The marital conflicts hinted at in these verses -
A certain ex-husband came to mind when I read today that a beloved public figure, adored and esteemed by millions, demonized his wife -- and everyone thought SHE was the problem.
Charles Dickens was a jerk… who knew?
She gave him ten children. She buried three with her own hands. She followed him across the ocean, stood by him through fame and struggle, and kept a household that never stopped moving. And yet, Catherine Hogarth — the wife of Charles Dickens — was cast aside, blamed, and forgotten. Dickens, celebrated as a genius of Victorian literature, accused her of being “fat, lazy, jealous, and dull.” He even made their private pain public, publishing a letter that painted himself as the victim. The world pitied him. Few pitied her.
But who wouldn’t feel tired after ten pregnancies? Who wouldn’t gain weight, or collapse in grief after burying children? Catherine was not weak. She was strong. She endured.
Her marriage ended not because of her, but because Dickens fell for a much younger actress, Ellen Ternan. Divorce was impossible in those days, so Catherine became the scapegoat. He even built a wall in their home to keep her apart. One day, Catherine put on her hat, walked out the door, and never went back. She lost her children, her home, and her place in society.
Before she died, she wished only for one thing — that the love letters Dickens had once written her be published, to prove she had been loved. That wish was denied. But her story lives.
https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/life/marriage/
She really was strong! I never heard that story. I'd bought the story that David Copperfield was supposed to have been loosely based on Dicken's life. What a sham.
Yeah, my hubby demonized me. It was interesting to see how easily supposedly liberated women believed him. He was dying, so I looked the other way for the most part. He and I had moments like these in my poem as well but, instead of both of us working our butts off to get the family and dogs in the car for a long road trip, he did nothing but set lights on the timers, and he frustratingly waited until every single other thing was done before he did even that much. We'd be waiting for him out by the packed car. But I was the lazy and dull one. I wonder how many marriages have this aspect. Good for Catherine! And as much as I love reading Dickens, now my stomach has been turned. How easy that was!!! Dear me, are we all the same?
I have to wonder how many WOMEN are evil, manipulative, scheming, grasping, greedy, and awful to their husbands. Like, all those bleached-blonde bimbos that the narcissist men dump their wives for - come on, do these young women really believe you're so hot and so desirable, or do you just have MONEY, dude.... or power, or perks and favors and strings to pull.
Some years ago, a local woman drove to her husband's apartment (they were separated) and caught his mistress slipping out fast. She claims he threatened her, and the paring knife she grabbed to get him to stop advancing just... slipped! ... and she didn't intend to stab him in the heart with it.
She served a few years in prison, and got out on good behavior.
Was he really threatening her, or was she just sick of all his lies....
Wife says cheating husband walked into knife
There was no question that the weapon, a common kitchen paring knife with a short blade, was in Phyllis Nelson's hand.
The matter before the court was what was in Phyllis' mind when the stabbing occurred.
She'd pleaded not guilty, claiming it was an accident.
She said she'd held the blade straight in front of her in a posture of self-defense when she rounded a blind corner and her furious husband walked right into the blade....
.... Sleeping with the secretary resulted in a sharp career setback for the previously impeccable Dr. Richard Nelson, the man many at the medical school referred to as "their moral compass." Those compromising snapshots resulted in a letter of reprimand in his official file and the loss of some $30,000 from his paycheck that year.
.... After serving three and half years in an Iowa woman's prison, Phyllis Nelson walked free, released to her friends who'd stood by her all the while... she was paroled to Illinois, where she is said to be living near family. She'll remain on parole until her sentence is complete in September 2007.