The Importance Of Love To Marriage

Marriage; a familiar concept that has existed since ancient societies, has not always been the same concept modern society deems it to be. We, in modern days, seem to instantaneously link love to marriage because it is a tradition that has been passed down to us from previous generations. Even though today we accustom love with marriage because that is how it is perceived, for most of human history, marriage was not exactly the “traditional tradition” as it is now.

Though marriage in modern society is viewed as a symbol of two people in love, history shows that love had no part in marriage. In the B.C years (respectively before Christ), love was not a factor in the arrangement of marriage. In the article, “Betrothed Through the Centuries” by Molly Edmunds, she states that, “marriage was a good way to ensure your family's safety”(Edmunds par 2). Back in the day, marrying off your daughter meant that you now had acquired more people that you could rely on during hard times for your family. In ancient China, the marriage happened between two families of the same condition. In the article “Ancient Chinese Marriage Custom” the author states that, “Only after a matchmaker's introduction and when parents considered the two family conditions were similar and could be matched, would the marriage procedures go forward” (Ancient Chinese par 2). The conditions that were taken into account when determining a marriage arrangement were the social status of each family and the amount of wealth each had. For example, a young girl from a wealthy family would be forbidden by society to marry a man below her level and visa-versa. In ancient Greece, the marriage trend that existed was that of an arranged marriage by the parents of the ones engaged. I...

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...s been less and less people getting married, and if they do get married, they do it later on in their life. Government in the United States lifted the ban on interracial marriage with the case of Loving v. Virginia and it is now allowed. In today’s society, marriage is usually affiliated with religious sacredness. As is the case, the rise of same-sex marriages has caused conflict with conservative opposing views. The United States still restricts same-sex marriage, but some states have allowed civil unions between homosexuals. Nonetheless, marriage is now seen for only people who love each other, and all other reasons that were motives back them stayed in the past.

Marriage has evolved much since the beginning of its time. The current vision of marriage is one with religious affiliations and Love-driven, opposing its original purpose of increasing wealth and class.