Divorce Law, the Revolution of 1830 and the Novel: Aloïse de Carlowitz's Le Pair de France ou Le Divorce (1835).

This article analyzes Aloïse Christine de Carlowitz's 1835 novel *Le Pair de France ou Le Divorce*, which centers on the political and social debates surrounding divorce law in France between 1830 and 1834. The novel intertwines the private dramas of its protagonists—aristocrats and bourgeoisie struggling with unhappy marriages and the impossibility of divorce—with the broader political upheavals of the July Revolution and the early July Monarchy. Carlowitz uses complex character relationships and parallelisms to reflect differing class attitudes toward marriage, the failure of divorce legislation due to conservative opposition in the Chamber of Peers, and the political disillusionment following the Revolution of 1830. The work advocates for moderate reform through parliamentary means, highlighting the social consequences of rigid divorce laws and drawing connections between personal and political betrayals during this period in French history.