Marriage, Money, and Women’s Independence in the Modern Era

The institution of marriage has long been used as a tool for securing and transferring property and wealth. The role of women in this system has traditionally been secondary yet essential. In the modern era, several female philosophers questioned women’s role in this system. The English enlightenment philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was critical of women’s role in a system in which people were either owners of property or owned as property. Wollstonecraft emphasized the ability of women to be financially independent, both in her writings and in her own life. The French philosopher Gabrielle Suchon (1632–1703) recommended secular celibacy as a way for women to retain their independence, financial and otherwise. Sarah Scott (1720–1795) promoted separatist female communities. In this chapter, I consider the criticism of marriage put forth by these thinkers and others in the modern era, with a special emphasis on the promotion of financial independence for women and the critique of marriage as an essential factor in the ruling financial system. I argue that already in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, some female thinkers were putting forth a social analysis and critique that we tend to associate with later times.