History Main / MaritalRapeLicense

* In the 1993 movie ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'', Ike Turner beats and rapes his wife Music/{{Tina|Turner}} in a recording booth because he's dissatisfied with her singing. It should be noted that the real Ike never actually raped Tina in real life.

%%* In the 1993 movie ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'', Ike Turner.

%%* In the 1993 movie ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt'', Ike Turner.

* A Hadith[[note]]A report of statements or actions by Muhammad, or things approved of by him, and are considered to be essential supplements to and clarifications of Literature/TheQuran, though how important the Hadith is varies in different versions of Islam[[/note]] hints at this trope. A husband can demand sex at any time ''whatsoever'' and his wife should come immediately no matter what she is doing or whether she wants it or not. If she refuses or even leaves his bed, angels will curse her, though it should be pointed out that the wife is not obligated to have sex but is merely recommended to.
** The verse 2: 223 of ''Literature/TheQuran'' "Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will." also has been interpreted as a rape license. It should be noted that this is not the only interpretation of this verse, however.

Compare NoWomansLand, StockholmSyndrome, and DateRape.

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* On ''Series/GoodGirlsRevolt'' Patti asks Cindy whether she feels she has to have sex with Lenny. Cindy just shrugs and says he’s her husband.

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* ''WesternAnimation/TheBreadwinner'' doesn't outright say it, but it's implied plenty. Nurallah gets understandably protective when a teenage Talib mentions that Parvana is old enough to marry him, Soraya isn't happy with [[ArrangedMarriage being married off]], and Shauzia tearfully tells Parvana "Maybe they'll find you a husband too, and all your troubles will be over, until after the wedding at least," when she explains her situation.

** Paul states, "The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife." in 1 Corinthians 7:4, implying that marital relationships are to be consensual. Some interpret this as [[Administrivia/TheSameButMore this trope but more]] -- both spouses have the license, should they want to invoke it. Similarly, a passage used to justify marital rape is in Ephesians 5:22: ''Wives, submit to your husbands.'' However, there's also the flip side in verse 25: ''Husbands, love your wives as Christ so loved the church.'' (A love which went as far as accepting torture and death for the sake of the other.) The entire passage (v.22-33) goes into both statements in more detail.

* A Hadith [[note]] Hadiths are reports of statements or actions by Muhammad, or things approved of by him, and are considered to be essential supplements to and clarifications of Literature/TheQuran. Though how important the Hadith is varies in different versions of Islam.[[/note]] hints at this trope. A husband can demand sex at any time ''whatsoever'' and his wife should come immediately no matter what she is doing or whether she wants it or not. If she refuses or even leaves his bed, angels will curse her, though it should be pointed out that the wife is not obligated to have sex but is merely recommended to.

** Paul states that ''The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.'' in 1 Corinthians 7:4, implying that marital relationships are to be consensual. Some interpret this as [[Administrivia/TheSameButMore this trope but more]] -- both spouses have the license, should they want to invoke it. Similarly, a passage used to justify marital rape is in Ephesians 5:22: ''Wives, submit to your husbands.'' However, there's also the flip side in verse 25: ''Husbands, love your wives as Christ so loved the church.'' (A love which went as far as accepting torture and death for the sake of the other.) The entire passage (v.22-33) goes into both statements in more detail.

*** Deuteronomy 22:28-29 says that if a man rapes a non-betrothed virgin, he is forced to pay her father fifty silver pieces and marry her, and is not allowed to divorce her. However, this is more of a ShotgunWedding situation: marriage can be refused by the father (Exodus 22:17), as it was a patriarchal society in ancient times, but the rapist cannot refuse. It is likely that they would usually agree to a marriage, though, since rape victims usually had a very hard time finding a husband, and women usually had trouble supporting themselves without one. Virginity was highly valued, and unmarried women may have been forced to sell themselves into slavery or prostitution to survive. This law would ensure that she would have a means of sustenance available if she chose to do so (even though that would mean marrying her rapist).

* In ''Film/{{Marnie}}'' Sean Connery's character blackmails Marnie into marrying him and then commits this trope on their honeymoon cruise, despite initially appearing to respect her wishes.

* {{Played for|Laughs}} BlackComedy in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' when the Sheriff insists on a [[SkipToTheEnd hasty]] yet "proper" marriage with Marian and attempts to have his way with her the moment the vows are finished, before Robin Hood interrupts.

* ''Film/{{Quills}}'': Dr. Royee-Collard's first night with his young bride, who was raised in a convent. He rips off her nightgown while she is pretending to be asleep and tells her that it's her duty to give him whatever he wants. It is also heavily implied that he's a back-door kind of guy.
* The movie ''Film/{{Osama}}'' ends with the main character, a female child, getting married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather or even her grandfather's father. The scene right before the last scene is on the wedding day, focusing on how terrified the girl is and how much the other wives hate their husbands. The very last scene is at night, showing the old man happy and content, performing the holy cleansing ritual that he had earlier in the movie taught a class of young boys that every good man is supposed to do after he has bedded his wife.

