ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the characterisation of marriage in a group of feminist utopian texts published between 1888 and 1909 that specifically address women's societal oppression and envision an alternative society in which gender relations are radically reconstructed to women's benefit. In the late nineteenth century, the central relationship that formed the context for Victorian women's personal, economic and social destinies, and was idealised by traditionalists as 'that faithful union of Two upon which pure and progressive society is built' came under sustained attack. The feminist utopias written during the era of the women's movement in Britain vary in their particulars, but collectively they envision the relationship as partnership based on affectionate friendship and intellectual companionship, one that respects the individuality of both partners rather than subscribing to stereotyped binary gender roles. British feminist utopias question the pre-eminence of marriage as the location of women's highest personal and emotional fulfilment, recontextualising it alongside other modes of fulfilling relationship.
