# Shelley and Queen Victoria explained — Getting Married

> Chapter companion for Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw.

## What happens

The chapter argues that the marriage question must be confronted openly, warning against hypocritical mudslinging and comparing the economic dependence of women in marriage to prostitution. It contrasts the enlightened views of Shelley and Queen Victoria with the reactionary impulses of the popular press, and asserts that the current state of affairs in England is unsustainable.

## Themes in this chapter

### Economic Dependence of Women

Explicitly states that women's economic dependence makes marriage a money bargain, equating married women to prostitutes.

### Hypocrisy and Social Pretense

Criticizes conventional people who assume moral superiority and throw mud, unaware that their own position is weak.

## Character check-ins

### The General

Referenced indirectly as part of the conventional establishment that assumes moral superiority.

## Key lines

> the economic dependence of women makes marriage a money bargain in which the man is the purchaser and the woman the purchased, there is no essential difference between a married woman and the woman of the streets.

Because women rely on men for money, marriage is essentially a financial transaction where the husband buys and the wife is bought, making a married woman no different from a prostitute.

_Central argument equating marriage with prostitution under economic dependence._

> the present state of things in England is too strained and mischievous to last. Europe and America have left us a century behind in this matter.

The current situation in England is so tense and harmful that it cannot continue; other countries are far more advanced in addressing these issues.

_Urgency for reform and comparison with progressive nations._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se/chapters/shelley-and-queen-victoria
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/getting_married_se/chapters