Ethel Wendorf

Who was Ethel Wendorf?

How much has anyone ever held sway over your life? To what extent did they if so? It has long been a controversy over how far the government, federal or state, should have power over the lives of individuals. At points in time that control did extend to the private lives of citizens. This included what types of sexuality was legal and forced sterilization was permitted on those who were “undesirable” to reproduce. The justice system even went into what morally ambiguous acts of a sexual nature could be punishable by incarceration.

Ethel Wendorf lived in Wisconsin in the 1920’s and was, at the time of the trial, wife to John Wendorf. Ethel was caught having an affair with Harry Sullivan, who was not married. The question needing to be asked is, was this normal during this time? As times and gender norms were shifting, some women began to openly smoke, drink, and socialize/party vigorously. Considering at this time, divorce could only be attained through instances of adultery, with exceptions in cases of bigamy and impotence. Another fallback was the heavy stigma that divorce carried at the time. Many people were looked down on for seeking divorce and in the case of some religions it was unthinkable. A man and woman were supposed to be joined until death separated them, not a court order.1

Was Ethel seeking a way out of her marriage or just reclaiming and asserting her sexuality with a man whose company she could actually enjoy instead of being shunned by a husband that had not much to do with her in the first place? We do believe that Ethel’s actions did align with the shifting conceptions on female norms. In the letters she states that she is feeling lonely and wishes for him to visit, there is also another letter in which she states that not only does he not visit but he does not send her money either. This shows the lack of contact between the two.2

This continued through her three years of imprisonment until her release. At the moment it is unknown to us if Ethel went back to her husband after her incarceration or if she started a new life after seeking a divorce. Although there might never be an answer to why Ethel chose to have an affair, it does catch the imagination and let it run wild with possibilities. Why did she choose to have an affair if she could be caught and jailed for this “crime”? Adultery may not be a crime that people, mainly women, can be imprisoned for in modern days but it still carries a stigma reminiscent of the Scarlet Letter and the labels that accompany it.

What we can learn from Ethel Wendorf?

At the time of this trial, 1927, a new sexual movement was being introduced in the form of the flapper girls. This was an age in which women were trying to have more independence over their own bodies and over their own actions when it came to sexual activity.3 This is shown in the more revealing clothes and their growing frequency in places that were not the social norm for women of the time. They were also going into the workforce and finding freedom outside of the household wife role, some of this freedom forced women into jobs such as prostitution. By this point in time there where a lot of sexual related crimes in which the women were punished but the man was not. Cases such as bastardy, adultery and prostitution where a woman was charged with the crime of sexual nature, but a man was rarely charged or went after for legal reasons.  As the case of Ethel Wendorf, she was put on trial, and convicted, for the crimes of adultery, but Harry Sullivan was never tried or faulted for taking part in this affair. This shows the imbalance between men and women, expression of sexuality, and almost a need for larger change on the women’s rights.4 This much needed change however, would not occur for another several more decades and in some ways a double standard still exists in our court systems.

Conclusion

The changes society that flappers were apart of, in particular the sexual movement that coincided with it, may have shifted conceptions of adultery from the 1920’s to the 1930’s. There certainly was a rise in cases of adultery and divorce from the 1920’s and all through the Great Depression. Sexuality and its expression seemed to be a way for women of the time to assert control and power over their lives in a time when very few chances for that were given. We believe Ethel Wendorf, whether or not she got a divorce, to be one of those women, who seemed to have decided to take her life into her own hands and pursue a relationship on her own terms, especially since she was married to a man she had little contact with. It seems to be a repeat of men trying to assert their dominance over women slipping out of their grasp. This would certainly be a frightening time and concept for those holding most of the power, to try and stay in control. 

Bibliography:

  •  “Marriage & Divorce in the 1920s.” Lee Strauss, June 25, 2019. https://www.leestraussbooks.com/divorce-marriage-in-the-1920s/.
  •  Shawano Series, County Court Criminal Case Files, (Vol. 1, 70), Box 64, Folder 20
  • DuBois, Ellen Carol, and Dumenil, Lynn. Through Women’s Eyes : An American History with Documents. Fourth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
  •  “Early-1900s Sex Crime Trials Paint New Picture of First ‘Sexual Revolution’.” The University of Kansas, February 7, 2017. https://news.ku.edu/2016/12/01/early-1900s-sex-crime-trials-paint-new-picture-first-sexual-revolution.
  • Munslow Ong, Jade. “Women, crime and sexual transgression.” New Formations, no. 83 (2014): 147+. Gale Academic Onefile (accessed November 17, 2019)

  1.  “Marriage & Divorce in the 1920s.” Lee Strauss, June 25, 2019.https://www.leestraussbooks.com/divorce-marriage-in-the-1920s/.
  2.  Shawano Series, County Court Criminal Case Files, (Vol. 1, 70), Box 64, Folder 20
  3. DuBois, Ellen Carol, and Dumenil, Lynn. Through Women’s Eyes : An American History with Documents. Fourth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
  4.  “Early-1900s Sex Crime Trials Paint New Picture of First ‘Sexual Revolution’.” The University of Kansas, February 7, 2017. https://news.ku.edu/2016/12/01/early-1900s-sex-crime-trials-paint-new-picture-first-sexual-revolution; Munslow Ong, Jade. “Women, crime and sexual transgression.” New Formations, no. 83 (2014): 147+. Gale Academic Onefile (accessed November 17, 2019); DuBois, Ellen Carol, and Dumenil, Lynn. Through Women’s Eyes : An American History with Documents. Fourth ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.