How did Mary Powell’s separation from John Milton relate to his divorce writings?

John Milton’s domestic life directly influenced his radical stance on marriage. Shortly after marrying Mary Powell in 1642, she deserted him and returned to her family for approximately three years. While the specific reasons for their estrangement remain unknown, this period of domestic strife likely prompted Milton to begin framing the arguments for his four major divorce tracts, including The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643).1

In these writings, Milton argued that marriage is fundamentally based on compatibility, mutual love, and sympathy. He contended that when these elements are absent, the marriage has effectively ceased to exist, and maintaining it violates an individual's personal liberty and volition. This perspective was highly controversial and unacceptable in his era, leading to official disfavour and attempts to suppress his publications. Although Milton and Powell eventually reconciled and had children, his divorce tracts remain significant for their early advocacy of marriage as a voluntary union, a concept that resonates more closely with modern views on equality.123