* ''Film/TheDuchess'' where Georgiana Cavendish is raped by her husband, the Duke of Devonshire, for having an affair and daring to call him out on his own mistress. This results in pregnancy, and the son he's always wanted...
* In ''Film/{{Marnie}}'' Sean Connery's character blackmails Marnie into marrying him and then commits this trope on their honeymoon cruise, despite initially appearing to respect her wishes.
* ''Film/CallHerSavage'' has Larry the dirtbag summon Nasa under the pretense that he's dying (in fact he appears to be suffering an attack of insanity, probably from syphilis), and try and rape her, citing the License. She hits him over the head with an end table.

* ''Film/TheBarrettsOfWimpoleStreet'': Edward Moulton-Barrett has an [[IncestSubtext unnatural fixation]] on his daughter Elizabeth. During his VillainousBreakdown at the end, he strongly implies -- at least as far as [[UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode 1934 censorship allowed]] -- that all of his children after Elizabeth, totaling eight, [[ChildByRape resulted from Edward raping his wife]].
--> "You, my eldest child, were born of love, only love. But the others, long before they came, love died out and fear took its place. Fear -- and all because I saw the right and did it. Not that she ever opposed me, ever once."

* ''Film/CoalMinersDaughter'': when 14-year-old Loretta, a virgin, panics on her wedding night, her husband rapes her. She doesn't enjoy it, but they stay married.
* A variation in ''Film/SleepingWithTheEnemy'' with Martin and Laura's post-abuse sex scene. His portrayer Patrick Bergin outright declared it to be rape despite Martin's cajoling and apologetic demeanor, given that Laura clearly doesn't want to and is visibly forcing herself to pretend that she's enjoying it.

* In the medieval bodice-ripper "''Enchanted''", the heroine is so terrified that her husband will invoke this that she brings a dagger to bed so as to protect herself. He's bewildered at her reaction but assures her that he isn't that kind of man. She eventually confides that IHaveThisFriend who was raped to explain her fears and he becomes even more understanding.

* In ''Literature/GardenOfShadows'', Malcolm raped Olivia their first time together. It's made worse by the fact that the act was triggered by remembering his mother who abandoned him and [[{{Squick}} he whispered her name the entire time]].

* Implied in the song ''Mother's Little Helper'' by Music/TheRollingStones. The lyrics suggest that the protagonist's addiction to Valium is at least in part due to her husband not taking no for an answer in bed.

* ''Series/GoodbyeMyPrincess'': Cheng Yin is implied to have invoked this after Xiao Feng declared how much she hated him. This just makes their already-disastrous marriage [[UpToEleven even worse]].

* ''{{Series/Tyrant}}'': Jane, an American Muslim who joined the Army of the Caliphate, is referred to as "comforting" her husband Faisal, but replies "in America we call that rape." This is one of the factors (plus the cold-blooded killings that the Army carries out) convincing her to flee.

This is a drama trope. For cases where abusive partners are played for {{Fanservice}}, see BastardBoyfriend and BastardGirlfriend. RomanticizedAbuse overlaps in cases where such a structure is played for drama ''and'' {{Fanservice}}.

* A variation in ''Film/SleepingWithTheEnemy''with Martin and Laura's post-abuse sex scene. His portrayed Patrick Bergin outright declared it to be rape despite Martin's cajoling and apologetic demeanor, given that Laura clearly doesn't want to and is visibly forcing herself to pretend that she's enjoying it.

* '''Narrative-Based''' is when the narrative itself buys into the morality: it is portrayed as if the woman had it coming for denying her husband his marital rights. However, she still doesn't enjoy it: If the wife seems to be happy with the forceful sex afterward, then it's [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization an entirely different trope]], and if they agreed on it in advance, then it's [[CasualKink yet another trope]]. This type of trope typically only comes up in older works.

* One short scene in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' novel ''Literature/TheCourtshipOfPrincessLeia'' features Teneniel Djo explaining to Isolder that she's within her rights to do this to him, but she isn't going to. Isolder isn't entirely sure how to respond (especially since he's a prince, back on his own world). Oddly enough they ''do'' have feelings for each other, although they're both pursuing other partners at the time.

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* ''ComicBook/{{Arawn}}'': Subverted when Deirdre becomes Arawn's wife by right of conquest after he murdered her husband and took over his kingdom. Naturally she despises him and pushes him away when he tries making a move. Arawn rips her dress and attempts to force himself on her, but he refrains from doing so as he prefers that she gave her consent. She eventually does after rejecting him for a few weeks.

