The Merchant's Wife (1918) by Boris Kustodiev

A wife is a female partner in a marital relationship. The rights and obligations of the wife regarding her spouse(s) and others, and her status in the community and in law, varies between cultures and has varied over time.

Origin and etymology[link]

The word is of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *wībam, "woman". In Middle English it had the form wif, and in Old English wīf, "woman or wife". It is related to Modern German Weib (woman, female),^[1] and may derive ultimately from the Indo-European root ghwībh- "shame; pudenda" (cf. Tocharian B kwīpe and Tocharian A kip, each meaning "female pudenda", with clear sexual overtones)^[2] The original meaning of "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage, is preserved in words like "midwife" and "fishwife".

Related terminology[link]

The term "wife" seems to be a close term to bride, the latter is a female participant in a wedding ceremony, while a wife is a married woman after the wedding, during her marriage. Historically, her male partner was known as the bridegroom during the wedding, and within the marriage is called her husband. Traditionally, the bride or her family may have brought her husband a dowry, or the husband or his family may have needed to pay a bride price to the family of his bride, or both were exchanged between the families; the dowry not only supported the establishment of a household, but also served as a condition that if the husband committed grave offenses upon his wife, the dowry had to be returned to the wife or her family; for the time of the marriage, they were made inalienable by the husband.^[3] A former wife whose spouse is deceased is a widow, and may be left with a dower (often a third or a half of his estate^{[citation needed]}) to support her as dowager. A wife may, in some cultures and times, share the title of her husband, without having gained that title by her own right.^{[citation needed]}

Wife refers especially to the institutionalized form in relation to the spouse and offspring, unlike mother, a term that puts a woman into the context of her children. Also compare the similar sounding midwife, a person assisting in childbirth ("Mother midnight" emphasizes to a midwife's power over life and death).^[4] In some societies, especially historically, a concubine was a woman who was in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented relationship with a man who could not be married to her, often because of a difference in social status.

Differences in cultures[link]

Antiquity[link]

Many traditions like a dower, dowry and bride price have long traditions in antiquity. The exchange of any item or value goes back to the oldest sources, and the wedding ring likewise was always used as a symbol for keeping faith to a person.

Christianity[link]

Historical status[link]

Christian cultures are guided by the Bible in regard to their view on the position of a wife in society as well as her marriage. The New Testament condemns divorce for both men and women (1 Cor 7:10–11), and assumes monogamy on the part of the husband: the woman is to have her "own" husband, not share him with other wives (1 Cor 7:2). As a result, divorce was relatively uncommon in the pre-modern West, particularly in the medieval and early modern period, and husbands in the Roman, later medieval and early modern period did not publicly take more than one wife. However, since the New Testament made no pronouncements about wives' property rights, in practice these were influenced more by secular laws than religion. Most influential in the pre-modern West was Roman law, except in the English-speaking world where English common law emerged in the High Middle Ages. In addition, local customary law influenced wives' property rights; as a result wives' property rights in the pre-modern West varied widely from region to region.

In pre-modern times, it was unusual to marry for love alone,^[5] although it became an ideal in literature by the early modern period.^[6] Roman law required brides to be at least 12 years old, a standard adopted by Roman Catholic canon law. In Roman law, first marriages to brides aged 12–25 required both the consent of the bride and her father, but by the late antique period Roman law permitted women over 25 to marry without parental consent.^[7] The New Testament allows a widow to marry any Christian she chooses (1 Cor 7:39). In the 12th century, the Roman Catholic Church drastically changed legal standards for marital consent by allowing daughters over 12 and sons over 14 to marry without their parents' approval, even if their marriage was made clandestinely.^[8] Parish studies have confirmed that late medieval women did sometimes marry against their parents' approval.^[9] The Roman Catholic Church's policy of considering clandestine marriages and marriages made without parental consent to be valid was controversial; in the 16th century both the French monarchy and the Lutheran church sought to end these practices, with limited success.^[10]

Because wives' property rights and daughters' inheritance rights varied widely from region to region due to differing legal systems, the amount of property a wife might own varied greatly. Under Roman law, daughters inherited equally from their parents if no will was produced,^[11] under the English common law system, which dates to the later medieval period, daughters and younger sons were usually excluded from landed property if no will was produced. In addition, Roman law recognized wives' property as legally separate from husbands's property,^[12] as did some legal systems in parts of Europe and colonial Latin America. In contrast, English common law moved to a system where a wife with a living husband ("feme couvert") could own little property in her own name.^[13] Unable to easily support herself, marriage was very important to most women's economic status. This problem has been dealt with extensively in literature, where the most important reason for women's limited power was the denial of equal education and equal property rights for females.^[14] The situation was assessed by the English conservative moralist Sir William Blackstone: "The husband and wife are one, and the husband is the one."^[15] Married women's property rights in the English-speaking world improved with the Married Women's Property Act 1882 and similar legal changes, which allowed wives with living husbands to own property in their own names. Until late in the 20th century, women could in some regions or times sue a man for wreath money when he took her virginity without taking her as his wife.^[16]

