Woman and Socialism - August Bebel

In the United States, where the divorce statistics cover a period of forty years, we find the following ratio:

	1867–1886.	P. C.	1887–1906.	P. C.	1906.	P. C.
Men	112,540	34.2	316,149	33.4	23,455	32.5
Women	216,176	65.8	629,476	66.6	48,607	67.5
Total	328,716	100	945,625	100	72,062	100

The above table shows that in more than two-thirds of all divorce cases women were the plaintiffs.[53]

In Italy we find a similar ratio. During 1887 there were 1,221 divorce cases; 593 of these were instituted by wives, 214 by husbands, 414 by both husbands and wives. In 1904 there were 2,103 cases; 1,142 by wives, 454 by husbands, and 507 by both.

Statistics teach us that the majority of divorces are sought by women, and they furthermore teach us that the number of divorces is rapidly increasing. Since the introduction of the new divorce law in France in 1884, the divorces have increased from year to year, as follows:

Years	1884.	1885.	1890.	1895.	1900.	1905.	1906.	1907.
Divorces	1,657	4,123	6,557	7,700	7,820	10,019	10,573	10,938

In Switzerland, too, the divorce-rate is increasing. From 1886 to 1890 there were 882 divorces. From 1891 to 1895 there were 898 divorces; in 1897, 1,011; in 1898, 1,018; in 1899, 1,091; in 1905, 1,206; in 1906, 1,343. In Austria during 1899 there were 856 divorces and 133 separations. In 1900 there were 1,310 divorces and 163 separations. In 1905 there were 1,885 divorces and 262 separations. The number of divorces and separations have been doubled during a decade. In Vienna there were 148 divorces in 1870 and 1871; they increased with each succeeding year until in 1878 and 1879 there were 319 cases. Vienna being a Catholic city, divorces are not easily obtained. Nevertheless, a Viennese judge exclaimed during the eighties: “The charge of broken marriage vows is as frequent as the charge of broken windows.”

The following shows the increasing divorce-rate in the United States:

Years	1867.	1886.	1895.	1902.	1906.
Divorces	9,937	25,535	40,387	61,480	72,062