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Ryan Stubblefield

Mrs. Piner

British Literature

5 May 2009

Weddings

Weddings have come and gone over the years, but how much really has changed? The society of today differs very much in comparison to the society of 1811. Yet they still share a great deal of likeliness with each other, much more than one would imagine. With each union of a man and a woman, a different style of wedding would appear, since not everyone thinks the same. Nor does everyone fall to fit and conform to what society says to. Since the early Nineteenth Century, marriage customs have changed and evolved, and yet still share similar qualities and aspects.

The marriage union between a man and a woman exemplifies a bridge over troubled waters. Where the meaning defines that times will always have rips and rough times, but there remains a way to overcome them. For instance, the cost of a marriage has the abilities to range from literally nothing to whatever amount desired. The costs range from a minimal marriage license fee to paying for a venue, clothing, catering and wedding gifts. Dowries are not forced upon the bride’s parents and family these days, to provide the husband money because the woman has not the right to work. Modern day weddings have fallen short of the conformist beliefs of marriages being only heterosexual. Now, men have the right of marrying any other man, just as women to any other woman. While the marriage of homosexuals may not have national laws, each state determines whether to allow homosexual marriages. In addition, a major part of the wedding remains the fact of two families uniting, which includes both the grooms and the brides side. Usually, both sides of the family show up in attendance along with many family friends. Weddings of today relay on tradition and family support and reunion attendance at the event. In today’s weddings, the ceremony is majorly held at the altar with a Priest or Reverend, really any religious ordained servant of God, that has the right to wed a couple. Different styles and ceremonies receive representation with each religious and cultural customary beliefs. In addition, a bit of conformity polymerizes with the dress of the weddings, which remains very formal, as a majority. The men wear tuxedos or suits and the women wear dresses or suits as well. Prior to the wedding, the couple usually engages in dating, for their own comfortable length of time, until they feel they know each other enough to enter engagement then into marriage. After the proposal into engagement, a time gap still stands between then and the marriage date. According to Coolnurse, “the legal age of marriage for the majority remains 18 without parental/guardian consent.” Even though a large majority, “51.1% of marriages end in divorce,” according to divorcemagazine, that still leaves 49.9% percent whom do not divorce.

Though even the customs have changed, a few qualities stayed the same. For instance, the family sees the marriage as a significant rite of passage for the couple into either manhood or into womanhood. In the movie, Mrs. Bennett, the mother, wept for her youngest daughter who just entered into a marriage, and who now belongs to Mr. Wickem. She sought out to brag to her neighbor friend about the youngest daughter’s marriage. Mothers in present society resemble the same content body actions. Still in modern day marriages, the bride takes the man’s name as her new last name. Still in modern weddings, a religious outlook on the situation resembles the day.

Taking a step back into the past, a step of nearly two-hundred years of human life, the customs of weddings still consist between one man and one woman. In which the father of new- wife paid the son-in-law. For instance, in the movie, Lydia marries Mr. Wickem who receives the sum of ten thousand pounds, which today would run roughly fourteen-thousand-and-five-hundred dollars. Many factors take into effect when the man wants to choose whom he marries. The means for marriage possibly start at the last name of the woman’s family. The factors that play off that may include the track record of the lady’s family because her family might produce more women or men more men than the other sex. In addition, a possible reason would consist of her last name for it might come with a line very well known people, which would make the new groom also, very well known. Even more reasonable of a reason, her family’s wealth. If the man would like a higher dowry, or comes from a poorer family, he will look for that extra support. Not to exclude the fact that the families might have agreed to betroth the couple, which could happen for another multiple amount of reasons, ranging from settle family feuds or compensation for something lost. If the family holds royal blood, they will more than likely, keep the blood royal and begin inessential breeding, to keep the bloodline in the same family. Due to the fact, the King possibly has no heir to his throne, or wants a child of his own to take the thrown, but keep it in the royal family. According to Wahan, a woman could not divorce her husband for beating her, cheating on her or any other reason, unless he brought the mistress into the house were his wife lived.

All in all, the customs for weddings over the past 200 years have not differed in too many ways, just built up from where they were to what they have become today. All weddings are different, even how they develop or situations that develop around them. They remain a rite of passage for any man or woman as an entry to the rest of their new adult lives, together. Even though some modern day marriages do not last, the close numbers projected by divorcemagazine shows only a percent and a half difference between married and divorced couples. Since the early Nineteenth Century, marriage customs have changed and evolved but yet still share similar qualities and aspects that will continue to carry on and still receive use and recognition.



Works Cited



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