Divorce Law, the Revolution of 1830 and the Novel: Aloïse de Carlowitz’s Le Pair de France ou Le Divorce (1835)

Abstract

Divorce was legalized in France during the French Revolution and remained legal (though more restricted) during the Napoleonic period. With the return of the Bourbons in 1815, however, it was almost immediately outlawed. The Revolution of 1830 and the ascension of the more progressive Louis-Philippe d’Orléans led to hopes that divorce would soon be reinstated, but they were quickly disappointed as the conservative Chamber of Peers squashed all attempts at restoring it. This article examines an 1835 novel, Aloïse Christine de Carlowitz’s Le Pair de France ou Le Divorce, which traces the debates about divorce in the years before and after 1830. The first section focuses on Carlowitz’s representation of these discussions and of various perspectives on the law and social reform. The second section considers how Carlowitz relates the divorce plot to the political changes in France between 1830 and 1834 through a series of parallels between historical events and the private drama of the protagonists.