Taking a Look at Marriage

712 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of attachments

The notion of completely devoting one’s life to another, vowing to love and to cherish, to have and to hold, from that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do part them is nothing new to times recent or ancient. This concept of bringing two persons together and unifying them into one is one seen on every continent and in nearly every culture. Under the light of wedlock being an international, intercultural, interracial act, this time of celebration commences and carries out in manners unique to each sect of the world, though some are stranger and more eerie than others. Amongst the most chilling is wedding of the dead. However, before the marriage can even be planned there is the matter of attracting the mate or mate potential. Come hell or high water, when a member of the human race has their mind set to goal there are very few lengths in which they will not go to get what they want, even if it means mutilating and or distorting their own bodies.
No matter where a person roams in this world, no matter the tribe, country or city, beauty is prize valued almost above all else, but what is considered beautiful shifts and changes, all depending upon location. However, there is another thing that does not change. What a person is willing to endure to be viewed as one of striking quality. For millions of women in China this meant suffering through the barbaric act and tradition of foot binding. It begins on a normal day in a girl’s early childhood. She is only five years old. Her mother fills a tub with the crimson, blood that only a short time ago coursed through an animal’s veins. Her mother calls her over as she adds herbs to the liquid. The mother then massages her daught...

... middle of paper ...

...y, intertwining two souls forever.
To the majority of the human race the ultimate goal of mating is to find that one person in which they wish merge their separate lives into one. To be said in fewer other words marriage. To obtain this status of being a half of a truly greater whole, those of the human race do not stop at the ruffling of feathers or exhibit their natural, favorable aspects of the body in a brazen display. For a human who does not possess the attributes their culture holds in a light of respect and awe most are will to grit their teeth and put themselves through tortures that seem unimaginably foolish and trivial to those standing outside the intangible line of ethnic borders. Further still, others will reach from beyond the grave to obtain the universally esteemed marital status. One thing is clear, for the prospect of marriage, humans will endure.

Show More
Related

  • Bound Feet And Western Dress Analysis

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will be explaining the role of women in society in Bound Feet and Western Dress. The Chinese have traditions that are generations old and are very serious in their culture. These Chinese traditions have been deeply established. In Bound feet and Western Dress, a dispute between Chinese traditions and Westernization of Chinese women begin to emerge. The women in traditional China were treated unequally and were basically looked upon as property for their husband. The women were taken in by the husband’s family and had to always obey their husband and also had to take orders from the husband’s family as well.

    Read More

  • Summary Of A History Of Marriage By Stephanie Coontz

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first chapter begins with an exploration of love and marriage in many ancient and current cultures. Surprisingly many cultures either avoid the discussion of love in marriage or spit on the idea completely. China and other societies believed that love was simply a product of marriage and shouldn’t get too out of hand, while a few Greek and Roman philosophers shunned excessive

    Read More

  • Gender Hierarchies In Tang And Song China

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Following a rough period of half a century, the Song dynasty took power in 960. This began a “Golden Age” of Chinese society. However, the role of women did not advance all across the board. It was more in the northern regions that were influenced by nomads. Unfortunately, the new Neo-Confucian influences held almost everywhere else, with the new influences of Buddhism and Daoism. (Strayer 371) In fact, conditions were terrible everywhere else, if not more so than they ever had been before. One example of the terrible factors women had to deal with was foot binding. Foot binding involved the wrapping feet tightly with gauze and stuffing them into specially designed “lotus shoes”. (Foreman) his process, repeated over many years, shrunk a woman’s feet at the expenditure of vast amounts of pain and broken bones. An outside onlooker would ask themselves ‘Why would people do this to their daughters?’, and the answer is quite

    Read More

  • Young Master Gets His Tonic Summary

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though the feudal imperial regime has ended years ago, the traditional thoughts and burdens that have ruled Chinese country women for thousands of years remain unchanged. In Young Master Gets His Tonic, Wu Zuxiang presents a first-person narrative story where the young master, guanguan, drinks human milk to get nutrition for making up his previous loss of blood and energy from an accident. Right after the accident, the young master had received shots of blood from a wet nurse’s husband to supplement his loss, and three months later he drinks woman’s milk from the wet nurse. The young master’s description of the wet nurse effectively exhibits the oppressed life of lower class women, that they still lived in poor and unhealthy condition with subordinate status in the society.

    Read More

  • marriage and funeral in ancient greece

    2321 Words  | 5 Pages

    Marriage in Classical Athens was inevitable. It was a part of life. Everyone had to get married, just as everyone had to someday face death. Although most people would not see a connection between marriage and death, the Greeks did. Both define an irreversible physical change—the loss of virginity and the loss of life. This idea of loss, rebirth, and renewal are present in both wedding and funeral. This is evident in the way wedding and funeral ceremonies complement each other in character and content. Both ceremonies are interwoven with ritual meaning and overlapping rites.