If a woman did not want to marry, another option was entering a convent as a nun.^[17] to become a "bride of Christ",^[18] a state in which her chastity and economic survival would be protected.^[18][19] Both a wife and a nun wore veils, which proclaimed their state of protection by the rights of marriage.^[20] Much more significant than the option of becoming a nun, was the option of non-religious spinsterhood in the West. As first demonstrated quantitatively by John Hajnal, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the percentage of non-clerical Western women who never married was typically as high as 10–15%, a prevalence of female celibacy never yet documented for any other major traditional civilization.^[21] In addition, early modern Western women married at quite high ages (typically mid to late 20s) relative to other major traditional cultures. The high age at first marriage for Western women has been shown by many parish reconstruction studies to be a traditional Western marriage pattern that dates back at least as early as the mid-16th century.^[22]

Contemporary status[link]

In the 20th century, the role of the wife in Western marriage changed in two major ways; the first was the breakthrough from an "institution to companionate marriage";^[23] for the first time, wives became distinct legal entities, and were allowed their own property and allowed to sue. Until then, wife and husband were a single legal entity, but only the husband was allowed to exercise this right. The second change was the drastic alteration of middle and upper class family life, when in the 1960s these wives began to work outside their home, and with the social acceptance of divorces the single-parent family, and stepfamily or "blended family" as a more "individualized marriage".^[24]

Today, a woman may wear a wedding ring in order to show her status as a wife.^[25]

In a female same-sex marriage, both spouses may refer to themselves as "wife"; ironically, in a male same-sex marriage, both spouses may refer to themselves as "wife".

In Western countries today, married women usually have an education, a profession and they (or their husbands) can take time off from their work in a legally procured system of ante-natal care, statutory maternity leave, and they may get maternity pay or a maternity allowance.^[26] The status of marriage, as opposed to unmarried pregnant women, allows the spouse to be responsible for the child, and to speak on behalf of his/her wife; a husband is also responsible for the wife's child in states where he is automatically assumed to be the biological father.^[27] Vice versa, a wife has more legal authority in some cases when she speaks on behalf of a spouse than she would have if they were not married, e.g. when her spouse is in a coma after an accident, a wife may have the right of advocacy.^[28] If they divorce, she also might receive—or pay—alimony (see Law and divorce around the world).

Islam[link]

Women in Islam have a range of rights and obligations (see main article Rights and obligations of spouses in Islam). Marriage takes place on the basis of a marriage contract. Forcing a marriage is absolutely forbidden by Islam.^[29] The arranged marriage is relatively common in traditionalist families, whether in Muslim countries or as first or second generation immigrants elsewhere.

Women in general are supposed to wear specific clothes, as stated by the hadith, like the hijab, which may take different styles depending on the culture of the country, where traditions may seep in.^{[Quran 24:31][Quran 33:59][30]} The husband must pay a mahr to the bride, which is similar to the dower.^[31]

Traditionally, the wife has had a high esteem in Islam as a protected, chaste person that manages the household and the family. She has the ever important role of raising the children and bringing up the next generation of Muslims. In Islam, it is highly recommended that the wife remains at home. The husband is obligated to spend on the wife for all of her needs while she is not obligated to spend even if she is wealthy. The Prophet commanded all Muslim men to treat their wives well. In fact in the hadith he even said "The best of you are those who are best to their wives".

Traditionally, Muslim married women are not distinguished from unmarried women by an outward symbol (such as a wedding ring). However women's wedding rings have recently been adopted in the past thirty years from the Western culture.^[32]

Hinduism[link]

In Indo-Aryan languages, a wife is known as Patni, which means a woman who shares everything in this world with her husband and he does the same, including their identity. Decisions are ideally made in mutual consent. A wife usually takes care of anything inside her household, including the family's health, the children's education, a parent's needs.

In Tamil, a wife is known as a Manaivee. Manai means "house", and manaivee "head of a household". The majority of Hindu marriages in rural and traditional North India are arranged marriages, which means parents that have a son will search for parents with a daughter, through relatives, neighbors, or even brokers. Once they find a suitable family (family of same caste, culture and financial status), the boy and the girl see and talk to each other to decide the final outcome. In recent times however the western culture has had significant influence and the new generations resort to marrying just anyone good looking whenever they want to fall in love.

