Introduction

In this first part of the book the contributors take as their theme some of the changing aspects of marriage and domestic life in Britain since the end of the Second World War. Their intention, however, is not to produce a detailed family history of the period. The authors have been selective and in so doing have produced an original set of arguments which largely revolve around the predominant characteristics of marriage in the post-war period. At the centre of these chapters are the debates about companionate marriage, notions of marriage as partnership and the extent to which there is any evidence over time of greater equality between men and women in marriage. These are explored on a number of dimensions, ranging from the prescriptions of social policy to the more private territories of sexual and intimate relationships. In all cases, however, the authors place a strong emphasis on understanding both the public and the private dimensions of marriage and domestic life and in particular the interactions between them.