If she neglects her husband, putting him not at the center of her loyalty, then she neglects her duties and thus endangers the existence of the family. (John Gray, "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus").
The Kokang Chinese, an ethnic group residing in the northeastern corner of Myanmar and closely related to ethnic Han living in the Chinese province of Yunan, abided until recently to customs which in essence are very similar although somewhat more extreme. A young girl was raised during her childhood to behave non-assuming and to play a serving role. Only upon her wedding day the girl received a formal name and, thus, an official identity within the community she lived. All the same, the identity she received is the one of her husband. Marrying implied also living within the family-in-law and the provision of a dowry. Moreover, marriage did not give her an entitlement to own goods in her own right or even to inherit any of the possessions of her parents or even husband when they passed away. Men were allowed to marry "minor spouses" next to the "first spouse" as long as they economically could sustain such. Apart from the "minor spouses", having "common spouses" or mistresses was equally accepted and had the advantage that the economic responsibility was lessened (Yang Li, "The House of Yang").
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The subservient roles of women towards men can also be witnessed in post-war Europe. In the Belgian matrimonial legislation, for instance, married women were expected to take over the husband's family name. It took until the late 1980s before a woman could opt to keep her maiden name after marriage. In the same Belgian Code Civil adultery was not a cause for divorce as long as the husband did not take his mistress under the family roof. The same leeway was not given to the spouse. Regardless from the situation, an extra-marital affair was a legal cause for divorce if the spouse was involved.
