Women in ancient Rome it more praiseworthy to be a good husband than a good senator." A man of status during the Roman Republic was expected to behave moderately toward his wife and to define himself as a good husband. Wife beating was sufficient grounds for divorce or other legal action against the husband. Domestic abuse enters the historical record mainly when it involves the egregious excesses of the elite. The Emperor Nero was alleged to have had his first wife (and stepsister) Claudia Octavia murdered, after subjecting her to torture and imprisonment. Nero then married his pregnant mistress Poppaea Sabina, whom he kicked
The Problem (play) their home, she immediately reveals her hugely pregnant stomach to her husband who seems to not have noticed that she was ever pregnant. The Husband is completely unfazed and uninterested and almost leaves, until the Wife presents him with the possibility that the baby may not be his. The husband stays, remarkably and comically, calm . He only becomes slightly surprised when the Wife states that they have not had sex in five years; he does not realize it has been so long. While the Husband becomes apologetic for this lack of intimacy, the Wife assures him not to worry