There were very few reported sales of husbands, and from a modern perspective, selling a wife like a chattel is degrading, even when considered as a form of divorce. Nevertheless, most contemporary reports hint at the women's independence and sexual vitality: "The women are described as 'fine-looking', 'buxom', 'of good appearance', 'a comely-looking country girl', or as 'enjoying the fun and frolic heartily. The selling of husbands misses the point of the sales. When a woman married the husband became legally responsible for her, so if he abandoned her, he faced imprisonment. Whereas if a woman left a man, she faced penury so if she was passed to another man, this ensured her financial security. As she was not at risk of being a burden on the local parish the practice was generally accepted. This was especially so if the woman had become involved in a new man. Many press accounts claimed that the practice was illegal, outrageous and much more, but if this was really the case, then a law would have been passed to prevent it. Crucially, there is no record of any cleric condemning it in print. When a young woman was taken before the justices at Smithfield, one of them remarked that if it were legally possible for a man tired of his wife to dispose of her at market, Smithfield would not be big enough. This suggests there were a lot of unhappy marriages at the time.