The Ten Pleasures of Marriage, relating all the delights and contentments that are mask'd under the bands of matrimony

Overview

"The Ten Pleasures of Marriage, relating all the delights and contentments that are mask'd under the bands of matrimony" is a satirical take on traditional views surrounding marriage in 17th century England. It has now been discovered that it was written by Aphra Bens under the guise of a different name at the time. Bens, often considered the first female playwright in English literature, offers a feisty take on what marriage entails to her readers. This book was published in 1682 in London and now rests in the University of Pennsylvania's rare books collection.

Contextual Analysis

Material Analysis

It is made from cream cloth covered boards with bumped corners. It has illustrations throughout with frequent images of cherubs,which is in line with the themes of marriage and love. The titles are engraved and there are twenty plates.The object binding is contemporary with the publication date. has a mixture of words and pictures. There are chapter titles which helps the reader understand where they are in the story and the pictures also provide entertainment throughout. The chapters are pretty short and take on a satirical tone in explaining the attitudes and social norms of the time. In the second part of the book, The Confession of the New Married Couple, explores a couple approaching a priest to give their confessions also in a satirical manner.This book has not been written in and does not have annotations. Because it is now a regularly reprinted book, part of the rarity lies in the keeping of the original.

Storage

"The Ten Pleasures of Marriage, relating all the delights and contentments that are mask'd under the bands of matrimony" is currently in the Kislak Center for Special Collections - Rare Book Collections. Before that, it was in the English Culture Class Collection and also previously held at the University of Michigan.

References

1. Behn, Aphra. “The Ten Pleasures of Marriage, and the Second Part the Confession of the New Married Couple.” CiNii Research, https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130000798362717312.
2. Carlton, Charles. “The Widow's Tale: Male Myths and Female Reality in 16th and 17th Century England: Albion.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 11 July 2014, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/albion/article/widows-tale-male-myths-and-female-reality-in-16th-and-17th-century-england/12AC62334281A20163CA23A22A0F0D17.
3. When a Woman Hates Her Husband: Love, Sex and ... - Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.12496.