English Men Once Sold Their Wives Instead of Getting Divorced
English Men Once Sold Their Wives Instead of Getting Divorced. Since divorce was expensive during the Victorian era, some men simply opted to sell their wives instead. Much like a cattle auction, the husband would put a rope around his wife's waist, wrist, or neck and take her to the market, where he would sell her off to the highest bidder. After she was purchased by another man, her previous marriage was considered null and void. And while this wasn't technically legal in England, many authorities looked the other way. Onlookers shouted as he auctioned her off to the highest bidder, William Harwood. After Harwood turned over a single shilling to Wray, he put his arm around his purchase. “Harwood walked off arm in arm with his smiling bargain,”reported an onlooker, “with as much coolness as if he had purchased a new coat or hat.” It was 1847, and Wray had just gotten the equivalent of a divorce. The scene sounds like an elaborate joke. In reality, it was anything but. Between ...