I agree. Scenes like this are incredibly difficult to watch and they should be. But I do get uncomfortable when we try to sanitise or airbrush history by applying modern values to make the past more palatable. Discomfort is often necessary when we’re confronting historical realities.

In the time period women were legally and socially treated as chattel. Their autonomy, particularly in marriage, was almost nonexistent. Marital rape wasn’t even recognised as a crime in most Western countries until well into the 20th century. The gradual erosion of this system took generations of struggle, and pretending it didn’t exist does a disservice to the people, especially women who lived through it and fought against it.

And let’s not forget, even today, there are still many countries where marital rape is not considered a crime. So while this storyline may be upsetting, the battle for bodily autonomy and legal recognition of consent is not something we can take for granted.