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* Discussed female-on-male example in ''What is Love?'' where Hinata wonders if having sex with a passed out Naruto is okay. She goes through with it, repeatedly telling herself: "It's okay. We're married."

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* The movie ''Film/{{Osama}}'' ends with the main character, a female child, getting married off to a man old enough to be her grandfather or even her grandfather's father. The scene right before the last scene is on the wedding day, focusing on how terrified the girl is and how much the other wives hate their husband. The very last scene is at night, showing the old man happy and content, performing the holy cleansing ritual that he had earlier in the movie taught a class of young boys that every good man is supposed to do after he has bedded his wife.

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* In ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', after [[spoiler:Harry]] agrees to become Mab's knight consort, the first thing she does is have sex with him. [[spoiler:Harry]] bears with it because he needs Mab's help [[spoiler:to save his daughter's life]], but his consent is clearly coerced.

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* ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'': One of the darkest episodes in the entire run was "Daisy's Shotgun Wedding", where Daisy is kidnapped by the Beaudrys, a sociopathic, misogynistic backwoods family intending to turn her into their sex slave; it is the dumbest but most vile, evil of the two brothers – the mammoth-sized Milo – who will be primarily responsible for having sex with Daisy. And it is of course with knowledge that the Beaudrys plan to rape Daisy as brutally as possible – plus use her as their slave and be otherwise mean, vicious and cruel to her in general – that has Bo, Luke, Boss, and Rosco racing against time to stop an imminent ShotgunWedding.

* This is the reason why ''Series/MadMen'' fandom nicknamed Joan Holloway's fiancée and eventual husband "Doctor Rapist".

* Even more creepy than usual in ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. Ra's Al Ghul forces his daughter Nyssa to marry his chosen heir [[spoiler: Oliver]]. When Nyssa objects to bearing a child, Ra's dismisses her complaints stating that she will do as ordered and have no more say in the matter than her mother had (implying she may be a {{child by rape}} herself). This is par for the course for Ra's in his comic book incarnation as well. Talia is definitely attracted to [[{{Franchise/Batman}} The Detective]], but Ra's attitude towards this is mainly "how nice for you; that will make your task easier."

* Almost happens on ''Series/IntoTheBadlands'' between [[spoiler: Quinn and Veil]]. Earlier in the episode, [[spoiler: Quinn decides to make Henry, Veil's infant son by Sunny, his legal heir [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe by making her his second wife]]. Of course, it's very clear that he's also using the marriage to gain the extra perk of having sexual access to Veil, [[VillainousCrush since he has always had a weird infatuation with her since season one]]. [[ForcedMarriage After the marriage]] and Quinn takes Veil to their bedchamber, he more or less presumes to assault her while Veil hesitantly tries to slit his throat before he can consummate the marriage. The only thing that stops the act is when Lydia, Quinn's first wife, barges in with news that [[RoaringRampageOfRescue Sunny is alive and is coming to kill Quinn]].]]
* On ''Series/GoodGirls'' [[HateSink Boomer]] forces himself on his fiancee Mary Pat, although even their engagement is only a result of his blackmailing her. [[spoiler: It's implied this is the last straw driving her to kill him.]]

*** Deuteronomy 22:28-29 says that if a man rapes a non-betrothed virgin, he is forced to pay her father fifty silver pieces and marry her, and is not allowed to divorce her. However, this is more of a ShotgunWedding situation: marriage can be refused by the father (Exodus 22:17), as it was a patriarchal society in ancient times, but the rapist cannot refuse. It is likely that they would usually agree to marriage, though, since rape victims usually had a very hard time finding a husband, and women usually had trouble supporting themselves without one. Virginity was highly valued, and unmarried women may have been forced to sell themselves into slavery or prostitution to survive. This law would ensure that she would have a means of sustenance available if she chose to do so (even though that would mean marrying her rapist).
*** Also, the word translated 'rape' also refers to seduction and is more suited to placing the blame and subsequent penalty upon the man, even if the intercourse was consensual. If she is already married to someone else, it is treated as adultery; otherwise, he must pay her a generous dowry (roughly five years' worth of a middle-class wage, at the time) which she keeps whether she accepts the marriage or not. This also downplays the "will I have a hard time finding a husband" and the "can I support myself without a husband" problems, as there were men willing to marry a woman with a good fortune, and women in that culture (even married) were allowed to own property, inherit wealth, and transact with merchants (when married, even apart from their husbands). The sexual intercourse was seen as an offense to her right of self-determination, and the generous dowry and offer of marriage a recompense.

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* Taken to the illogical extreme in ''TabletopGame/{{FATAL}}'' where not only can a man rape his wife, but any male of age in the village is welcome, and is likely, to join in. Then after its all said and done, the woman is likely to be punished for being raped, with [[SerialEscalation more rape]].

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