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Bigamy — GCSE English Literature Definition

Home
English Literature
Key terms
Bigamy

GCSE English Literature · key term

Bigamy

Definition

The act of marrying someone while already legally married to another living person.

Used by AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas

How each exam board covers it

AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

Paper 1

Marrying another person while already married to someone who is still alive.
Yet she knows Juliet is already married. Her proposal would mean bigamy and the breaking of Juliet’s marriage vow. The Christian understanding of marriage as a solemn commitment helps explain why Juliet experiences this advice as a moral betrayal, not merely an unwelcome suggestion.
Revise: The Nurse
Marrying someone while already legally married to another living person.
Revise: Chapters 11 to 27: Thornfield

Related key terms

Gothic
Foreshadowing
Allusion
Byronic hero
Governess

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Revise: Mr Rochester

1 more note

Revise: Bertha Mason

AQA English Literature past papers

Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

Paper 2

Rochester acknowledges that he intended bigamy: Jane’s consent could not have made the proposed marriage lawful.
Revise: Chapters 11 to 27: Thornfield
Marrying someone while already legally married to another living person.
Revise: Mr Rochester

Edexcel English Literature past papers

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Paper 1

Rochester admits that he intended bigamy. He presents his marriage as a trap arranged for money, but this explanation is also an attempt to justify his treatment of Jane and Bertha. His suffering can invite sympathy without making his deception acceptable.
Revise: Chapters 11 to 27: Thornfield
Marriage to another person while an existing spouse is still living and the first marriage remains legally valid.
Revise: Mr Rochester

OCR English Literature past papers

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720

Component 2

Entering a marriage while already legally married to another living person.
Revise: Chapters 11 to 27: Thornfield
Revise: Mr Rochester
Revise: Bertha Mason

Eduqas English Literature past papers

First-person narrator

Retrospective narration