> infidelity which we had the decency to try and keep secret. Moreover, infidelity was about sex. It might also have cost a bit of money, going to mistresses a

> infidelity which we had the decency to try and keep secret. Moreover, infidelity was about sex. It might also have cost a bit of money, going to mistresses and bastards, for wealthy male adulterers, but it didn't affect patrimonial rights. Neither could the mistress be promoted as new wife, to the detriment of the incumbent one. The idea that marriage is first and foremost a love affair is a fairly recent one, and coincides with its demise (explosion of divorces, monoparental families...) The lifelong marriage was a patrimonial affair.