Indian law has recognized sitesh rape, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse of a woman by her husband as crimes. The Britannica mentions that "Until quite recently, the only property of which a Hindu woman was the absolute owner was her strīdhana, consisting mainly of wedding gifts and gifts from relatives."^[33] In Hinduism, a wife is known as a Patni or Ardhangini (similar to "the better half") meaning a part of the husband or his family. She takes all cares of her husband and family. In Hinduism, a woman or man can get married, but only have one wife or husband respectively. Commonly, a wife wears vermillion powder on her forehead to show her status as a married woman.

Buddhism and Chinese folk religions[link]

China's family laws were changed by the Communist revolution; and in 1950, the People's Republic of China enacted a comprehensive marriage law including provisions giving the spouses equal rights with regard to ownership and management of marital property.^[34]

Japan[link]

In Japan, before enactment of the Meiji Civil Code of 1898, all of the woman's property such as land or money passed to her husband except for personal clothing and a mirror stand.^[33] See Women in Japan, Law of Japan

Expectation of fidelity[link]

There is a widely held expectation, which has existed for most of recorded history and in most cultures, that a wife is expected not to have sexual relations with anyone other than her spouse(s). A breach of this expectation of fidelity is commonly referred to as adultery or extramarital sex. Historically, adultery has been considered to be a serious offense, sometimes a crime. Even if that is not so, it may still have legal consequences, particularly a divorce. Adultery may be a factor to consider in a property settlement, it may affect the status of children, the custody of children, &c; moreover, adultery can result in social ostracism in some parts of the world.

See also[link]

Look up wife in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Marriage
• Husband
• Wife Acceptance Factor

References[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Wife

Riccardo Patrese

Born	(1954-04-17) 17 April 1954 (age 58)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1977 – 1993
Teams	Shadow, Arrows, Brabham, Alfa Romeo, Williams, Benetton
Races	257 (256 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	6
Podiums	37
Career points	281
Pole positions	8
Fastest laps	13
First race	1977 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1982 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1992 Japanese Grand Prix
Last race	1993 Australian Grand Prix

Riccardo Gabriele Patrese^[1] (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from 1977 to 1993.

He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and the first to achieve 250 starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix. Patrese entered 257 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix and started 256 races making him the third most experienced F1 driver in history, after Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. He was runner-up in the 1992 Formula One season and third in 1989 and 1991. He won six Formula One races, with a record gap of over six years between two of these – the 1983 South African Grand Prix and 1990 San Marino Grand Prix.

Formula One career[link]

Shadow and Arrows[link]

Patrese was born in Padua, Veneto. He made his debut in 1977 with the Shadow racing team at the Monaco Grand Prix when the team were forced to change drivers due to Renzo Zorzi having financial problems. Later that year team-leader Jackie Oliver left Shadow to form the Arrows team, taking Patrese with him. Shadow took Arrows to court, arguing that the design of the Arrows car was so similar to their own that Arrows had stolen it. The court agreed, forcing Arrows to redesign their car, which they did in just six weeks.

In 1978 Patrese very nearly won Arrows' second race, the South African Grand Prix, until engine failure forced him to retire 15 laps from the end. Later that year, Patrese was involved in a pile-up when he came together with James Hunt and other drivers' cars at the start of the Italian Grand Prix. One of the other drivers involved was Ronnie Peterson, who, although his injuries were not in themselves life-threatening, died from an embolism the following day. An injuction was filed by the Grand Prix Driver's Association to ban Patrese from the next race, the United States Grand Prix. This went through and Patrese took no part in that Grand Prix weekend at Watkins Glen. After the crash, Hunt (along with other drivers) blamed Patrese for starting the accident, and viewers of Hunt's commentaries of Formula One races from 1980–1993 on BBC Television were regularly treated to bitter diatribes against Patrese when the Italian appeared on screen. Hunt believed that it was Patrese's muscling past that caused the McLaren and Lotus to touch, but Patrese argues that he was already well ahead of the pair before the accident took place. Patrese, together with the official who started the race, stood trial in 1981 for Peterson's death but both were declared not guilty and speculations towards Hunt's involvement in Peterson's death arose instead.

Brabham[link]

In 1982 Patrese moved to Brabham and gained a lucky win at that year's Monaco Grand Prix when there were five leaders including Andrea de Cesaris and then Didier Pironi who both ran out of fuel whilst leading the final lap. A second win followed in 1983 at the South African Grand Prix. He also crashed out late in the race while leading at San Marino, but in a season which saw his team-mate Nelson Piquet claim his second Drivers' Championship title, Patrese finished a distant ninth. It would be seven years before he made another visit to the top step of the podium.

