The Wedding Ring Tradition
Significance of Rings To Shakespeare
During Shakespeare's time, the wedding and engagement rings indicated commitment. The rings Portia and Nerissa gave to Bassanio and Gratiano, that they were never to remove, were just that. "I give them with this ring, Which when you part from, lose, or give away, Let it presage the ruin of your love And be my vantage to exclaim on you" (3.2.171-4). The rings stood for the man's commitment to his wife just as rings Bassanio and Gratiano would give to Portia and Nerissa at their weddings would stand for the wives' commitment.
Rings were common mainly among the richer parts of society, who could afford such a token. Mary Queen of Scots sent a diamond ring to Thomas Duke of Norfolk to indicate her willingness to marry him. However, peasants would give smaller tokens or none at all. It was usually the case that everyone in a village knew who was married, so no symbol was necessary. In the case that a man wishes to break a wedding contract, he must give back double all of the tokens he has received, usually a collection of small items. This made it even less practical for the poorer people in society to give rings.
The fact that Portia and Nerissa gave rings to Bassanio and Gratiano is mainly an indication of their wealth. The commitment could have been symbolized by any token given to the men, but using a ring also shows that they are wealthy. Elizabethans would know that the ring itself was of no consequence to the marriage, but rather what it stood for was important.
Origin Of The Tradition
Engagement rings initially served a double purpose. In the days when brides were purchased, these rings were partial payment for the bride in addition to symbolizing the groom's intentions and woman's agreement. Diamonds were first found in Medieval Italy and due to their hardness symbolized enduring love.
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer portrays a wide spectrum of marriage from what can be traditionally seen as the worst to the best. Three of these tales, The Miller's, The Franklin's, and The Wife of Bath's, support this examination of what can constitute an ideal marriage.
In the Elizabethan era, once a woman became engaged with a man, the wife becomes “property” to their husband. Wives were expected to be submissive to their husbands. While the husband is absent from the household their
There are three distinctive parts to a Greek marriage: the engue, ekdosis, and gamos (Powers). The engue refers to the betrothal arranged by the kurioi, which are the fathers of the bride and groom (Duby 273). In this ceremony a verbal contract is made called engye. This is basically an agreement upon marriage between the groom and father of the bride. The dowry is also paid to the groom during this time. The agreement is sealed by the phrase ‘I hand over this woman to you for the ploughing of legitimate children’ (Blundell 101). Witnesses were present as proof of engue in case the legitimacy of children was ever questioned.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses different ways to show how marriage is connected to the kind of male and female characters portrayed in the play. We can see from the use of clothes to disguise themselves to pretend they are someone else, to the way taming is portrayed to control other characters, how women were considered in that time. They were first court by lovely ways and in marriage they were treated as an inferior sex to them. Women were forced to deal with their husband in silent without saying anything to anyone. We can perceive that this play is just about social position to be able to marry who you want to be with. And most important, money is the main reason people got married in that time.
When the family arrives in Welch, they notice that their newly purchased house is dull-looking and depressing, matching their moods when they first start living there. Jeannette notices that their glum house is contributing to their glum moods so she suggests painting the house yellow, a colour that is symbolic of happiness, to try and boost morale. Nobody in her family is willing to help so she paints by herself and notices an improvement in the look of their house. Unfortunately, she leaves the paint outside in the wintertime causing it to freeze, meaning that she is unable to finish painting the house. One day while playing outside, Jeannette and her brother stumble upon a diamond wedding ring lying on the ground. The wedding ring symbolizes hope to the children because they realize that it can be sold for a substantial amount of money. They bring the ring to their mother and tell her that, “it could get [them] a lot of food” (185), to which she replies, “but it could also improve my self-esteem. And at times like these, self-esteem is even more vital than food” (185). Rose Mary decides to keep the ring because she values her own selfish needs over the welfare of her children. Both the yellow paint and the ring represent positive changes for the family but neither of them ends up actually changing their
Baptista is looking for suitors to marry his daughters and views the marriage as a monetary transaction: "After my death the one half of my lands, and in possession twenty thousand crowns." (2.1 122-123). In this quote, Shakespeare is using the characterization of Baptista to demonstrate how women were viewed as nothing more than objects that could be sold. Baptista told this to Petruchio when he asked how much Kate was worth. In addition, Baptista was attempting to appeal to suitors: "Proceed in practise with my younger daughter; she 's apt to learn and thankful for good turns. Signior Petruchio, will you go with us, or shall I send my daughter Kate to you?" (2.1 165-168). Shakespeare uses Baptista to demonstrate how poorly women were viewed. Baptista is practically selling his daughters and attempting to make them more appealing to suitors, so much as offering to bring Kate to Petruchio. Throughout most of the play, Baptista is looking to marry off his daughters. "Faith, gentlemen, now I play a merchant 's part, and venture madly on a desperate mart." (2.1 345-346). Shakespeare uses Baptista to demonstrate once again the little value women have and how they are viewed as objects. Baptista is acting as a "merchant" when he is selling his
Marriage in the Victorian time period was carefully contemplated, as Rosenberg addresses that “Wedding ceremonies were seen as an expression of Victorian social values that that the Queen wished to renounce, while on the other hand, such occasions were viewed as having national and collective significance” (Rosenberg 98). Love played a very tiny role in the Victorian Era marriages. An engagement was more approached as a business deal. Once married all possessions went to the husband as property. Anatolyevna emphasizes how “Victorian weddings should be transformed from a formalized procedure to a celebration, a holiday for a young couple in honor of their initiation” (Anatolyevna 1) The Marriage and Wedding Customs of the Victorian time period are interesting because they are religious, strict, unique, and elegant. First of all, the Victorian time period wedding mores were intriguing because of their strong connection to religion. Terpening explains that “in the sense that marriage is an act through hardship and trial, people who led Christian lives were rewarded by enjoying years with their spouse” (Terpening 22). Even though in the Victorian time period their marriages were arranged, if you and your spouse had the same religions beliefs your marriage will be strong and last longer than other couples. People during the Victorian time believed that if you didn’t practice the same beliefs of your partner your marriage would fall apart or be in great bitterness. Religion played a big role in the Victorian wedding ethnicities but the harsh laws of marriage were a huge part for weddings during this time period. Next, the Victorian time period Wedding traditions were remarkable because of the firm traditions. Author Kat Stromquist ment...
