Divorce in Old Time Radio

A young girl's marriage is supposed to be the happiest moment in her life. The sacrament of marriage is endorsed and encouraged by all the major religions as well as all civil governments. The symbolism of the marriage contract can be debated between the various institutions which practice it, but the result is universal; marriage is a commitment between two people to love and support one another and build a family. It is recognized as a lifelong commitment, yet nearly half of all marriages end in divorce.

Divorce in the United States was a relatively rare occurrence until the 1960's (coincidentally, about the time that the Golden Age of Radio ended). This is not to say that divorce never occurred, but prior to the adoption of "no-fault" divorce laws, the spouse seeking divorce was required to show "fault" or grounds for the divorce. These included abandonment, cruelty, incurable mental disease, or adultery. Since divorce was considered to go against the public interest, it was difficult to achieve in most jurisdictions. One of the major obstacles to divorce is religion, and the only modern countries where divorce is not practiced are Vatican City and the Philippines.

The Church's position on divorce was laid out on The Catholic Hour in 1943 in an episode titled "Crisis in Christendom". There are countless examples of people who remained in unhappy, even unhealthy marriages because of the religious restrictions. Many of these were well-known celebrities, although the "loose morals" of the Hollywood movie colony seemed to be a haven for divorce and divorcees. Whether the divorce rate for showbiz couples was in fact any higher than among the general public is debatable, but the cases made great fodder for gossip programs like Hedda Hopper's Hollywood and The Louella Parsons Show. Rumors can be damaging in other situations, Peg and Babs go out of town for a wedding and rumors of divorce begin flying on The Life of Riley.

One of the most common reasons for divorce is a cheating spouse like we see on Lux Radio Theatre's adaptations of "The Awful Truth". Sometimes the reason for wandering, and more often the reason for divorce is that couples can drift apart. A classic example of this is seen in the story "Dodsworth" presented by Campbell's Playhouse when a hardworking businessman takes his wife on a vacation to Europe when he retires, by which time he discovers that they never had very much in common.

Sometimes divorce seems like it can occur over simple things. Jane Ace on Easy Aces teaches her young friend that "strangled eggs" and bad coffee can be grounds for divorce. One of the most egregious examples of miscommunication ruining a marriage occurs on Columbia Workshop's episode "Anniversary", where the couple has only been married for a year, but when they both have a bad day, neither one will take the time to understand what the other is really saying and the marriage breaks up over nothing.

See also: Marriage can be ... Murder and Disasters in Marriage Collection.