Alfa Romeo[link]

Patrese driving for Alfa Romeo in 1985.

A move to Alfa Romeo in 1984 delivered two lacklustre seasons resulting in eight world championship points and a single visit to the podium at his home Grand Prix. Patrese and team mate, American Eddie Cheever, were hampered by cars with Alfa Romeo V8 turbo engines that proved too thirsty for the amount of fuel they were allowed to carry. Often both drivers drove good races to be in the points, only to run out of fuel two or three laps from the finish dropping them out of the points.

Return to Brabham[link]

In 1986 Patrese returned to Brabham alongside fellow Italian Elio de Angelis, but by now the team was a spent force and would never again take a driver to victory in a grand prix. Two more winless seasons followed despite the team's BMW engine being considered at the time to be the most powerful on the grid. Despite the trials of uncompetitive machinery, Patrese never publicly criticised the team and earned respect throughout the sport for his professionalism.

Williams[link]

Patrese driving for Williams at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix.

Toward the end of the 1987 season, Patrese was given the chance to revitalise what seemed to be a declining career when the Williams driver Nigel Mansell was injured whilst qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix. With the help of Brabham owner Bernie Ecclestone, Patrese was drafted in to replace Mansell for the season's finale in Australia.

Patrese impressed the Williams management sufficiently to be signed by them as Nelson Piquet's replacement for the 1988 season. However, 1988 saw Williams struggling with an uncompetitive car powered by non-turbocharged Judd engines and it was not until the following year and the arrival of Renault engines that Patrese and his team-mate Thierry Boutsen were able to challenge for race points. Patrese achieved an impressive 3rd place in the 1989 drivers championship, despite taking no wins. Patrese finally won his third Grand Prix at the 1990 San Marino Grand Prix and finished that year's Drivers' Championship in seventh place.

Patrese driving for Williams at the 1991 Monaco Grand Prix.

In 1991 Nigel Mansell returned to Williams and, together with Patrese, the team became genuine contenders for both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. Two wins in Mexico and Portugal gave Patrese his most competitive F1 season thus far and a respectable third place behind Championship contenders Mansell and Ayrton Senna. Patrese also outqualified Mansell at every race until the halfway point of the season at Silverstone, and provided much support for the Englishman at races such as Monza and Portugal.

Williams dominated F1 in 1992 and Patrese continued to deliver in his role of second driver to Nigel Mansell, moving out of the way for Mansell while leading comfortably at that year's French Grand Prix.Again Patrese handled the delicate situation about team orders diplomatically, repeatedly offering a "No comment" to questions about the team orders that had been imposed on him at the red flag period of the French race. Patrese took a single win at the Japanese Grand Prix and had eight other podium finishes, including six second-place results.

With Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell all desperately trying to sign for Williams, Patrese's position looked to be under threat and he signed for Benetton before the end of the year.

Ironically, only Prost was able to agree terms with Williams for 1993, leaving a seat free for Patrese had he remained with the team.

Patrese was invited to rejoin Williams in 1994 to fill the seat of Ayrton Senna after his fatal accident at Imola, but ultimately decided against returning to Formula 1.

In the second half of 1996, Williams invited Patrese to test their latest car at Silverstone, with the Italian setting a time that would have placed him on the second row of the grid for that year's British Grand Prix.

Benetton[link]

While Williams continued to dominate F1 in 1993, Patrese found it difficult to live with his new team-mate Michael Schumacher and before the end of the season Benetton informed Patrese that he was "free to seek an alternate drive".

Retirement[link]

As most teams already had drivers signed for 1994, Patrese opted for retirement and brought the longest F1 career in history to a conclusion.

In 2002, as thanks for his years of service to Williams, Patrese was invited to test the team's latest F1 car.

In 2005 he returned to racing in the inaugural season of the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired F1 drivers. He finished third behind his former team-mate Nigel Mansell and Emerson Fittipaldi in the sole 2005 race at Kyalami, South Africa. His 2006 season was less successful with a 10th place finish at Losail in Qatar and a 6th at Silverstone.

Patrese's record of 257 Grand Prix entries stood for 15 years, surviving the Schumacher era when Michael Schumacher retired on 250 race entries. Rubens Barrichello finally overhauled Patrese's total, recording his 258th Grand Prix entry at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix. As part of the "handover", Patrese tested a Honda RA107 at Jerez on 9 September (Barrichello was driving for Honda at the time).^[2][3] Schumacher since came out of retirement and became the second driver to surpass Patrese's former record.

Complete Formula One World Championship results[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2008)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Riccardo Patrese

• The Riccardo Patrese Website
• Riccardo Patrese: The Italian Hero
• Riccardo Patrese pulling a fast one on his wife