George Meredith, Modern Love, Sonnets 1, 16, 17, 49

“In the United States, there is approximately 1 divorce every 36 seconds. The top 5 reasons for divorce include communication problems; infidelity or betrayal; financial problems; psychological, emotional, and physical abuse; and loss of interest” (Pfeiffer). Sonnets written by George Meredith entitled Modern Love cover this very topic of unhappy marriages. Although Modern Love was written during the Late Victorian Era, it still covers themes that are relevant today.

Meredith’s writings follow the experiences of a husband and wife who are stuck in an unhappy marriage. Sadness, infidelity, and secrets are the main themes depicted in Modern Love. Meredith chose these themes to represent his idea of what love and marriage look like. Throughout his sonnets, he takes us on an emotional rollercoaster with feelings of remorse and anger countering with the feeling of being content. These up-and-down feelings are best represented in the first sonnet where Meredith writes: “The strange low sobs that shook their common bed were called into her with a sharp surprise, and strangled mute, like little gaping snakes, dreadfully venomous to him. She lay stone-still, and the long darkness flowed away with muffled pulses.”

This piece of literature is very one-sided. We hear a lot from the husbands perspective and little from the wife. In every story, there is typically more than one side to be told. However, given the time period, it is understandable why the woman’s perspective was not exposed. We know that during this time in history women had very few rights; men always got the last say.

The problems depicted by Meredith in his writing about unhappy marriages are reflected today in a sense. However, it is worth mentioning that during the Late Victorian period, divorce was looked down upon by the public. Therefore, it was difficult to obtain. In comparison with todays view of divorce, it is much more common and not as much of a spectacle as it would have been so long ago.

 

Pfeiffer, Edrie. “What Are the Statistics on Divorce in America?” Hampton Roads Legal Services, www.hamptonroadslegal.com/faqs/facts-on-divorce-in-america.cfm.