Marriage in the 19th Century Primary Sources. The Matrimonial Causes Act of 1857 gave men the right to divorce their wives on the grounds of adultery. Helene Costello Born: June 21, 1906. Matrimonial Manoeuvres (1913). Start studying El Anillo Del General Macias- Vocab. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This was the fate of Dorothy Nevill (1826-1913). Matrimonial Causes Act: a wife deserted by an adulterer could petition for divorce immediately. George Veditz; Born: George. News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times. Our site uses cookies. By continuing to use our site you are agreeing to our cookies policy. ![]() Polish Wedding Traditions and the Meanings Behind Them. As we all know, a wedding is a joyous ceremony in which two lives are officially joined in many different manners, not only in the eyes of friends and family, but also to the state, and usually under the auspices of the religious traditions practiced by the couple getting married, as well as their familiy. When attending one of these special gatherings, between the dancing, drinking, and general revelry, it’s very easy to get caught up in the celebratory nature of everything, and not pay much attention to the actual ceremony. But a deeper look at the goings on of any wedding will drop you into a living, breathing snapshot of the past, revealing the traditions of the families involved. Whether it’s the rice thrown at the newly- married American couple, the Indian groom riding in on an elephant, or a Polish couple eating salted bread, these traditions may be lost on some, but integral to the narrative that’s been playing out for centuries. CRL collects and maintains extensive archival collections related to Great Britain. Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations. Records of the Court of Arches, 1660-1913 (microfiche series). Matrimonial: suits relating to. Today, our discussion is about Polish wedding traditions, and what to expect if you’re attending a Polish wedding sometime in the future, you happen to be of Polish descent, and would like some ideas about how to include your ancestry into your nuptials, or just curious about Polish weddings in general. Some of these traditions may seem off to you at first, but throwing a bouquet backwards over your head probably looked weird to the guests at the first wedding that that happened at. ![]() Courtship \court'ship\ (k?rt. If you fancy yourself an ace photographer, and would like to try your hand at nuptials, this course on the basics of professional wedding photography, and this article on 6 tips for taking better wedding photos may help you find a new career. Pre- Wedding. The distinctive traditions that are particular to the Polish people start before the actual ceremony takes place, and it all begins with Oswiadczyny, or the engagement ceremony. This is usually just a small get- together held at the house of the parents of either the bride or groom, and provides an opportunity for the future in- laws to meet, usually for the first time. Next, invitations are sent out, with the groomsmen and bridesmaids getting the first wave of invites, followed by the godparents of the bride and groom, and finally everyone else. ![]() ![]() In some of the more traditional areas of Poland, everyone in the village receives an invitation to the wedding, and if someone could not attend, they must inform the bride and groom, and usually a gift is sent anyway. If you get invited to a Polish wedding, make sure to read your invitation carefully, because an invite to the ceremony doesn’t necessarily include an invite to the party afterwards. If you have a knack for creating invitations, this course on how to sell wedding invitations on Zazzle will show you how to make money off your crafty habit. Finally, bachelor and bachelorette parties happen, sometimes the night before the wedding, other times a week or two prior. Tending to be on the mellower side, a Polish bachelor party may include just the groom and his friends going out for a few drinks, playing pool or darts, and generally socializing. A typical bachelorette party is similar, and includes the bride- to- be and her friends either going out for a meal and drinks, or staying at home to listen to music, play games, and gossip. If you have a bachelor or bachelorette party to attend soon, Polish or not, you’re going to want to be ready, and this article on detox juice recipes might be a good idea for before and after the party. The Wedding Ceremony and Beyond. Now on to the actual wedding day. Because Polish weddings tend to include both religious and civil aspects, there are very important parts of the wedding that take place both inside and outside the actual church, beginning with the