A Treatise on the Law Relating to Marriages, In Lower Canada by James Armstrong is the document I chose to analyze in my History 1120 class. I chose this Document because it talked about the laws behind marriage in pre-confederation Canada and I found it very interesting how the times have changed. When I handed in my document it was in essay form however for the sake of the website I decided to post the questions and answers that I covered in my analysis essay, because lets face it who wants to read an entire essay..
Who is the author and does this influence the perspective expressed by the document?
The author was James Armstrong and although the document seems to lean more in favor of the male role in marriage I don’t think that the fact the author was a male influences the perspective of the document because the document is a legal document. Although the time era and the laws that go with it may effect the perspective being as it was written in 1857 I don’t think the author himself influenced the perspective of the document.
What does the document reveal about the author?
The document reveals very little about the author other then the fact that he has a good understanding of the laws behind marriage in 1857
When was the document written/created and does this help explain and aspects of the document?
The document was written/ created in 1857 which does help explain the aspects of the document. The laws of marriage lean more in favor of the male role over the female and when talking about the negative sides of marriage they seem to use the terms that would imply it is the women’s fault, for example hers, her, she. Whereas when talking about the positive sides of marriage they use the terms in favor of the male, his, him, his. The document also reveals aspects of the time period when it states those who are incapable of contracting marriage are: “1st: madmen and idiots. 2nd males under the age of 14, and females under the age of 12. 3rd impotents who from physical defects are incapable of copulation. 4th those who are already married.” (pg 12)
Does the document help reveal anything about the specific time period?
If found that the document reveals that there was limitations on who could get married in this time period, you had to be of sound mind and able body in order to get married in 1857 whereas it seems anyone has a right to get married now in 2018. I found it very interesting that one of the rules behind marriage in 1857 was that you had to be able to “copulate.”
What was the purpose of the document? Do you feel that the author accomplished his/her purpose? Why or why not?
The purpose of the document was to legally state what the contract of marriage was and I believe that Armstrong did accomplish his purpose in doing so because after reading the document I have a better understanding of what it meant to be married in 1857.
What does the document reveal about the attitudes toward your topic?
I do not believe that the document reveals much in the ways of attitudes toward the topic of marriage however it does seem to favor male over female and favors overall sound mind and body.
How can you explain the reasons for those attitudes?
As I previously stated I didn’t notice any attitudes in the document but I did notice favoritism. The male over female favoritism I think stems from the beliefs that men are dominant over women. It also comes from the belief that the male is the “bread winner” and the female is the “homemaker”. I also noticed that the document favors the able bodied and minded which in the time period of 1857 would make sense based off of how difficult the living conditions would be, I think that they are trying to set up marriages that are 2 sided so that the male can be in charge of making a living and the female can be in charge of raising the family ad maintaining the home. If this wasn’t the case it would fall on one side to do both and in this era that would be difficult to do.
Work cited
Armstrong, James. “ A Treatise on the Law Relating to Marriages, In Lower Canada” Printed by John Lovell, at the Canada Directory Office ST. Nicholas Street, Montreal (1857) pg. 9-35