Negotiating Boundaries Between Gender and Social Identities in the Principality of Samos: The Case of Divorces (1902–1911)

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Introduction
The divorce rate has been increasing since the Restoration and into the twentieth century.The history of divorce has become an issue in contemporary literature, in contexts such as England (Stone, 1990(Stone, & 1993)), Italy (Seymour, 2006), the Ottoman Empire (Iliadou-Tachou & Orfanou, 2014), and internationally (Phillips, 1991).As Riessman (1990) suggested, gender is linked to different perceptions of what a marriage should provide and different reasons for divorce.Gender is seen in this study as a social and cultural construction (Rosaldo and Lamphere, 1974;Evans, 2003;Maruani, 2005).It has also been asserted that gender interacts with the concepts of class, race, and ethnicity (Lord, 2005;Moore, 2006).The sense of social gender identity is formed through a process of adjustment to dominating social ideals (Butler, 1990).
The aim of this study is to evaluate the negotiation of boundaries in the social identity of gender within the specific framework of the Principality of Samos .Specifically, the prevailing perceptions about the social role of men and women are discussed.For this purpose, officially published divorces issued by the principality were used.During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Aegean island of Samos was part of the Ottoman Empire and followed the framework of the Ottoman Christian communities, including divorce (Laiou, 2007).For the Orthodox Church, the legality of divorce is granted up to two conditions if there are specific statutory preconditions allowing the dissolution of the marriage (Papadakis, 2008; Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, 2015).In the case of Samos, the Orthodox Christian religion had absolute jurisdiction over marriage and divorce, as the island is considered to have local Greek communities with a large Orthodox Christian majority (Laiou, 2007).From 1834 to 1912, Samos was a semi-autonomous principality under Ottoman suzerainty.The investigation of divorces in the principality is significant because of its legislation, which constitutes a unique example that is based on the local Samian statutory framework that is clearly differentiated from the framework of the Greek Communities of the Ottoman Empire (Svoronos, 1903).This article examines divorces within this peculiar legal system in the context of the principality.
For civil relations (Svoronos, 1907), the General Assembly of Samians elected the provisions of the Harmenopoulos Collection of Laws in 1839, and the litigations in the courts of the principality were resolved according to this collection (Fragoulis, 1899).Constantin Harmenopoulos was a Byzantine judge who codified Byzantine Law in his Hexabible in 1345 (Argyriadis, 1978).Additionally, the French Penal Code was also used.In 1840, the Judicial Manual for the Courts of the Principality was published.Since 1852, the Civil Code of Greece was introduced to the Principality, and legislation became clearly oriented toward Greece (Svoronos, 1907).In the late nineteenth century, by order of Prince Karatheodori, a committee was established in order to publish a new Civil Code that would be comprehensible to all and reflect the progress of civilization.In 1874, this committee of lawyers established a review of the Civil Code of Greece and elaborated a new one for the principality with the intention of simplifying the code of Greece and making it appropriate for the small island of Samos (Fragoulis, 1899).
The process of divorce in the legislative framework of the principality fell under Law ΠΑ΄/1860 About the attempt to reconcile spouses in the case of the demand for the dissolution of marriage.This provides that when a husband or a wife applied for divorce or separation from "table and bed", they must also appeal to the Orthodox metropolitan bishop, who would invite both spouses to compromise.Should he be unable to reconcile the spouses within three months, he would write a report addressed to the court.Only then could the court accept applications for divorce and order for the claim to be heard.During this period of three months, the Metropolitan could give written permission to the wife to move out of her family home if considered necessary.Only after such authorization could the courts intervene at the request of one of the two spouses, even during the three-month period of the attempt of reunification.
Finally, in the case of an irrevocable court decision on the dissolution of marriage, the prosecutor would send a copy to the ecclesiastical authority, and the Metropolitan would declare the marriage spiritually dissolved as well.Later, Law 198/1881 About divorce provided that the action for the dissolution of marriage cannot be admitted in the First Instance Court without prior permission from the Episcopal authority.The bishop who attempted to reconcile the spouses would be entitled to order temporarily the delivery of necessary clothing to each other in cases of clothes being withheld from the petitioning spouse by the respondent spouse (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).
In 1903, Law ΠΑ΄/1860 and Law 198/1881 were in effect (Svoronos, 1903).In 1907, the process of divorce remained the same except for one difference: the Metropolitan had only one month instead of three to attempt reunification.And after the period of reunification, the Court of First Instance could decide about the children or alimony in the event the wife does not have her own property.The relatives of both spouses could not be considered as witnesses, although children and servants were acceptable.The application could be for "divorce" or for "separation from the table and bed".Furthermore, a wife could claim the separation of her own dowry from her ex-husband's property to the Court (Svoronos, 1907).
