Post by snacky on Dec 14, 2014 6:40:40 GMT
I've been reading the famous diaries of the Goncourt brothers which go from around 1860 to 1895, and they describe circumstances in France, which was entirely Catholic (the occasional intellectual atheist notwithstanding). These brothers were wealthy aristocrats moving in literati bohemian circles, so their behavior can't be described as "normal". But still, the ease at which they describe their affairs with women seems to indicate to me that the Church did not lay a heavy hand on matters of the heart and/or the hotel room.
The brothers describe affairs with not just with prostitutes, but with women they met, poor girls they seduced, sophisticated women that seduced men - there's quite a catalog of encounters, some of which would draw criminal charges today - but the diary describes them all from a neutral, appraising point of view.
From this diary it's hard to see how Catholicism in itself would have kept William a virgin, unless it could be argued that the aristocracy had different standards.
This is not to say there aren't many strong arguments in the Virgin Theory corner: perhaps Colonial Catholicism had a bit of a Puritan streak to it given the anti-contraception laws in Canada. William, being a prudent fellow, would have avoided getting a woman pregnant, and would have avoided syphilis (One of the Goncourt brothers died of syphilis, btw). Unlike the Goncourt brothers, William wouldn't have abandoned his responsibilities if he had gotten a girl pregnant.
On the other hand, as an inventive fellow, William probably studied the condom and means of contraception early on. He probably invented his own. He's surely up on the latest syphilis research as well. He might be confident enough in his abilities to recognize the disease, and confident enough in his condoms to not worry so much.
This leaves the question of William as Man of the Law: he upholds the law against contraception, and he seems to be much affected by the horror of abortions gone wrong (and generally against abortion). Would he decide some laws are so petty he will just break them on his own time? His activities might lead to that ultimate horror (in his mind) - abortion - as well.
Before William joined the Constabulary, he wasn't so concerned with upholding the law, though...
The brothers describe affairs with not just with prostitutes, but with women they met, poor girls they seduced, sophisticated women that seduced men - there's quite a catalog of encounters, some of which would draw criminal charges today - but the diary describes them all from a neutral, appraising point of view.
From this diary it's hard to see how Catholicism in itself would have kept William a virgin, unless it could be argued that the aristocracy had different standards.
This is not to say there aren't many strong arguments in the Virgin Theory corner: perhaps Colonial Catholicism had a bit of a Puritan streak to it given the anti-contraception laws in Canada. William, being a prudent fellow, would have avoided getting a woman pregnant, and would have avoided syphilis (One of the Goncourt brothers died of syphilis, btw). Unlike the Goncourt brothers, William wouldn't have abandoned his responsibilities if he had gotten a girl pregnant.
On the other hand, as an inventive fellow, William probably studied the condom and means of contraception early on. He probably invented his own. He's surely up on the latest syphilis research as well. He might be confident enough in his abilities to recognize the disease, and confident enough in his condoms to not worry so much.
This leaves the question of William as Man of the Law: he upholds the law against contraception, and he seems to be much affected by the horror of abortions gone wrong (and generally against abortion). Would he decide some laws are so petty he will just break them on his own time? His activities might lead to that ultimate horror (in his mind) - abortion - as well.
Before William joined the Constabulary, he wasn't so concerned with upholding the law, though...