Unfaithfulness or Divorce of an Officer's Marriage Cover Image

Неверна Цаја или развод једног официрског брака
Unfaithfulness or Divorce of an Officer's Marriage

Author(s): Milić J. Milićević
Subject(s): History
Published by: Istorijski institut, Beograd
Keywords: officer's marriage; unfaithfulness; divorcе

Summary/Abstract: Although general statistics of the divorces in Serbia of the end of 19th century are relatively well known, historiographic records based on the supposition, or, the analysis of the individual cases, practically do not exist. This defect is even more observable if we consider the fact that Serbia was on the top of the European scale in divorce rate, and that this percentage was continually growing from 1883 to 1908, amounting from 1,2 to even 1,5%. Inspite of this high numerical index, divorce has rarely been spoken of, and even more rarely written about; this fact has consequently reflected upon historiography as well. Marriage dispute between Jelisaveta, maiden name Kalabić, and the artillery lieutenant colonel Đorđe Vanlić represented one of the usual, but obviously unknown examples confirming this occurrence. It was due to the help of successors that have been to this very day in possession of the relevant material, that analysis could be effectuated. It is possible to establish, according to this material, that the above-mentioned marriage was entirely a stereotypical one, that did not differ in any of its segments from the other communities of the kind. Marriage was signed according to written and unwritten laws of the time, and his decades-long duration was in accordance to that as well. Neither social nor financial issues have represented obstacles to this marriage. On the contrary, those issues have represented its pillars. Nevertheless, after more than two decades, this marriage started to fall apart – the separate living, in the first place, led to the formal divorce, based on the allegation of the proved marital unfaithfulness. Judging by all this, the main cause of this divorce lied mostly in personal, and by no means in financial, social, or other issues.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 59
  • Page Range: 341-364
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Serbian