Free Love

"the term itself originated in the 19th century as a feminist argument for the rights of women to marry and divorce whom they wished and to bear children when and with whom they chose, with no interruption or oversight by the church or the state." 3747

These ideals were exemplified in Mary Gove Nichols' autobiographical novel, Mary Lyndon, or, Revelations of a Life which "made the first case in print against marriage from a woman's point of view." In it, the title character's wedding vows said, "I enter into no compact to be faithful to you. I only promise to be faithful to the deepest love of my heart. If that love is yours, it will bear fruit for you and enrich your life--our life. If my love leads you from me, I must go." :3747