My son and I are currently studying (to use the vernacular) “Eastern” history and culture, and an especially patriarchal period of one culture had a list of seven reasons when a daughter-in-law or wife could be disowned. (I’m not calling this culture out by name because many, many cultures all around our globe throughout history have had similar attitudes, albeit not always quite so specifically stated.) Before hearing the list, I turned to my son and facetiously asked him how many of those reasons he thought might apply to his mother (who is a very independent person).
He wisely declined to answer, but when I told his mother this, her response was a hopeful, “Did I get all seven?”
“No,” I had to tell her. “I’m sure you would disobey your parents-in-law if you felt the need, but they’ve never ordered you to do anything, so that’s never come up. You’ve borne a male heir and you’re one of the least jealous people I know, so neither of those apply, and neither do adultery, stealing, or having an incurable disease. ‘Talkative,’ on the other hand . . .”