“Purity was as essential as piety to a young woman, its absence unnatural and unfeminine. Without it, in fact, she would not be a woman at all, but a member of an inferior order” (Welter 175). Welter talks about the way women were treated by their spouses, which wasn't morally right in the slightest. According to Welters, the wife should never leave and "obey" her husband, whatever the consequences, even if they have suffered abuse, betrayal or abuse.