    Read More

  • Dorothy Ko's Article: The Body As Banning In Seventeenth-Century China

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her article "The body as attire," Dorothy Ko (1997) reviewed the history about foot binding in seventeenth-century China, and expressed a creative viewpoint. Foot binding began in Song Dynasty, and was just popular in upper social society. With the gradually popularization of foot binding, in the end of Song Dynasty, it became generally popular. In Qing Dynasty, foot binding was endowed deeper meaning that was termed into a tool to against Manchu rule. The author, Dorothy Ko, studied from another aspect which was women themselves to understand and explained her shifting meaning of foot binding. Dorothy Ko contends that “Chinese Elite males in the seventeenth century regarded foot binding in three ways: as an expression of Chinese wen civility,

    Read More

  • Transition of Marriage: A Global Perspective

    2479 Words  | 5 Pages

    Over time, has taken many different forms and taken on different purposes. One of the regions where it is easiest to see this transition is the United States. In the article, “Choosing Mates—the American Way”, it is described how American culture has given way to the change of marriage to be less practical and more emotionally based. Even so, there are places all over the world where there is still a transition or where it’s a cultural aspect that marriage still be more of an institution. For example, marriage in Mauritania, Africa is still largely based on displays of wealth and social status and though love plays a role, it is not what’s most important. Similarly in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, women marry for economic security

    Read More

  • Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem by Fatema Mernissi

    863 Words  | 2 Pages

    A lady is an object, one which men attempt to dominate. A man craves to get a hold of this being beneath his command, and forever have her at his disposal. In her piece “Size Six: The Western Women’s Harem,” published in 2002, Fatema Mernissi illustrates how Eastern and Western women are subjugated by the control of men. Mernissi argues that though she may have derived from a society where a woman has to cover her face, a Western woman has to face daily atrocities far worse then ones an Eastern woman will encounter. Moreover, Mernissi’s core dogma in “Size 6: The Western Women's Harem” is that Western women are not more fortunate than women raised into harems in other societies. Additionally, she asserts that though women in the Western world are given liberties, they coincide with the unattainable ideals of what is aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, to strengthen her argument towards her wavering audience, Mernissi’s main approach in her paper is to get the reader to relate with her issue by means of an emotional appeal, while also utilizing both the ethical and logical appeal to support her thesis.

    Read More

  • The True Meaning of Marriage

    576 Words  | 2 Pages

    When we think of marriage, the first thing that comes to mind is having a lasting relationship. Marriage is a commitment of two people to one another and to each other?s family, bonded by holy matrimony. When a couple plans to marry, they think of raising a family together, dedicating their life to each other. That?s the circle of life--our natural instinct to live and produce children and have those children demonstrate your own good morals. I have never been married; but I don?t understand why when two people get married and vow to be together for richer and poorer, better or worse, decide to just forget about that commitment. A marriage should be the most important decision a person makes in his or her life.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Why Marriage Is Good For You

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    Inside the article “Why Marriage is Good for You”, Maggie Gallagher makes claims that marriage improves many facets of an individual’s life; including both mental and physical health, longevity, finances, and reduced chances of infidelity (Gallagher). The statements made throughout the article reference many statistics and studies conducted by various organizations and individuals, however, Gallagher falls victim to a number of common logical fallacies. While this weakens Gallagher’s argument in the article, it does not necessarily make it false.

    Read More

  • Reflection of African marriage and the culture of bride price in Buchi Emecheta’s novel The Bride Price

    2812 Words  | 6 Pages

    Emecheta, Buchi. The Bride Price. London: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print. All further references to the text of the novel are from the same edition.

    Read More

  • Arranged Marriages

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    My original concept of an arrange marriage was negative for the reason that I assumed individuals were deprived of human rights, in result, loosing the right to choose. It was difficult for me to fathom that individuals, usually young girls, were being made to marry a total stranger, generally an older man; the notion sounded absurd. This sort of thing still does happen however it is not the essence of arranged marriage; it is an involuntary marriage (Seth, 2009). Marriage to me signifies a communion of two people who love each other deeply and want to bind that love with a ceremony of a long life commitment. In a western society the tradition of arranging a marriage is frowned upon and is considered an out dated and ancient concept (Trapp, 2009). In saying that, however, more and more people are warming to the idea in the 21st Century (Seth, 2009); for instance shows like Farmer Wants a Wife and The ...

    Read More

  • Marriage as an Outdated Institution

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    is the most usual in which a man and a woman unite themselves in the

    Read More

  • The Development of Marriage

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marriage has gone through many changes throughout its history. It's earliest forms date back to the story of creation. It has developed a great deal since then. It is a simple fact that men and women can not survive without each other. Marriage is part of the created natural order, we were meant to be together.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Marriage A La Mode

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    Marriage a la Mode, by John Dryden, is an ode to the concept of marriage and love within the period of Restoration England. Dryden, presumably, presents two pairs of couples, Rhodophil and Doralice, as well as Melantha and Palamede, in a way that expresses an imperative tone towards marital relations. Throughout the playwright, he uses these couples and their mistresses to allocate the issue of broken, miserable, thorny marriages. Although marriage was common, there was a strong presence of moral emancipation, which Dryden presents through these relationships. These themes of dissatisfaction and obligation towards the concept of marriage are noted throughout the playwright, as Dryden uncovers how each character feels.

    Read More

More about Taking a Look at Marriage

Open Document