cruelty. Cases against women covered: inadequacy in motherhood, not fulfilling domestic responsibilities, and any use of vices. What changes happened over the next forty years to cause an increase in the divorce rate? One might guess that women became more liberated or that the influx of immigrants may have caused competition for jobs. May proposed the idea that a revolution took place within society, a change that did not include all of the aspects of Victorianism. During this time there was an industrial revolution, a sexual revolution and urbanization. All of these meant that new roles needed to be defined within the home and between the sexes.In the workplace corporations began to rise and ruin the opportunity for economic autonomy. No longer could a have the pride and power of running his own business, he was now forced to work under someone and in most cases take a pay cut. This also meant many women were almost forced into the workforce. Though many husbands didn’t want their wives to have to work many women were encouraged to go out and get a job. Some women saw this as a new opportunity, which meant more freedom, but many were very unhappy with this idea. This was an accepted claim for divorce in many of the cases in California in the beginning of the 20th century.As industry began to boom another wave affected the lives of the middle class Americans: consumerism. With a new found abundance of goods men and women became preoccupied with material goods. As families began to move out into the suburbs there was great competition to keep up with the newest in goods. Tension began to grow as men and women became unhappy when they couldn’t afford all of the goods they expected. “After 1900, the communal values of sacrifice, volunteerism, and virtuous domesticity were seriously shaken by the rise of urban culture, which brought altered sex roles and post-Victorian expectations of marriage and family li...
