“Love and Companionship Came First”"In the 1920s, new sexual ideologies reshaped prescriptions for marriage, incorporating moderate versions of feminism. “Modern Marriage,” an excerpt from Floyd Dell’s Outline of Marriage (1926), set out the ideal of companionship between husband and wife. In this mock dialogue, a savvy young wife instructed a professor in the ways of modern marriage. She frankly endorsed birth control, simplified housekeeping, shared housework, and paid work for childless wives. At the same time, Dell’s dialogue affirmed a romantic view of fundamental sexual differences. Generically named “The Young Woman,” the female character averred that she chose motherhood as “fulfillment of my nature.” Circulated by the American Birth Control League, the tract sought to win support for contraception by portraying its place in respectable, if “modern,” marriages." History Matters - GMU