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comment by coffeesp00ns
coffeesp00ns  ·  2683 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Professor Marston & The Wonder Women

I hope against likelihood that they'll keep the poly relationship as it was - super functional and stable. The kids had different pet names for the two moms, and after Marston died, Elizabeth and Olive continued to live together with Elizabeth financially supporting the family and Olive taking care of the children. They lived together for 64 years.

This often gets downplayed as Elizabeth "accepting" another woman into their marriage, but truthfully the three were (more than would be expected considering the times) pretty equal in their relationship.

My favourite quote from this article

    For the record, Marston and Olive Byrne’s son, Byrne Marston, who is an 83-year-old retired obstetrician, thinks that when Marston talked about the importance of submission, he meant it only metaphorically. “I never saw anything like that in our house,” he told me. “He didn’t tie the ladies up to the bedpost. He’d never have gotten away with it."




kleinbl00  ·  2683 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Interesting. I'm no expert but the narrative I've seen a few times is that it was contentious but enduring.

coffeesp00ns  ·  2683 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I mean, the people on the Pro-polyamory side are going to colour it one way and other people will colour it another way, but the general impression I've got through reading (especially anecdotes from their children) is that it was incredibly ... normal? Like, aside from there being three parents instead of two, it was just like ... a super normal situation to grow up in.