In Romeo and Juliet’s time frame, the bride’s dress wasn’t even white. It was usually one of their best gowns they would wear or they would buy a new one. One reason this happened was because most families were poor which is why women were encouraged to marry rich so the family would benefit from the wealthy side. These kinds of weddings and ceremonies were called Elizabethan weddings. It was also allowed to boys to marry at fourteen and girls at twelve years old. That’s one reason why Romeo was allowed to marry a twelve to thirteen year old girl. Now, most people in America do not choose to get married until they are in their mid twenties or later than that.
The Merchant of Venice is a play set in a very male and Christian dominated society where other religions and women rights weren’t very well accepted by the community. However Portia, a rich woman who had previously been controlled by men, triumphs as she manipulates tricks and saves the lives of the men. We see how she is manipulated by men through her father, who though dead, still manages to control who she marries from his will. He states in his will that from three different caskets the suitors will have to choose, in each of which will contain either a letter to the suitor or a picture of Portia. In one of the three caskets, either the lead, silver or gold casket, there will be a picture of Portia.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, demonstrate many different attitudes and perceptions towards marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that illustrated in the Franklin’s Tale. On the other hand, other tales present a liberal view, such as the marriages portrayed in the Miller’s and The Wife of Bath’s tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed depict the attitudes towards marriage at that time in history. D.W. Robertson, Jr. calls marriage "the solution to the problem of love, the force which directs the will which is in turn the source of moral action" (Robertson, 88). "Marriage in Chaucer’s time meant a union between spirit and flesh and was thus part of the marriage between Christ and the Church" (Bennett, 113). The Canterbury Tales show many abuses of this sacred bond, as will be discussed below.
and that his mother said “Twould make her amiable and subdue [his] father, entirely to her love, but if she lost it or made gift of it, [his] father’s eye should hold her loathèd and his spirits should hunt after new fancies” (III.iv.51-55). - turning the handkerchief into a symbol of chastity. The strawberry pattern, colored with virgin’s blood on the plain white background correlates with the loss of virginity on a wedding night, creating the handkerchief into a symbol of virginity.
In today’s society very few wedding traditions from the past are carried on in the ceremonies. Couples now are choosing the more traditional weddings and not knowing what all the old traditions and rituals stand for.
Bassanio was so grateful towards Balthazar that he was able to place Balthazar of above importance to Portia his wife. Portia then compares Bassanio giving up her beloved ring to if she were to give her body to the doctor as a parallel. Prior to the men being made aware of Portia and Nerissa’s disguises, they explain their reasoning’s as a necessity. Once Bassanio and Gratiano know the truth, they apologize with fear as they now know the power these two women posses. Gratiano ends the play by stating “I’ll fear no other thing so sore as keeping safe Nerissa’s ring” (V, I, 324-325). Gender roles are now reversed as the play concludes which shows that gender itself is a social construct and is not
To give a little background on the play; the pursuit of marriage is the driving force behind the play. “I now pronounce you, man and wife.” This traditional saying, commonly used to announce a newlywed couple during a wedding ceremony, marks the happily ever after that many dream of today. In today’s society, marriage is an expression of love between two individuals. Marriage has not, however, always been an act of love. In the Victorian era, marriage was almost a chore. Most people married out of need rather than want. In the Play this is evident when Lady Bracknell objects to Gwendolen and Ernest’s engagement on the basis of his lack of legitimate background. On the other hand, Jack objects to the marriage of Cecily and Algernon’s
So they have to be careful, and make sure they respect the holy institution of marriage and the lifelong vows that it entails. In direct translation, the metaphorical “weeds” that would be strewn across their bed if they had sexual intercourse before marriage, as opposed to the well known phrase “a bed of roses” that they would have if they waited until after their wedding. Shakespeare has used the word “weeds” to show that nothing good can come from the union of the lovers’ bodies, weeds are unwanted and disliked by any gardener, whereas roses are beautiful and symbolic of all that is pure. We already know that Miranda and Ferdinand make small mistakes about each other and each other’s lives “sweet lord you play me false” and this backs up Shakespeare’s reasoning for Prospero’s warning against breaking his daughter’s “virgin-knot”. Prospero’s suggestion that they need to sort out these mistakes before committing themselves to each other, physically, is not only welcomed by the couple and Alonso and the other courtly characters, but also a reflection of Shakespeare’s own beliefs about sex before marriage.