rom90125 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 On page 30 of Installment 1, the following snippet appears: Quote his wife Martha, who at twenty-three is twenty years his junior, and their eight-year old son Jacob Have I missed something? Given that Martha is currently 23-years old and has an 8-year old son implies the 'good' Reverend impregnated the young woman at the age of 15-years old! I'm not prudish on the implications of a 15-year old being married and having a child, however, I wonder if there is room to role play the fact that her husband was 35-years her senior when she was impregnated. Does anyone know the prevailing social opinion back in the mid-to-late 1920s of children being wed to adults? Thanks! Link to comment
mvincent Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 (edited) 29 minutes ago, rom90125 said: Given that Martha is currently 23-years old and has an 8-year old son implies the 'good' Reverend impregnated the young woman at the age of 15-years old Correct. Thank you for pointing that out. I believe that was more acceptable (and legal) back then... but it was still likely added as a realization of ickyness for the players. 29 minutes ago, rom90125 said: her husband was 35-years her senior when she was impregnated. I'd reckon he was still 23 years her senior then also (making him 38 years old) Edited May 17, 2016 by mvincent Link to comment
morganhua Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 My players picked that up. There was definitely an ick factor. They tried to figure out if they wanted to rescue her, but from their conversation with her, it looked like she was content enough. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005061.html Yes, back then, it was more acceptable, but still a bit young, the median age for women to be married was about 21. I think some states let you get married at 12 (puberty). 2 Link to comment
rom90125 Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 24 minutes ago, morganhua said: My players picked that up. There was definitely an ick factor. They tried to figure out if they wanted to rescue her, but from their conversation with her, it looked like she was content enough. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005061.html Yes, back then, it was more acceptable, but still a bit young, the median age for women to be married was about 21. I think some states let you get married at 12 (puberty). Fantastically useful link and website! Thanks for sharing this with us! Link to comment
Baniak Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 On 17.05.2016 at 10:14 PM, rom90125 said: On page 30 of Installment 1, the following snippet appears: Have I missed something? Given that Martha is currently 23-years old and has an 8-year old son implies the 'good' Reverend impregnated the young woman at the age of 15-years old! I'm not prudish on the implications of a 15-year old being married and having a child, however, I wonder if there is room to role play the fact that her husband was 35-years her senior when she was impregnated. Does anyone know the prevailing social opinion back in the mid-to-late 1920s of children being wed to adults? Thanks! I have another shocker for you He gave birth when she was 15, so she got pregnant at about 14 yrs old. Link to comment
Brian M. Sammons Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 On 5/17/2016 at 4:42 PM, mvincent said: but it was still likely added as a realization of ickyness for the players. Link to comment
Recommended Posts