Marriage Bonding Of The Soul Of Big

Business Essay, Research Paper

Marriage: A Bonding Of The Soul Or Big Business?

According to the encyclopedia marriage is a social institution uniting men and women. Although marriage customs vary greatly from one culture to another, the importance of the institution is universally acknowledged. In some societies, community interests in children, in the bonds between families, and in the ownership of property established by a marriage are such that special devices and customs are created to protect these values.

Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. This bit of cynical witticism was penned by the French writer Voltaire. While love may in fact sometimes smile upon the cowardly, it seems likely that surviving the adventure of marriage breeds courage (Flexner 124).

The earliest known form of marriage was Marriage by Capture, in which a man invaded another tribe and kidnapped a woman whom he judged to be potentially a good slave and hardy worker. She was, in effect, bounty, prey to be conquered–testimony to his valor and muscle–a trophy. Although this barbarism became obsolete with the birth of Christianity it remained legal in England until the thirteenth century and occurred

periodically among southern Slavs until the 1800?s ( Seligson 19).

In the first century Rome marriage was a private act, which did not require the sanction of any public authority. Bride and groom did not have to appear before the equivalent of a priest or justice of the peace. No written document was necessary, there was no marriage contract, only a contract for the bride’s dowry (assuming she had one), and the whole procedure was quiet informal. No symbolic act was required. In fact marriage was a private event (Goldhammerp 33-34).

The act of getting married has changed from Marriage by Capture to the Roman?s private ceremony into an all out social affair costing thousands of dollars. The acts of marriage for most couples involve a huge wedding. Marriage has now turned into a multi-billion dollar a year business. If marriage is a union of souls then why are the grooms expected to spend a third of a year’s wage on the engagement ring? One nationally known jewelry chain ran a huge campaign telling every man in America how much of his salary he should spend. Why is the price of the wedding going up when the same values placed to a wedding remain the same?

According to the United States Department of Commerce figures, Americans spend about $72 billion a year on weddings, with $3 billion of that figure directly related to the wedding day itself. Since those figures include everything from the punch-and –cake reception in the church basement to champagne receptions in hotel ballrooms, the business of getting married is really becoming Big Business (Hanson 15).

It is not unusual for departing honeymoon couples to leave behind them, in addition to the traditional trail of rice and old shoes, a depressing wake of bank loans, second mortgages, and cashed insurance policies. Some parents are still paying for the wedding when daughters become a mother-or a divorcee?( Hanson 17). What is in vogue today is extravagant and showy weddings. The American bride seems more concerned in having the perfect wedding than having the perfect mate.

Would we as a society be better off going back to the days of Marriage by Capture, No! But would American society be better off if we slap close the pocket book and look at the inter beauty of finding a life long mate. The Cinderella fantasy of “They lived happily every after,” is not real. Hard work and a joint union between two adults is what makes a marriage. The price tag of the wedding will not help to make the marriage survive. Thanks to jewelry chains, bridal shops, and travel services the modern way of marriage can look to even higher prices in the future. Marriage these days may take lots of money to upstage our friends but we need to remember the French poet Votaire, it takes a lot of courage to make it last.

References

Arie?s, Philippe, and Georges Duby. A History of Private Live: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987.

Flexner, Stuart, and Doris Flexner. Wise Words and Wives? Tales, New York: Avon Books, 1993.

Hanson, Kitty. For Richer For Poorer, New York: Abelard-Schulman, 1967.

Seligson, Marcia. The Eternal Bliss Machine: America?s Way of Wedding, New York: William Marrow & Company Inc, 1973

Marriage: A Bonding Of The Soul Or Big Business?

According to the encyclopedia marriage is a social institution uniting men and women. Although marriage customs vary greatly from one culture to another, the importance of the institution is universally acknowledged. In some societies, community interests in children, in the bonds between families, and in the ownership of property established by a marriage are such that special devices and customs are created to protect these values.

Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. This bit of cynical witticism was penned by the French writer Voltaire. While love may in fact sometimes smile upon the cowardly, it seems likely that surviving the adventure of marriage breeds courage (Flexner 124).

The earliest known form of marriage was Marriage by Capture, in which a man invaded another tribe and kidnapped a woman whom he judged to be potentially a good slave and hardy worker. She was, in effect, bounty, prey to be conquered–testimony to his valor and muscle–a trophy. Although this barbarism became obsolete with the birth of Christianity it remained legal in England until the thirteenth century and occurred

periodically among southern Slavs until the 1800?s ( Seligson 19).

In the first century Rome marriage was a private act, which did not require the sanction of any public authority. Bride and groom did not have to appear before the equivalent of a priest or justice of the peace. No written document was necessary, there was no marriage contract, only a contract for the bride’s dowry (assuming she had one), and the whole procedure was quiet informal. No symbolic act was required. In fact marriage was a private event (Goldhammerp 33-34).

The act of getting married has changed from Marriage by Capture to the Roman?s private ceremony into an all out social affair costing thousands of dollars. The acts of marriage for most couples involve a huge wedding. Marriage has now turned into a multi-billion dollar a year business. If marriage is a union of souls then why are the grooms expected to spend a third of a year’s wage on the engagement ring? One nationally known jewelry chain ran a huge campaign telling every man in America how much of his salary he should spend. Why is the price of the wedding going up when the same values placed to a wedding remain the same?

According to the United States Department of Commerce figures, Americans spend about $72 billion a year on weddings, with $3 billion of that figure directly related to the wedding day itself. Since those figures include everything from the punch-and –cake reception in the church basement to champagne receptions in hotel ballrooms, the business of getting married is really becoming Big Business (Hanson 15).

It is not unusual for departing honeymoon couples to leave behind them, in addition to the traditional trail of rice and old shoes, a depressing wake of bank loans, second mortgages, and cashed insurance policies. Some parents are still paying for the wedding when daughters become a mother-or a divorcee?( Hanson 17). What is in vogue today is extravagant and showy weddings. The American bride seems more concerned in having the perfect wedding than having the perfect mate.

Would we as a society be better off going back to the days of Marriage by Capture, No! But would American society be better off if we slap close the pocket book and look at the inter beauty of finding a life long mate. The Cinderella fantasy of “They lived happily every after,” is not real. Hard work and a joint union between two adults is what makes a marriage. The price tag of the wedding will not help to make the marriage survive. Thanks to jewelry chains, bridal shops, and travel services the modern way of marriage can look to even higher prices in the future. Marriage these days may take lots of money to upstage our friends but we need to remember the French poet Votaire, it takes a lot of courage to make it last.

References

Arie?s, Philippe, and Georges Duby. A History of Private Live: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987.

Flexner, Stuart, and Doris Flexner. Wise Words and Wives? Tales, New York: Avon Books, 1993.

Hanson, Kitty. For Richer For Poorer, New York: Abelard-Schulman, 1967.

Seligson, Marcia. The Eternal Bliss Machine: America?s Way of Wedding, New York: William Marrow & Company Inc, 1973