Page "W. B. Yeats" Paragraph 22

There were two main reasons why Yeats was so horrified.

To lose his muse to another made him look silly before the public.

Yeats naturally hated MacBride and continually sought to deride and demean him both in his letters and his poetry.

The second reason Yeats was horrified was linked to the fact of Maud's conversion to Catholicism, which Yeats despised.

He thought his muse would come under the influence of the priests and do their bidding.

The marriage, as forecast by both their sets of friends and relations was an early disaster.

This pleased Yeats as Maud began to visit him in London.

After the birth of her son, Seán MacBride, in 1904, she and MacBride agreed to end the marriage, although they were unable to agree on the child's welfare.

Despite the use of intermediaries, a divorce case ensued in Paris in 1905.

Maud made a series of allegations against her husband with Yeats as her main ' second ' though he did not attend court or travel to France.

A divorce was not granted as the only accusation that held up in court was that MacBride had been drunk once during the marriage.

A separation was granted with Maud having custody of the baby with John having visiting rights.