I wasn't really thinking of any particular era, I have some vague familiarity with the concept of pater familias and famiglia as a "body of slaves". This, I rec

I wasn't really thinking of any particular era, I have some vague familiarity with the concept of pater familias and famiglia as a "body of slaves". This, I reckon, aligns with the Christian family modal that I'm most familiar with, perhaps with less extreme connotations of ownership depending on who you ask. My presumption is that the later Roman empire, despite its collapse, did inform the later customs of Europe, particularly in religion if only due to incidental diffusion. And by that dint also affected the custom of marriage, divorce and perhaps more importantly the status and autonomy of women, though I've all but forgotten precisely how this all played out. And I may very well be mistaken. I would also posit that it has less to do with religion and more to do with [perceived] female autonomy, value, mobility, economics, and the abatement of the stigma of divorce. The religious aspect having only been the foundational institution of the customs which have been carried (somewhat steadily) forward for nearly 1500 years let's say - a tradition which has suffered a colossal usurpation in society's working memory. I think it's important to note that women with children are not necessarily unbounded as are women without, I think it would be difficult quantify pre- and post-divorce expectation shifts, but I believe it would be an incisive question. But if the expectations aren't grounded in reality the decision weighing process would lead to poorer outcomes.