Spanish communities such as this, public declarations of commitment sufficed for local standards of constituting a marriage. Unsurprisingly, consenting spouses also withheld the basic right to sever their marital ties, without excessive societal, legal, or religious ramifications. Providing that the female could supply sufficient reasoning, a male would often be required to give reasonable, but not drastic, economical support to his former partner. These reasons varied but were rarely beyond the context of what could be expected, such as provision for a child born in or out of wedlock, infidelity, etc…
However, at the junction of Catholicism’s arrival as the undisputed source of bottom-line moral and legal guidelines by which society was to conduct itself, things became at the very least more complicated. Because there was, and still is, no means of marital separation which can be condoned by the Catholic Church, temporary physical separation was the only acceptable alternative that the Church could present to the people of this time. I personally presume that this practice would largely be an ineffective waste of time for all parties involved. Should a consenting couple truly wish to end their ties, then I see fail to see what could prevent them from doing so.
My overall feeling upon reading the article was that the while the Catholic Church was a fundamental pillar in the lives of many from this time/community, it served mostly (in this matter at least) as an imposing complication. I find that the older native practices served a greater amount of justice and was more slanted towards fairness. It took circumstances into greater account in that the judicial system could fairly assess each case presented and determine how to handle it. The stricter laws of the Catholic Church seemed concerned only in what the Bible said in a literal sense. The consolidation of innumerous contributing variables, which ultimately caused unsuccessful marriages, into a single scenario grouping seems foolish to me.