Marriage: What Can you Posses?
Within the very beginning of the story we see that the characters are placed into a society of which there is seemingly very little value in a persons humanity and kindness, but rather the society into which we first enter is seen as almost materialistic, and even though Egeon, has lost a wife and son, the Duke of Ephesus is only concerned with the money from which he can extract from Egeon. We see here that in order for Egeon to keep his marriage alive he has to pay for his life and so we begin to see the trend of what one can posses in a marriage, instead of love and respect.
We see this act of possessions come through most clearly in the relationship of Adriana and Antipholus of Ephesus. We see that Adriana is jealous of her husbands freedoms when she knows that he married her only because of her wealth, a fact we find out later on in the play, but as she states, “Why should their liberty than ours be more?” (II,10). When Luciana states to her sister, “because their business is out of doors” that only serves to infuriate Adriana even more and retorts that Luciana speaks without experience and that once she is married, she will have a different point of view. As they debate, Dromio of Ephesus returns and reports the bizarre behavior of his master saying that Antipholus is mad and will talk of nothing but his gold. Furious, Adriana is thinking that yes her husband married her for her...
In Ancient Athens, marriage and the relationship between husband and wife formed the core structure of Greek society. In both Xenophon 's Oeconomicus and Lysias ' On the Murder of Eratosthenes, there is a profound emphasis on the separation of women from men and their role in maintaining an orderly household. Both also establish unambiguous and separate spheres of responsibilities for men and women. However, there exists a clear difference between equality of the relationships and communication between the spouses. While the couple in Oeconomicus engage in an egalitarian, pleasant, and understanding relationship, Euphiletus and his wife 's relationship is opaque, treacherous, and marked by hostility and sparse communication. In both households,
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
One strange element is why Egeus was so set on Hermia marrying Demetrius. Lysander came from as good a family as Demetrius. Both were well possessed with property and money so Egeus's power is made to seem senseless.
From the beginning, Hermia defiantly denies her father’s attempts at an arranged marriage, in favor of her whirlwind romance with and marriage to Lysander. In her defense, she uses words of chastity and moral purity to claim her fidelity and love towards Lysander and inability to wed Demetrius “I know not by what power I am made bold / nor how it may concern my modesty” (pp). The concern, or befitting, of Hermia’s modesty, by not wedding Demetrius, is protecting the very essence of her womanhood from someone whom she feels isn’t worth of the ultimate consummation of love – marriage (and the subsequent sex). This is continued in her next dialogue, where Hermia states that she would rather die “quote” (pp) or become a nun than give up her virgin “privilege” “quote” (pp). Hermia’s claims of “privilege” and “sovereignty” validate her chastity and moral purity as something that should only be shared with Lysander, not Demetrius. However, the sovereignty of Hermia’s claims also fits in with Demetrius’ arguments regarding his rights to Hermia’s hand in marriage: “quote” (pp). Demetrius’ use of “sovereignty” and “right” turns the supposed “love” of Hermia and Demetrius’ arranged marriage into a legal contract, where Hermia is property and social placeholder instead of a loving companion.
In both Xenophon’s Oeconomicus and Lysias’ defense of Euphiletus’ murder of Eratosthenes, insight into the purpose and function of Athenian marriage may be gained by examination of the speeches of two citizens about their wives and their homes. Through both texts, it becomes apparent that the citizen’s value of his wife is based upon his wife’s ability as an “oikonomikos” or “skilled household manager” (Strauss, 3). It is through filling this role as her husband’s housekeeper that an Athenian woman experienced a loss of personal freedom and found herself trapped within a marriage in which she had little contact or much in common with her husband. A woman’s role as oikonomikos is described by Euphiletus’ address of an Athenian citizen-jury and by Socrates’ discourse with Ischomachos, through which he strives to understand the best way by which a household may be managed.
