離婚のための理由づくり
同じような困難さ(やっかいさ)は,本来(in themselves それ自身)完全に妥当である種々の理由に関しても生じてくる。多くの夫婦は,熱烈に別れることを望んでいるので,法的に許されるほとんどいかなる便法(expedient 手段)にも訴えようとする。以前,英国でそうであったように,男性は,離婚するためには,姦淫(不義密通)はもちろんのこと(as well as),虐待の罪を犯さなければならなかったが,そのような時に,虐待の証拠を用意するため,夫が妻と打ちあわせて(arrange with his wife 妻と示し合わせて)妻を召使い(使用人)の前でなぐることもよく起こった。熱烈に別れることを望んでいる二人に,法律の圧力でむりやりお互いのつき合いを耐えさせることが望ましいことかどうかは,別問題である。しかし,離婚の根拠としてどんなことが認められたとしても,それは,最大限に拡大解釈されるものであり,世の中にはわざとそうした根拠(理由)を利用できるような具合に振る舞う人が多いということは,まったく公平に認めなければならない。 けれども,法律上の難点(困難)は無視して,実際に結婚生活を維持することが望ましくない事情の探求を続けよう。 |
Chapter XVI: Divorce, n.8Desertion, when it is genuine, should, of course, be a ground for divorce, for in that case the decree merely recognizes in law what is already the fact, namely that the marriage is at an end. From a legal point of view, however, there is the awkwardness that desertion, if it is a ground for divorce, will be resorted to for that reason, and will be therefore far more frequent than it would be if it were not such a ground. The same kind of difficulty arises in regard to various causes which are in themselves perfectly valid. Many married couples have such a passionate desire to part that they will resort to almost any expedient allowed by the law. When, as was the case in England formerly, a man had to be guilty of cruelty as well as adultery in order to be divorced, it not infrequently happened that a husband would arrange with his wife to hit her before the servants, in order that evidence of cruelty might be forthcoming. Whether it is altogether desirable that two people who passionately desire to part should be forced to endure each other's companionship by the pressure of the law is another question. But we must in all fairness recognize that whatever grounds of divorce are allowed will be stretched to the uttermost, and that many people will purposely behave in such a manner as to make these grounds available. Let us, however, neglecting legal difficulties, continue our inquiry into the circumstances which in fact make the persistence of a marriage undesirable. |