Chop Suey and Marital Conflict

Married couples fight over many issues,  but it would seem unlikely that chop suey might be one. In 1910, Wing Lee, a Chinese physician married to a Norwegian for six years, felt his obligation to feed her was limited to Chinese food, and did not include "bread and butter" or in other words,  American foods. Mrs. Lee, however, "fed up" with her "chop suey diet," took him to court, which proved a bit embarrassing for her because the testimony revealed some negative or questionable aspects of her behavior such as her arrest for stealing money from another "Chinaman" or giving birth to a child in Norway before they married.  The judge ignored these tangential matters and ruled that the doctor must provide his wife with food "such as white people eat" or pay her $4 each week.

 In 1913 Birdie Eill, the wife of  Jacob Eill, a trucking contractor, sued for separation and alimony on grounds that he abandoned her in favor of going to dances to be with "soubrettes" or flirtatious women. He countered that she deserted him, did not cook for him,  and was "fond of chop suey beyond expression."  
The judge ruled in favor of Mrs. Eill, although he only awarded her a third of her alimony requested.

A more dramatic story of marital discord that involved chop suey was a 1922 Long Island murder case in which a husband "accidentally" shot his wife fatally. 

William and Celia Stenger had argued in a restaurant over his refusal to buy chop suey for her. When they got home, Celia exclaimed rather melodramatically she was going "to end it all" and went to her room. Mr. Stenger then entered her room and wrestled with her in an attempt to take a pistol from her but it accidentally discharged, killing her.  As there were no witnesses, the quick-thinking husband wrote a suicide note and forged her signature.  

Nonetheless, he was convicted of first-degree manslaughter.  

One lesson to be learned from these three unhappy marriages: don't fight over a dish of chop suey, it ain't worth it!