5. With the exception of contributions to the house and education, and to the feeding and clothing of the children, the product of the husband's work and private fortune belong to him, just as the product and fortune of his wife are her own property. In the case of divorce there will then be no difficulty in separating the two properties. Excepting in cases mentioned in the second proposition, which will be decided by law, the children will belong to the mother only. But as long as he lives and is able to work, the divorced father must continue to contribute to the maintenance and education of the children he has procreated, till they come of age.
These propositions have only a legal value, and will only be required when the conjoints cannot come to a mutual understanding. They in no way concern those who are able to live together in mutual concord. A weak and passive woman will continue as before to subordinate herself to the advice and opinions of a husband stronger and wiser than herself.
It is needless to say that, after divorce or separation, things will not always go smoothly, although more so than at present. The husband will always have the right to have certain claims decided by law. When the law is not exclusively in the hands of men, it will be more capable of protecting the rights of women. Cases in which a mother is incapable of bringing up her own children, or where the father is capable of great devotion and sacrifice are not now so rare, but they are nevertheless exceptional.
The Present Day.—It is not to be expected that the above propositions will find much support at the present day among the majority of people, still less that they will soon be realized by the governing bodies, considering their conservative and idle tendencies and their inertia. It may be asked, on the other hand, whether the present laws do not already provide us with the ways and means of attaining the ideal that we propose. I already see two:
First of all, as pointed out in Chapter XIII, we may enter into contracts which make the properties entirely separate, and according to the local legislation in force, fulfill other of the above propositions. For instance, in some countries, the wife can preserve by contract the property and management of the house, etc.
In the second place, illegitimate children now bear the family name of their mother; this is exactly what we desire. When concubinage is not prosecuted and punished by law, a free marriage could be arranged by private contract which would fulfill the above conditions. Some persons, I admit, would require much courage to do this, for it is not every one who can brave public opinion when he has a good reputation to lose. Moreover, such unions would not enjoy the protection of the State. By a little perseverance, however, the public might be induced to call the woman "Mrs." instead of "Miss."
It is not impossible for unions of this kind between honorable persons to become more frequent, and gradually compel society to recognize free unions as the equivalent of traditional, or so-called legal, marriage, to accord them the same rights and recognize the children born of them. The conjoints could be named by combining both family names; for example, if Miss Martin enters into a free union with Mr. Durand, she might be called Mrs. Martin-Durand, and her husband Mr. Durand-Martin.
Conclusion.—It may perhaps be thought that I am imagining the existence of the purest ideal and the happiness of paradise in a world in which the hereditary quality of men will be no better than it is to-day. I hope that no reader who has followed me carefully will regard me as so ingenuous. Then as now there will be intrigues and disputes, hatred, envy, jealousy, idleness, impropriety, falsehood, negligence, temper, etc., but their power will be less. There will be less excuse for these bad qualities and those who possess them will be regarded as pathological individuals who should be eliminated as much as possible by means of proper selection, combined with good hygiene and thorough education.
On the other hand, men of originality and high ideals will be able to develop much more freely and naturally than at present. They will no longer be the slaves of power, money, prejudice and routine. They will not be obliged to conform to religious hypocrisy, but will be able to speak and act according to their convictions. Marriage, and sexual relations in general, will no longer be a perpetual conventional falsehood. The sentiments no longer fettered, will not be led astray into mischievous ways by artificial excitement, so long as they do not depend on unhealthy dispositions, for the pretexts and especially the pecuniary inducement to commit evil actions and contract bad habits will have been removed as far as possible.
For the same reason prostitution will become almost impossible, for it will cease to have any reason for existence. Immoderate sexual intercourse, like other excesses, will not cease to exist, but will be kept in certain limits by the work which no one will be able to escape.