The evolution of divorce laws that provide reasons for divorce is described as follows.Law ΟΣΤ΄/1860 For the dissolution of marriage permitted the dissolution in the case of five years of continuous separation of spouses of "the table and bed".Seven years later, Law ΣΞΒ΄/1867 About repealing the wedding dissolution explained the reasons for repealing Law ΟΣΤ΄/1860: We understand that a five-year separation of spouses of the table and bed introduced by Law ΟΣΤ΄/1860 as a reason of dissolution of a marital union gave rise to many divorces, with moral and material harm to family members.The reasons for the dissolution of the 'sacred relationship of marriage indicated in the Civil Code are considered sufficient.Thus, after the resolution of the General Assembly of Samos in 1867, we decided to abolish Law ΟΣΤ΄/1860.However, in the 1880s, the content of Law ΟΣΤ΄/1860 returned to power with Law 198/1881 About divorce, which provided for the separation of spouses for five years as a reason for divorce, if it could be proven that it would be impossible to live together again.Another reason for divorce described by the law was the husband's abandonment of the wife for five years and without caring for her nutritional and financial maintenance (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).The Civil Code of Samos of 1899 maintains the provision of Law 198 and abolishes the provisions about the separation of spouses of "the table and bed", maintaining power in the provisions about five or seven years of abandonment or for the disappearance of one spouse.In this case, the claim for divorce of a spouse was possible in the following cases: a) six years after a disappearance and b) after the adoption of the act of invisibility.The Civil Code of 1899 added the following to the existing reasons for divorce: the overnight accommodation of a wife in a foreign residence without the consent of her husband (Fragoulis, 1899).
Adultery was another reason for divorce.Law 143/1880 For the revocation of adultery and slander recalls provided that the inclusions for adultery in any case could be withdrawn upon payment of the official recall costs (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).The Civil Code of 1899 provided that when a husband denounced his wife for adultery, should she prove her innocence, the wife could be justified by the court as a petitioner for divorce.A wife could also ask for a divorce if her husband lived with a concubine, and a husband could ask for a divorce in the case of the wife's adultery.
The Civil Code of 1899 provided that each of the two spouses could apply for divorce against the other in the event of an attempt on the other's life or injuries that are often repetitive (Fragoulis, 1899).
According to Law 198/1881, the serious illness elephantiasis was a legal reason for divorce (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).The Civil Code of Samos of 1899 also maintained the provisions of Law 198/1881.
The conviction of a felony constituted a cause for divorce.The Civil Code of 1899 limited this to only premeditated felony cases and exempted felony cases conducted without premeditation and related to political issues, which had both been reasons for divorce.However, condemnation to a criminal punishment for a political offense remained a reason for divorce (Fragoulis, 1899).
Immigration expanded during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century in Samos (Orfanou, 2012).As a result, Law 198/1881 provided for the migration of a spouse as a reason for divorce when a second marriage abroad was proven (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).The Civil Code of Samos of 1899 maintained the provisions of Law 198/1881 (Fragoulis, 1899).Almost one decade later, Law 1916/1907 About reasons for divorce continued to consider the marriage of one of the two spouses abroad as a reason for divorce.Although the second marriage was invalid according to the laws of the principality, it was a reason for divorce if it was valid in the country of origin of the new spouse or in the country where the marriage occurred.However, by the next year, Law 1916 was abolished by Law 2119/1908 About repealing Law 1916 on divorce (Laws of the Principality of Samos, 1859-1908).
The innovation of the Civil Code of Samos of 1899 concerning divorces was the following: the codex as it concerns the rights and obligations of marriage produced between spouses stipulates that the obligation of a husband to pay alimony to his wife ceases when she forsakes her house and refuses to return without legal reason.However, in such circumstances, the court had the power to order temporary judicial sequestration of a part of the dowry annuity of the wife according the circumstances.The court awards the judicial sequestration or a part of it to the man.With this innovation, which is omitted from the Italian Code and French rights, the legislature could impose obligations to the wife, such as lead and residence with her husband, for financial reasons.The Civil Code of Samos of 1899 provided that the spouse who is judged by the court as being responsible for the divorce loses the financial benefits designated in the contract of marriage.If judged by the court as not being responsible for the divorce, the husband retained the economic benefits provided by the contract.Generally, the amount granted did not exceed one third of the income of the spouse paying it.Children do not lose any of their rights after dissolution of marriage.
Finally, the Civil Code of Samos of 1899 provided that the legislation was also valid for couples where one spouse is not Orthodox Christian.In the case of two non-Orthodox Christians spouses, they could apply for divorce only if their religion allowed it (Fragoulis, 1899).
In the Principality of Samos (1834-1912), divorce laws were developed and often changed according to social evolution and needs.Marriage in Samos is "approved" as a social construction by the principality.For example, starting in 1838, the Prince Stefanos Vogoridis endowed three of the poorest indigenous girls of the island for their marriage by lot using the Princely Fund every year on his name day (General State Archives of Greece, Regional Archives of Samos.Proceedings of Ζ΄ General Assembly of Samians, 1839).All marriages were registered in the Civil Registry by a procedure that needed the presence of a priest, both spouses, and two witnesses.In particular, the Law ΛΣΤ΄/1854 provided that the report to the registrar of a marriage should be done within three days after the marriage (Law ΛΣΤ΄ About civil-status records).Marriage was considered as a factor in social and familial stability.The Principality officially encouraged marriage, including by its laws, and it tried to discourage its dissolution.

