MARRIAGE si 



by the wife to the expenses of the joint household; 

 or it may be intended as a settlement for the wife in 

 case the marriage is dissolved by the husband's death 

 or otherwise. The dowry generally becomes the 

 husband's property, and in case of divorce must be 

 returned to the wife. In China, the bridegroom does 

 not see his wife until after the wedding; and he may 

 send her back to her parents if he is not satisfied with 

 her. But he must not dismiss her without giving her 

 a sum equal to her dower, and must also pay to her 

 parents all the expenses of the marriage. In many 

 cases it is arranged that the dowry is completely at 

 the wife's disposal; this is becoming more and more 

 frequent with the modern advance in woman's in- 

 dependence in all spheres of life. 



3. MONOGAMY. 



There is no doubt that we find monogamy among 

 a number of primitive peoples, but the fact remains 

 that almost all nations of historical importance have 

 passed through a polygamous stage and have attained 

 monogamy only gradually. How this happened has 

 never been explained quite satisfactorily; most prob- 

 ably various causes conspired to bring about the 

 change. 



As the fighting spirit abated somewhat and war 

 became less prevalent among tribes, fewer men would 

 be killed, and this would lead to a more equalized 

 proportion between men and women. It would 

 hence be more difficult for any given man to obtain 

 more than one wife. Besides, when a man had to 

 purchase his wife he would frequently be unable to 

 afford more than one. Another factor working in 



G 



