“When a wife strays, it is far worse than when a husband does, since the relationship the wife has is supposed to be an exclusive relationship.”
the inference being that the relationship the husband has is not supposed to be exclusive?
That was precisely what I meant. I thought my intent was clear, but I would have spelled it out expressly otherwise.
A husband’s relationship with his wife was never intended to be exclusive. See, ?????, ????, ????, etc.
I presume Rabeinu Gershom decided that men were no longer able to maintain the multiple relationships properly.