Methods
Two research methods were used: a) historical hermeneutics (Cohen & Manion, 1996); and b) content analysis (Berelson, 1952;Kyriazi, 2011) of divorces concluded in the official Newspaper of the Government of the Principality of Samos (1902)(1903)(1904)(1905)(1906)(1907)(1908)(1909)(1910)(1911).For a systematic presentation of quantitative data, tables were used (Bell, 1993).This historical research was conducted using existing data (Cohen & Manion, 1996) from the published divorces.Even without results for the whole period of the Principality of Samos , this data could provide reliable information on the last decade of the Principality.

Research subject
This research focuses on the local area of the island of Samos, inhabited by a Greek Orthodox population.The period chosen is limited in the last decade of the Principality of Samos and the first decade of the twentieth century (1902)(1903)(1904)(1905)(1906)(1907)(1908)(1909)(1910)(1911).
The main aim of this study is to evaluate gender as a social and cultural construction through the study of divorces.The individual research goals were a) the identification of different reasons for seeking divorce between men and women and the integration of these differences in a specific social context; and b) mapping of the qualitative characteristics of the gender ratio of women and men expressed in the invocation of the divorce.

Materials
The research was based on primary published sources of data.For this purpose, we studied official applications and decisions on divorces published in the Newspaper of the Government of the Principality of Samos during the semesters of 22 June to 31 December 1902 and 9 January to 9 August 1903, as well as during the years spanning 2 January to 28 December 1904, 3 January to 28 December 1905, 5 January to 29 December 1908, 3 January to -29 December 1909, 5 January to 31 December 1910, and 8 January to 28 December 1911.

Findings
We used 182 divorces recorded in the Newspaper of the Government of the Principality of Samos:

