History of the Wife

How did marriage considered a religious duty in medieval Europe become a venue for personal fulfillment in contemporary America? How did the notion of romantic love a novelty in the Middle Ages become a prerequisite for marriage today? And if the original purpose of marriage was procreation what exactly is the purpose of marriage for women now? </p>Combining a scholar's rigor and a storyteller's craft(<em>San Jose Mercury News</em>) distinguished cultural historian Marilyn Yalom charts the evolution of marriage in the Judeo Christian world through the centuries and shows how radically our ideas about marriage have changed. </p>For any woman who is has been or ever will be married this intellectually vigorous and gripping historical analysis of marriage sheds new light on an institution most people take for granted and that may in fact be experiencing its most convulsive upheaval since the Reformation.</p>