Modernity

• There was increased literacy amongst the middle classes, and intellectual enlightenment when religious beliefs and traditional values began to be questioned. Romantic individualism encouraged the choice of partners for love.
• As younger people undertook new types of work during industrialisation they often moved away from kin and community and were more influenced by their own desires.
• There was still parental supervision over middle-class young women until at least World War One, with pressure to marry suitable partners. Illegitimacy and living in sin were stigmatised and divorce was unusual.