Women under polygamy

How do societies justify one husband and many wives, and what does that bargain cost women? Walter M. Gallichan writes with the urgency of a public commentator and the curiosity of a field observer. The questions still sting today.Women under Polygamy is social science nonfiction at the crossroads of early 20th century sociology and victorian edwardian social debate. Drawing on reports, history, and comparative religion and marriage, Gallichan surveys marriage customs worldwide to examine polygamy and women's rights, the shaping of gender roles in marriage, and the wider history of kinship systems. Read it as a cultural anthropology classic: a snapshot of how English-language writers framed family, faith, and power in an age of reform. Gallichan compares legal traditions and moral arguments, showing how custom is defended, contested, and rewritten. His approach is openly interpretive rather than statistical, making the book valuable for readers tracking the genealogy of social thought as well as debates about law, consent, and domestic authority. For students, it functions as a sociology course primary source; for general readers, it offers a bracing window into arguments that helped form modern conversations in women's studies.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Presented as an unabridged classic edition, it belongs on a women's studies reading list and on the shelves of classic-literature collectors who value contentious, era-defining social inquiry. A sharp companion to wider reading in sociology, anthropology, and the history of ideas, it invites slow, critical reading and thoughtful conversation.