So for the record, even to the extent that The Good Olde Days Of Moral Uprightness were a real thing (and in some ways they...
So for the record, even to the extent that The Good Olde Days Of Moral Uprightness were a real thing
(and in some ways they were, moving part being the instrumental fact that your reputation mattered when your social world would consist of the same 200 people your whole life, in which standing waves of morality could be maintained)
people never waited for marriage to have sex
they waited for ENGAGEMENT
which is why in 19th century novels rakes making false promises of marriage are such a thing