The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

The novel, which was published in 1848, caused a sensation in England, as it raised a very uncomfortable question for the first time in European literature with complete candor and directness: should a woman who has become the wife of a domestic tyrant bear her cross "for the sake of keeping the family together," for the sake of the children? Or could it be not only her right but also her duty as a mother to break the bonds of such a marriage?