Parental authority is not what it used to be, many teenagers and young adults no longer respect what their parents want for their lives. This is because they believe they know what is best for them. Although these people are able to make their own mistakes and learn from them, when it comes to something as serious as marriage, having a parent aid one in the decision making proses could help with the increased divorce rate. People seem to forget that when they marry someone you are not only impacting your life and theirs but the lives of your family, this new person is now planning on being a permanent member of your family and no one but you and them were able to decide if this is what should happen. Egeus knew that the man his daughter would marry would become his son by marriage and therefore he wanted to make sure that he liked and approved of the man she decided to spend the rest of her life with. Someone Hermia could love, someone Egeus could get along with and someone that could provide for his daughter and their future family is what Egeus cared about when it came to choosing a spouse for his daughter. Although all of this seemed to go through his mind, he did not fully think about what his daughter wanted in the moment but what she could one day grow to be okay with. Finding a happy medium between the involvement parents once had
As mentioned above, the world of ancient Athens, men was the dominate gender. Women were not allowed marriage without consent of their father. They didn’t even have the right to choose their lover. In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Egues presented engagement to Hermia and a man she didn’t love. "A respectable woman's main role in ancient Athens was to stay home, keep pretty, and bear children. Her life centered in the house and the children. Most citizen wives had slaves to do the cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Once she gave birth, her father could not take her back (Women in Ancient Athens 1)." In ancient Athens society established that it was disrespectful for women to disobey the commands of their father or husband. If her husband thought it necessary, he would have the right to keep her locked in the house if she wasn't behaving as a proper Athenian woman should (Women in Ancient Athens 1). In this case, while Hermia consoled to Theseus, Theseus told Hermia to die or reject the society of men altogether if she shouldn't obey her father.
A classic representation of this male wish to control a female’s affections is seen in Hermia’s fight with her father over whom she wishes to marry. Hermia loves Lysander more than anyone else, and yet her father, Egeus, demands that she wed Demetrius instead. When Hermia and her father’s conflict escalates to epic proportions, where it now involves both of the suitors, and Theseus himself, it is the last s...
The short stories “Souls Belated” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” have in common ‘Marriage’ as main theme. However, the marriage is treated quite differently in both short stories. In "Souls Belated", Lydia chooses to take control of her destiny, to deviate from conventions and to choose what is good for her. She is the strongest character of the couple. Whereas, in "The Yellow Wallpaper", the name of the main character who is also the narrator of the story is not known. She is identified as being John’s wife. This woman, contrary to Lydia in "Souls Belated" is completely locked up in her marriage. This essay will first describe and compare the characters of Lydia and John's wife in the context of marriage, and then it will look at how marriage is described, treated and experienced by couples in these two short stories.
In William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, it is clear that marriage was an economic institution of which wealth and prestige were taken into account more than love or any other factor such as charm or desirability. When Petruchio states “I come to wife it wealthy in Padua, If wealthily, then happily in Padua.” (I, i, 76-77), it is evident that money was the driving factor in deciding who to marry back then and that wealth, not love from a marriage brought happiness. By the same token, when Petruchio asks Baptista “Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife?” (II, i, 112-113) the parallels of marriage to an economic institution only grown. The fact that Petruchio's first question was about
Love is the central theme in the play ‘As You Like It’ by William Shakespeare, the author expressed many types of love in the play. Some of them are, brotherly love, lust for love, loyal, friendship love, unrequited love, but of course, romantic love is the focus of this play.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s famous novel, is, in large part, a study of marriage. It is an interesting novel for Austen since she was never married. The social culture of Austen’s day made marriage a crucial aspect of a woman 's life. A women in that time was dependent on a man for money and social standing. Synonyms for marriage are union and alliance both have very different meanings. Marriage as a union implies a fully joined couple. A marital alliance suggests that marriage is an association for mutual benefit such as money, social standing, or physical desires. Austen 's characters are developed to emphasize these differences in the reasons for marriage. She makes abundantly clear through her development of these marriages
According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will. Egeus' family order is threatened because his daughter Hermia wants to marry Lysander when he wants her to marry Demetrius. According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will in Act 1 scene 1 Line 65-78:
The Presentation of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice During the Pride and Prejudice novel, written by Jane Austen, we are presented with many marriages and relationships between the characters. The symphony of the character. As each character is introduced to another or if a new character has been entered into the novel), Austen always tells us. about their social status and financial background as this was a major contribution to marriage back then.
One of the main themes of Shakespearean comedy is that of the new community: thus the stereotypical round of marriages that is a given for almost any comic Act V. Here we have only one new marriage, between (Syracusan) Antipholus Erotes and Luciana, the restoration of happiness to (Ephesian) Antipholus Sereptus and formerly shrewish Adriana, and the renewal of Egeon and Aemilia's long-sundered wedding bonds (taken and developed from Gower's Confessio Amantis). But the characters begin the play almost wholly sundered from community: Egeon has long lost both wife and half his progeny, and abandoned his known son for a seven years' search; Antipholus Erotes seems blithely unaware of his father's presence in town, so complete is their separation; even Antipholus Sereptus is estranged from his wife Adriana, not enjoying the fruitful state of marriage that must be the lot of comic characters. They are all awash in a capitalist society of business and bonds, with little room for generosity but much for the Officer, debtors' prison, and harsh laws against Syracusan foreigners that even the Duke cannot overturn.