pre- wedding blessing. If you’re planning on giving a speech at a wedding, or any other occasion, and are a bit nervous, then check out this course on public speaking made easy to learn how to not only give, but also write, speeches. Before heading to the church to begin the actual ceremony, the wedding guests gather at the home of the bride to send the couple off to the church with a blessing and a symbolic farewell. It begins with the bride and groom kneeling on cushions or kneelers and holding hands. Then, a candle is lit, a crucifix is handed to the couple to hold, and the bride’s mother gives a blessing, then sprinkles the couple with holy water. The bride’s father does the same, then other family members, including the groom’s parents, the godparents, grandparents, etc. If they arrive separately, the bride waits in the church for the groom, rather than the other way around like most people are used to, otherwise they walk up the aisle together, with the groomsmen and bridesmaids following. If the couple opt for a non- religious setting for their nuptials, they may choose to tie the knot at the local magistrate’s office. No matter where the wedding takes place, there must be two witnesses present to sign any documents. After the actual wedding ceremony, a whole new set of traditions is displayed. First off, instead of rice being thrown at the newly married couple, loose change is thrown at them, and they are expected to pick it all up. This is thought to bestow luck upon the couple. Immediately after their shower of change, the guests line up to bestow upon the couple a kiss to the bride, and a handshake and an envelope full of money to the groom. If you’re newly married, and need to learn to save money better, this course on how to make a budget will help you put what money you do have to good use. Other, older traditions may also be practiced at this time, directly after the wedding ceremony. Sometimes the bride may throw handfuls of straw on the young boys and girls following her, and whomever it lands on first is said to be the first to marry out of all the children. For the bridesmaids, the first to touch the bride’s flowers, or the bride herself, was thought to become married that year. As the couple heads to the reception site, be it a restaurant, banquet hall, or the home of family members, there is usually some type of “gate” set up by the guests, either made of people or barricades, that the couple must go through together. At the site of the reception, the party cannot begin until the couple arrives, and when they do, the music, usually a Polish band, or a polka band, begins, and so does the fun. One of the songs they will play is “Sto Lat”, which happens after the first toast, and means “1. One of the more popular Polish wedding traditions is the blessing with salt, bread, and wine. This blessing is given by the parents of the bride and the groom, and everyone eats a piece of bread that’s been lightly salted, then drinks some wine. The symbolism behind the gesture has several meanings. First off, the bread represents prosperity for the couple, but the salt represents the difficult, or bitter, times that they may face. Salt is also symbolic of healing and cleansing, as well having the ability to put out fires, and drive away evil spirits. The wine means that the couple will never be thirsty again, and after drinking it, they break the glass for good luck. The Unveiling and Capping Ceremony. This part of the reception, called oczepiny in Polish, represents the bride becoming a married woman. All of the single females at the wedding form a circle around the bride, as the maid of honor stands behind her and removes her veil. Next, a married woman must then pin a cap to the bride’s head as the circle of single women give way to a circle of married women, and now the bride is officially considered to be a married woman. Now that you know the meanings behind some of the traditions you might find at a Polish wedding, find out the meanings behind other well- worn matrimonial traditions – you might be surprised. Even ones that you’ve witnessed dozens of times may not mean quite you thought they did. If you’re already married, or about to be, and want it to be as pleasant as possible, check out this course on preparing for a happy marriage. The Importance of Being Earnest. The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 1. February 1. 89. 