Results
According to Table 1 and Graph 1, of the total of 182 requests for divorces examined during 1902-1911, husbands represented 56,04%, while wives represented 43,96%.The main reasons for male requests for divorces (Table 2 and Graph 3) are "overnight accommodation of a wife away from her family house without consent from her husband" (45,7%) and the separation of spouses for five years due to the wife's responsibility, which was the second most important reason (16,4%) among husbands.Abandonment of the family home was the most common reason (62,1%) for husbands' requests for divorces.According to Table 2, men requested divorces for reasons of adultery at a significant percentage (24,3 %), while for women, this reason is mentioned only for 4,3% of the requests for divorces.
The differences in reasons for both genders are clear.For wives, the main reason is abandonment by the husband in combination with indifference to caring for the wife (45,7%).Estrangement of the wife for five years represented 28,4%, seven years of abandonment without covering the living needs of the wife represented 7,8%, and a failure to support the wife represented 9,5%.Maltreatment seems to be extremely important for 33,6% of wives, (injuries: 25%; attempt on life: 8,6%).In contrast, men's maltreatment represented only 2,1%.According to the Table 2 and the Graph 2, the main reasons for both genders are abandonment of the family home (50,4 %), maltreatment (16,4 %) and adultery (15,3%).
We investigated the residence of the spouse petitioning for divorce according to gender (Table 3 and Graph 4), which showed that 67,6% of both genders asking for a divorce were living in Samos, and only 32,4% lived outside of the Principality, (mainly Asia Minor, North America, Greece, and Egypt.Interestingly, 1,1% lived in Orthodox monasteries.For husbands asking for a divorce, 77,5% lived in Samos, 11,8% were in North America, and 4,9% were in Asia Minor.For wives, 55% lived in Samos, 15 % were in Asia Minor, a 7,5% were in Greece, 6,3% in North America, and 6,3% were in Egypt.It is clear that for men, the North America is the main place of residence after Samos, while for women it is Asia Minor and Greece. According to Table 4 and Graphs 5, for both genders, 46,2% of husbands lived in a different residence, while 53,8% of the spouses petitioning for divorce lived in the same place.However, husbands living away from their wives seems to be more important for asking for a divorce (51% of requests) rather than wives living away, which represent only 40% of the requests.Wives seem to be more familiar with the idea of living away from their husbands.We estimate that migration occurred for the financial reasons of men in that period.They would have worked away and sent money to maintain their families.Another important social fact is the massive migration of this decade (Orfanou, 2012).
According to Table 5, Graph 6 and 7, for husbands, adultery seems to have greater importance (27,1%) when their wives live in a different place, with less importance when she lives in the same place (21,4%).In contrast, overnight accommodation away from the family home seems to be less important as a reason for divorce when there are different residences for both spouses (40%), while it has major importance (51,4%) when both spouses live in the same place.Maltreatment is more important for 41,1% of wives (injuries 28,8% and attempt on life 12,3%) when both spouses live in the same place and less important for 20,9% of wives (injuries 18,6% and attempt on life 2,3%) when there are different residences.Estrangement for five years (32,6%) along with seven years of abandonment and not covering living needs (14%) are more important reasons for divorce when the husband is in another country, but they are a less frequent cause of divorce when the spouses live in the same place (estranged for five years: 26%; seven years of abandonment and not covering living needs: 4,1%).Not covering living needs is a most common reason for divorce when residences are the same (11%) and less frequent when there are different residences (7%).For the wives, adultery has major importance when the husband lives away (mistresses: 9,3%) and less important when the husband lives in the same place (mistresses: 1.4%).
According to Table 6 and Graph 8, the place of residence influences the percentages of the reasons for divorce requests for both genders.With the same place of residence, maltreatment represents 23,1% (injuries: 16,1%; attempt on life: 7%).For different residences, maltreatment represents 8% (injuries: 7,1%; attempt on life: 0,9%).Adultery represents 10,5% for the same place of residence and seems to have greater importance (16,8%) when the place of residence is different.

