This act, passed by Parliament, moved divorce from being in a religious jurisdiction to a civil jurisdiction. Previous to this act, divorce was a lengthy and expensive process that could possibly take years. This act ensured the right of audience to all. Men and women were still given unequal treatment, with men only needing to cite adultery as a reason, while women needed to cite adultery as well as at least one other reason. However, after this act was passed, women continually gained greater rights in marriage and regarding divorce. Because many of the voices of the novels we are reading are women, the need for a protected right to divorce by both parties in the marriage is needed, especially since the characters don't seem to know each other very well before getting married. Image: Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Standard_of_the_United_Kingdom Sources:http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/layton2.html, http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/collins/tsw1.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrimonial_Causes_Act_1857