“A particularly unfortunate phenomenon”. A longitudinal study of the life courses of children born out of wedlock in 1875–1882

Abstract

This article studies the life courses of children born out of wedlock in 19th-century Sweden. Through a range of reforms and social developments from 1778 and onwards, the legal and economic rights of these children had continuously worsened to reach a point of crisis. This is the first Swedish study aimed at observing the effect on the lives of these individuals from a long-term perspective, operating with the question of how being born out of wedlock affected the life course of an individual. The study includes 279 children born out of wedlock and 295 children born in wedlock. They were all born in the period 1875–1882 in the southern part of the island of Öland in southeastern Sweden. The lives of these individuals are tracked through a range of indicators concerning demography, migration and family life. The results are then analyzed through the lens of stratification theory and
Bourdieu’s social, symbolic and economic forms of capital.

Throughout their lives, the children born out of wedlock exhibit a different pattern in life. Not only were they mostly raised by a single mother and less likely to reach the age of 45, but the women were also more than twice as likely to have children of their own who were also born out of wedlock. With regard to patterns of everything from life expectancy to family building, these individuals led lives that were affected in similar ways, but often in contrast to individuals born in wedlock. A common pattern is also found among these individuals when factoring in sex and social class. What was it about being born out of wedlock that affected the life courses of these individuals? Possible explanations go back to the lack of social, symbolic and economic capital. This group did not have the same rights as their peers to economic support from their parents or inheritance from their father. The majority grew up with only their mother in the household, and very few were legitimized by their father. Examples of some life courses included in the study indicate just what a difference a family network and support could make.