Hmmm... What about Victorian Era divorce???...

 First, --- what was the significance of Victorian marriage?

During the Victorian era marriages were not romanticized. Love actually played little role in marriage. This was very different in reality from what was depicted in the novels of those times, such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

Matrimony was needed for conveyance rather than for love, or even for companionship.

 (I think they look like each other, and that's not a complement!) 😬

Grounds for seeking divorce

The view on divorce was quite lopsided. Divorce was not a common practice. It was not acceptable in Victorian society and so was difficult to obtain. There had to be strong grounds.

The only reason of divorce in the Victorian era was adultery. However, adultery was only easily valid for the man. 

Evidence needed for divorce

If a woman wanted to obtain a divorce on the ground of adultery she had to prove that her husband had indulged in bigamy, and thus had committed adultery. She also had to prove that her husband had treated her with excessive cruelty and had, perhaps, engaged in incest along with bigamy!

The main reason for this was that the husbands were supposed to take care of their wives and so their fidelity didn’t matter! While wives, on the other hand, if caught cheating were seen as greatly disrespecting the care of their husbands, and thus were a failure in fulfilling their wifely duties. 😇😌😕

However, during the mid-19th century, laws dealing with divorce were modified, making it more accessible for both men and women. But, that was of little practical use. Not much real change was seen in society, regarding divorce.

In the Victorian era, divorce was also extremely expensive, so it was very difficult for the poor to get a divorce. Divorce entailed the loss of property and wealth. As property and wealth were accumulated from generations in a family, obtaining a divorce was neither economical nor socially practical. Thus, it truly was not an acceptable norm in Victorian times.

Englishmen could even sell their wives as an alternative to getting a divorce, and this was entirely legal!

---from "Victorian Era".