5 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious person. Working within the social conventions of late Victorian London, the play's major themes are the triviality with which it treats institutions as serious as marriage, and the resulting satire of Victorian ways. Contemporary reviews all praised the play's humour, though some were cautious about its explicit lack of social messages, while others foresaw the modern consensus that it was the culmination of Wilde's artistic career so far. Its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make The Importance of Being Earnest Wilde's most enduringly popular play. The successful opening night marked the climax of Wilde's career but also heralded his downfall. The Marquess of Queensberry, whose son Lord Alfred Douglas was Wilde's lover, planned to present the writer with a bouquet of rotten vegetables and disrupt the show. Wilde was tipped off and Queensberry was refused admission. Soon afterwards their feud came to a climax in court, where Wilde's homosexual double life was revealed to the Victorian public and he was eventually sentenced to imprisonment. His notoriety caused the play, despite its early success, to be closed after 8. After his release, he published the play from exile in Paris, but he wrote no further comic or dramatic work. The Importance of Being Earnest has been revived many times since its premiere. It has been adapted for the cinema on three occasions. In The Importance of Being Earnest (1. Dame Edith Evans reprised her celebrated interpretation of Lady Bracknell; The Importance of Being Earnest (1. Kurt Baker used an all- black cast; and Oliver Parker's The Importance of Being Earnest (2. Wilde's original material cut during the preparation of the original stage production. Composition. In July 1. The Importance of Being Earnest to George Alexander, the actor- manager of the St James's Theatre. Wilde spent the summer with his family at Worthing, where he wrote the play quickly in August. Gilbert's 1. 87. 7 farce Engaged. In revising as he did, . In the course of these rehearsals Alexander asked Wilde to shorten the play from four acts to three. Wilde agreed and combined elements of the second and third acts. Gribsby, a solicitor who comes from London to arrest the profligate . Algernon, who is posing as . Jack finally agrees to pay for Ernest, everyone thinking that it is Algernon's bill when in fact it is his own. Peter Raby argues that the three- act structure is more effective, and that the shorter original text is more theatrically resonant than the expanded published edition. Wilde and Alexander learned of the plan, and the latter cancelled Queensberry's ticket and arranged for policemen to bar his entrance. Nevertheless, he continued harassing Wilde, who eventually launched a private prosecution against the peer for criminal libel, triggering a series of trials ending in Wilde's imprisonment for gross indecency. Alexander tried, unsuccessfully, to save the production by removing Wilde's name from the billing. Its cast included William Faversham as Algy, Henry Miller as Jack, Viola Allen as Gwendolen, and Ida Vernon as Lady Bracknell. Though unsure of Wilde's seriousness as a dramatist, they recognised the play's cleverness, humour and popularity with audiences. Walkley admired the play and was one of few to see it as the culmination of Wilde's dramatic career. Wells, in an unsigned review for the Pall Mall Gazette, called Earnest one of the freshest comedies of the year, saying . Alexander revived The Importance in a small theatre in Notting Hill, outside the West End, in 1. Alexander presented another revival of The Importance at the St James's in 1. Aynesworth reprised their original roles. Matthews succeeded the creators as Jack and Algy. It was not until the 1. The Manchester Guardian put it, . The Times considered the production the best since the original, and praised it for its fidelity to Wilde's conception, its . During a 1. 94. 6 season at the Haymarket the King and Queen attended a performance. It opened at the American Airlines Theatre on 1. January and ran until 3 July 2. The cast also included Dana Ivey as Miss Prism, Paxton Whitehead as Canon Chasuble, Santino Fontana as Algernon, Paul O'Brien as Lane, Charlotte Parry as Cecily, David Furr as Jack and Sara Topham as Gwendolen. Ernest has come from the country to propose to Algernon's cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax. Algernon, however, refuses his consent until Ernest explains why his cigarette case bears the inscription, . In the country, he assumes a serious attitude for the benefit of his young ward, the heiress Cecily Cardew, and goes by the name of John (or, as a nickname, Jack), while pretending that he must worry about a wastrel younger brother named Ernest in London. In the city, meanwhile, he assumes the identity of the libertine Ernest. Algernon confesses a similar deception: he pretends to have an invalid friend named Bunbury in the country, whom he can . Jack refuses to tell Algernon the location of his country estate. Gwendolen and