DISORGANIZATION：
THE FAMILY OLD AND NEW REGIMES IN THE FAMILY -- THE DECLINING BIRTH-RATE-- "SPOILED" CHILDREN -- THE OPENING OF NEW CAREERS TO WOMEN -- EUROPEANAND AMERICAN POINTS OF VIEW -- PERSONAL FACTORS IN DIVORCE -- INSTITUTIONALFACTORS -- CONCLUSION
THE mediaeval family， like other mediaeval institutions， was dominated by comparatively settled traditions which reflected the needs of the general system of society Marriage was thought of chiefly as an alliance of interests， and was arranged by the ruling members of the families concerned on grounds of convenance， the personal congeniality of the parties being little considered.
We know that this view of marriage has still considerable force among the more conservative classes of European society， and that royalty or nobility， on the one hand， and the peasantry， on the other， adhere to the idea that it is a family rather than a personal function， which should be arranged on grounds of rank and wealth.In France it is hardly respectable to make a romantic marriage， and Mr.Hamerton tells of a young woman who was indignant at a rumor that she had been wedded for love， insisting that it had been strictly a matter of convenance.He also mentions a young man who was compelled to ask his mother which of two sisters he had just met was to be his wife.
Along with this subordination of choice in contracting marriage generally went an autocratic family discipline.Legally the wife and children had no separate rights， their personality being merged in that of the husband and father， while socially the latter was rather their master than their companion.His rule， however梩hough it was no doubt harsh and often brutal， judged by our notions梐uthority in our day； since he was was possibly not so arbitrary and whimsical as would be the exercise of similar himself subordinate not only to social superiors， but still more to traditional ideas， defining his own duties and those of his household， which he felt bound to carry out.The whole system was authoritative， admitting little play of personal choice.
Evidently the drift of modern life is away from this state of things.
The decay of settled traditions， embracing not only those relating directly to the family but also the religious and economic ideas by which these were supported， has thrown us back upon the unschooled impulses of human nature.In entering upon marriage the personal tastes of the couple demand gratification， and， right or wrong， there is no authority strong enough to hold them in check.Nor， if upon experience it turns out that personal tastes are not gratified， is there commonly any insuperable obstacle to a dissolution of the tie.Being married， they have children so long as they find it， on the whole， agreeable to their inclinations to do so， but when this point is reached they proceed to exercise choice by refusing to bear and rear any more.And as the spirit of choice is in I the air， the children are not slow to inhale it and to exercise their own wills in accordance with the same law of im--pulse their elders seem to follow."Do as you please so long as you do not evidently harm others " is the only rule of ethics that has much life； there is little regard for any higher discipline， for the slowly built traditions of a deeper right and wrong which cannot be justified to the feelings of the moment.
Among the phases of this domestic "individualism" or relapse to impulse are a declining birthrate among the comfortable classes， some lack of discipline and respect in children， a growing independence of women accompanied by alleged neglect of the family， and an increase of divorce.
The causes of decline in the birthrate are clearly psychological， being， in general， that people prefer ambition and luxury to the large families that would interfere with them.
Freedom of opportunity diffuses a restless desire to rise in the world， beneficent from many points of view but by no means favorable to natural increase.Men demand more of life in the way of personal self-realization than in the past， and it takes a longer time and more energy to get it， the consequence being that marriage is postponed and the birth-rate in marriage deliberately restricted.The young people of the well-to-do classes， among whom ambition is most developed， commonly feel poorer in regard to this matter than the hand-workers， so that we find in England， for instance， that the professional men marry at an average age of thirty-one， while miners marry at twenty-four.Moreover， while the hand-working classes， both on the farms and in towns， expect to make their children more than pay for themselves after they are fourteen years old， a large family thus becoming an investment for future profit， the well-to-do， on the contrary， see in their children a source of indefinitely continuous expense.And the trend of things is bringing an ever larger proportion of the people within the ambitious chtsses and subject to this sort of checks.
The spread of luxury， or even comfort， works in the same direction by creating tastes and habits unfavorable to the bearing and rearing of many children.Among those whose life， in general， is hard these things are not harder than the rest， and a certain callousness of mind that is apt to result from monotonous physical labor renders people less subject to anxiety， as a rule， than those who might appear to have less occasion for it.The joy of children， the "luxury of the poor，" may also appear brighter from the dulness and hardship against which it is relieved.But as people acquire the habit， or at least the hope， of comfort they become aware that additional c}ildren mean a sacrifice which they often refuse to make.