Marriage-à-la-New Zealand
Sir David Low, New Zealand's most celebrated political cartoonist, called William Hogarth "the grandfather of modern cartooning". This selection of historical and contemporary New Zealand cartoons offers a local twist on Hogarth's work.
The cartoons reveal how the ideals and functions of marriage have shifted from the late 19th century to today. One wonders what Hogarth would have made of the Matrimonial Property Act, divorce laws and the recognition of de facto and civil union partnerships.
These cartoons also featured in the National Library Gallery's 2008 exhibition 'Cautionary Tales: the satirical engravings of William Hogarth'.
Hogarth's series Marriage-à-la-mode was also included in the exhibition, and is available as an online exhibition.
To marry for love or for money? 'Miss Snooks' and 'Hard-up' look very differently at the prospect of marriage.
Before the divorce law reforms of the late 19th century, it was nearly impossible for a woman to break the divinely sanctioned bonds of marriage.
This cartoon suggests that the church's opposition to the new divorce laws of the late 19th century hypocritically ignored the harsh realities of married life.
A beer with the boys or an evening with the wife? This cartoon considers what constitutes 'gallant' conduct.
The marriage contract took on a host of new meanings through the Property Relationships Amendment Act of 2001.
A newspaper article on the high divorce rates in Christchurch spurred Alistair Nisbet to produce this cartoon.
Following the Civil Unions Act of 2004, Garrick Tremain exposes how same-sex relationships do sometimes work just like 'conventional' marriages.