her formidable mother Lady Bracknell now call on Algernon who distracts Lady Bracknell in another room while Jack proposes to Gwendolen. She accepts, but seems to love him very largely for his professed name of Ernest. Jack accordingly resolves to himself to be rechristened . Discovering them in this intimate exchange, Lady Bracknell interviews Jack as a prospective suitor. Horrified to learn that he was adopted after being discovered as a baby in a handbag at Victoria Station, she refuses him and forbids further contact with her daughter. Gwendolen, though, manages covertly to promise to him her undying love. As Jack gives her his address in the country, Algernon surreptitiously notes it on the cuff of his sleeve: Jack's revelation of his pretty and wealthy young ward has motivated his friend to meet her. The Garden of the Manor House, Woolton. Alexander in Act II (1. Cecily is studying with her governess, Miss Prism. Algernon arrives, pretending to be Ernest Worthing, and soon charms Cecily. Long fascinated by Uncle Jack's hitherto absent black sheep brother, she is predisposed to fall for Algernon in his role of Ernest (a name she, like Gwendolen, is apparently particularly fond of). Therefore, Algernon, too, plans for the rector, Dr. Chasuble, to rechristen him . He arrives in full mourning and announces his brother's death in Paris of a severe chill, a story undermined by Algernon's presence in the guise of Ernest. Gwendolen now enters, having run away from home. During the temporary absence of the two men, she meets Cecily, each woman indignantly declaring that she is the one engaged to . When Jack and Algernon reappear, their deceptions are exposed. Act III. The revelation of Cecily's trust fund soon dispels Lady Bracknell's initial doubts over the young lady's suitability, but any engagement is forbidden by her guardian Jack: he will consent only if Lady Bracknell agrees to his own union with Gwendolen. Challenged, Miss Prism explains that she had absentmindedly put the manuscript of a novel she was writing in the perambulator, and the baby in a handbag, which she had left at Victoria Station. Jack produces the very same handbag, showing that he is the lost baby, the elder son of Lady Bracknell's late sister, and thus indeed Algernon's elder brother. Having acquired such respectable relations, he is acceptable as a suitor for Gwendolen after all. Gwendolen, though, still insists that she can only love a man named Ernest. Lady Bracknell informs Jack that, as the first- born, he would have been named after his father, General Moncrieff. Jack examines the army lists and discovers that his father's name. Pretence was reality all along. As the happy couples embrace. Chasuble and Miss Prism. I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them. For I feel that you are sure to change. In turn, both Gwendolen and Cecily have the ideal of marrying a man named Ernest, a popular and respected name at the time. Gwendolen, quite unlike her mother's methodical analysis of John Worthing's suitability as a husband, places her entire faith in a Christian name, declaring in Act I, . He defends himself against her . At the time, Victoria Station consisted of two separate but adjacent terminal stations sharing the same name. To the east was the ramshackle LC& D Railway, on the west the up- market LB& SCR. How I used to toy with that Tiger Life. In 1. 89. 2, three years before Wilde wrote the play, John Gambril Nicholson had published the book of pederastic poetry Love In Earnest. The sonnet Of Boys' Names included the verse: . The first time I heard it mentioned was in the 1. I immediately consulted Sir John Gielgud whose own performance of Jack Worthing in the same play was legendary and whose knowledge of theatrical lore was encyclopaedic. He replied in his ringing tones: ! Nonsense, absolute nonsense: I would have known. It may have derived from Henry Shirley Bunbury, a hypochondriacal acquaintance of Wilde's youth. While his earlier comedies suffer from an unevenness resulting from the thematic clash between the trivial and the serious, Earnest achieves a pitch- perfect style that allows these to dissolve. The dandyish insouciance of Jack and Algernon. The formidable pronouncements of Lady Bracknell are as startling for her use of hyperbole and rhetorical extravagance as for her disconcerting opinions. In contrast, the speech of Dr. Chasuble and Miss Prism is distinguished by . Max Beerbohm described it as littered with . Edith Evans, both on stage and in the 1. An understated take, to be sure, but with such a well- known play, packed full of witticisms and aphorisms with a life of their own, it's the little things that make a difference.
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