Contrast Of Mod And Trad.Marriag Essay, Research Paper

Modern romantic love marriage could never have worked in a traditional society. This is because today’s modern love marriages consist of two people who fall in love over a period of time, they get to know each other very well and know all about each other. They have little ways of communicating that only they understand. They share their likes and dislikes with each other and have equal roles in family life. Women now are much more independent and sometimes even support the family.

In a traditional society none of things would work out. Why? Because in a traditional society they believe in arranged marriages. A very important part of arranged marriage is the significance of a middle man. This may be a family friend or a relative of the person who is to be married. They look for the girls/boys social status, their education level, and their appearance. The two that are to be married may know each other or may not know each other at all. Marriage was contracted according to a principle other than the self-interest of the participants. Traditional marriage is based on the principle that marriage requires a more durable foundation than romantic love.

In a traditional marriage the two getting married usually don’t know each other and are married at a young age. This means that the couple to be married will have to learn to love their mate if this is possible. They may even be too young to fall in love. Arranging marriage was so important because it was believed to protect and preserve the family unit. It was so important that some families would go into debt just to have someone marry their daughter. The bride’s family pays for just about everything including the expensive marriage ceremonies. The higher the caste the more expensive the wedding is and the more money the daughter’s family has to give to the males family. That is why families would rather have a boy. With girls they get nothing in return for all the money spent.

In today’s society many marriages end up in divorce, while in traditional society divorce is very rare and carry a negative social stigma. Also many couples get married without the approval of their families nowadays. This would not of been accepted also.

In the case of adultery the man may divorce his wife. In a traditional society they would punish the wife severely instead of divorce. If the man is caught cheating on his wife it is just ignored. This would not happen today. Now women would divorce her husband and get half of all their possessions, even if he earned all of them.

All these reasons and differences that I explained in my paper support why a modern day marriage would not work in a traditional society. Two people are thrown into a marriage with someone who seems ok and they might be able to love and get along with. But they later find out that this person is controlling and does not care about them but still depends on them to take care of things at home. If the wife or husband decides that they do not like or get along with their spouse, what are they to do? They can’t divorce because the permanence of family is too highly valued.