Discussion
In the last decade of the Principality of Samos, the requests for divorces augmented substantially.From 1902 to 1911, the divorces examined showed a slight preponderance of requests by husbands instead of wives requests.The main reason is "the overnight accommodation of a wives away from her family house without consent from her husband."Theseparation of spouses for five years due to the wife's responsibility was the second most important reason for divorce for husbands.Abandonment of the family home by the wife was the main reason (62,1%) for husbands' requests.
For 62,1% of divorces, the husbands were judged as not being responsible for the divorce and retained the economic benefits provided by the contract of marriage as a result.The obligation of husbands to pay alimony to their wives ceased when they forsook their household and refused to return without legal reason.At the same time, the Civil Code of Samos of 1899 provided that the spouse judged by the court to be responsible for the divorce loses the financial benefits of the marriage (the wife in this case).
Τhe abandonment of the family home by the wife was relatively common in the Principality (62,1%).This fact requires interpretation.A model of the Eiffel Tower was constructed in the main square of the capital of the Principality between 1895 and 1900 (Orfanou, 2012, pp.533-534), and the Esperanto language was made compulsory in the Principality's schools from 1910 to 1912 (Orfanou, 2012, pp. 240-251).In relation to this, we hypothesized that the women in Samos in the first decade of the twentieth century were more emancipated in comparison with the women of the Orthodox Communities of the Ottoman Empire (in the period of , where "abandonment" of the husband by the wife represented a reason for only 16% of husbands' requests for divorces (Iliadou-Tachou & Orfanou, 2014).Importantly, marriage annulment was possible in 1905 if it was celebrated under psychological or corporal violence exercised on the wife, in order to accept the marriage.
From the data, we could assume that the reasons for men seeking a divorce clearly differ from those of women (Table 2).For husbands, the main reasons for seeking divorce for almost half of the requests are overnight accommodation away from the family home, which is related to the attempt at dominance over the wife by the husband.For wives, the main reason for almost half of the requests is abandonment by the husband in combination with indifference to the care for the wife, which is related to the social role of a husband to financially support his wife.
Another important difference is also that men use the social construction of gender when requesting divorces and claim management of the sexuality of women while denouncing adultery (24%).On the other hand, for women, adultery by the husband was almost unimportant (4,3%).
Another important difference that is important for the use of physical force by men in the marriage is that for wives, maltreatment seems to be extremely important, representing 33,6% of requests for divorce (injuries: 25%; attempt on life: 8,6%).However, men's maltreatment represented only 2,1%.
Almost 70% of the divorce petitioners lived in Samos, while almost 30%lived abroad (mainly Asia Minor, North America, Greece, and Egypt).
However, there are differences in the residences of the petitioning spouses between men and women.For husbands, 77,5% lived in Samos, 11,8% lived in North America, and 4,9% lived in Asia Minor.It is clear that North America is the main place of residence after Samos, followed by Asia Minor.For women, the most common after Samos was Asia Minor, followed by almost the same percentages in Greece, North America, and Egypt (55%in Samos, 15% in Asia Minor, 7,5% in Greece, 6,3% in North America, and 6,3% in Egypt).It could be assumed that for almost 30% of the petitioners, immigration was a reason for divorce, or perhaps, an unlucky marriage was a reason for immigration.Whatever the reason, immigration for men asking for divorce was concentrated in distance places (North America), while women were concentrated in places near the Mediterranean Sea, including Samos.
According to Table 4, for both genders overall, the distance of residence between the spouses seems to be unimportant in determining a divorce (53,8% same residence and 46,2% different residence).However, there are differences between sexes.For husbands, living away from the wife seems to be more important in asking for a divorce (51% of the total requests of husbands), while for wives, living away from their husbands represents only 40% of the total requests by wives.Wives seem to be more familiar with the idea of living away from their husband.For financial reasons in that period, men would have worked away and sent money for family maintenance.Another important social fact is the massive migration of this decade (see Orfanou, 2012).
From Table 5 and Graph 6, we realized that for husbands, adultery seems to be of greater importance when their wives live in a different place and less important when they live in the same place.In contrast, overnight accommodation away from the family home seems to be less important as a reason for divorce when residences are different for both spouses, and it is of major importance when both spouses live in the same place.
According to Table 5 and Graph 7, we saw that for wives, maltreatment is more important when both spouses lives in the same place and less important otherwise.Estrangement for five years along with seven years of abandonment and not covering living needs are more important reasons for divorce when the husband lives in another country.Not covering living needs is the most common reason for divorce when the residence is the same.For the wives, adultery is highly important when the husband lives away and less important otherwise.
According to Table 6 and Graph 8, the place of residence influences the percentages of reasons for divorce requests for both genders.For the spouses who live in the same place, maltreatment is much more important.Adultery is less important when the spouses live in the same place of residence and more important in the case of immigration.

From 22
June to 31 December 1902: 14 divorces From 9 January to 9 August 1903: 6 divorces From 2 January to 28 December 1904:19 divorces From 3 January to 28 December 1905:23 divorces From 5 January to 29 December 1908: 21 divorces From 3 January to29 December 1909: 26 divorces From 5 January to 31 December 1910: 37 divorces From 8 January to 28 December 1911: 36 divorces All of these divorces were analyzed together for the years 1902 to 1911.However, from 1904 to 1911 (the last eight years of our research), the number of divorces per year was almost doubled.The number was 19 in 1904 and became 36 in 1911.

Graph 6 .
Place of residence and reason for asking for divorce for both genders Unknown Adultery Mistress Overnight accommodation away from the family house Estrangement for five years Non maintenance of her wife by a husband Seven years abandonment without cover the living needs of the wife Injuries Attempt on life Felony penalty of a spouse Acquittal of the wife to a complaint of her husband for adultery Elephantiasis Annulment of a marriage because it was celebrated under psychological or corporal violence exercised on the wife.

Table 1 .
Requests for divorces Requests for divorce among husbands and wives

Table 2 .
Reasons for requesting divorces according to gender

Graph 2 .
Reasons for requests for divorces for both genders Reasons for requests for divorces for husbands and wives

Table 3 .
Residence of the spouse petitioning for divorce according to gender

Graph 4 .
Residence of the spouse petitioning for divorce according to gender

Table 4 .
Place of residence and gender of the petitioning spouse Graphs 5. Place of residence and gender of the petitioning spouse

Table 5 .
Distance of residence and reason for divorce according to gender of the petitioning spouse Graph 6. Reasons for husbands' requests according to the place of residence Graph 7. Reasons for wives' requests according to the place of residence

Table 6 .
Place of residence and reason for asking for divorce for both gendersAcquittal of the wife to a complaint of her…