13-year-old Tullia tells Anatole, “Only peasants can afford to marry for love. For merchants and traders, it is just another business contract. And for royalty, it is an alliance.” (p. 16). What did you think of this scene? Do you think marriages are still made for reasons other than love?
It is unfortunate but yes I do think some marriages are made for financial gain and political importance. Think about young children in certain cultures who have families working together to promote a successful union when marriage is considered at later age.
Oh, definitely, with all the arranged marriages that go on still in many cultures, and in present day to keep large weathy corporations passed down to generations (The Walmart Waltons come to mind). In the Gilded age the Astors and Vanderbilts were good examples of this. ‘Only peasants can afford to marry for love’, unfortunately because they have nothing to lose.
Of course there are still marriages for other reasons besides love. Oftentimes it is still for monetary or status purposes, just as it was long ago. During this time period it was believed that Royalty could only be married to Royalty, and this was far more important than love.
I do think this is still true. There are arranged marriages, royal marriages and wealthy marriages. All have power and money as the key component of the union.
I beleive that in many marriages considerations are given to considerations other than love. As a child in our middle class community in London, I remember the daughter of our next door neighbor fell in love with a shop assistant and her father was adamant that her lover would be “unable to keep her in the manner to which she was accustomed.” A far cry from marriages of the royals or millionaires, but the concern was the same, “what has love got to do with it?”
How wise that 13 year old was! Yes, throughout history marriage has been for safety, for alliances and for personal gain. How lucky we peasants are to be able to marry for love.
Through out history there have and will continue to be arranged marriages. It certainly goes on in many cultures to this day.
I think the reasons Tulle still exist today.
Absolutely! Many people nowadays marry for status, money, and prestige, or convenience, rather than love. When you don’t have much to bring into a marriage, the only thing you can bring is love and devotion.