Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Marriage in other cultures
Marriage in other cultures
Elizabethan wedding customs
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Marriage in other cultures
During the Elizabethan times marriage customs did exist, as they still do today. Over the years these marriage customs have changed from being a very complicated process, to a process that is much simpler. There are many differences between marriage customs during the Elizabethan times and the marriage customs today in the modern world. In saying that, when we look past the differences we also see that there are many similarities as well. Over the past decades, marriage customs continued to evolve from what they were in Shakespeare’s time to what they are now in present day.
There are many differences within the marriage customs and processes from the Elizabethan times and today's times. During the Elizabethan times, when Shakespeare wrote his plays, getting legally married was a long process. If a couple wanted to get married today, the process would be much faster and easier. In the Elizabethan times there were banns that were published. On three successive Sundays, the intended marriage was announced in church and anyone who objected the
…show more content…
marriage had a chance to come forward and say why. Today, that whole process is skipped. The marriage may be announced to a church but it is not needed to get approved by the church. Another key difference involves the groom and bride. Way back when Shakespeare lived, it was expected that the groom showed up at the bride's house before the ceremony. Today that is seen as bad luck. This process is now completely opposite. Also, in Elizabethan times the bride wore her hair down. Now most brides prefer to have their hair done up fancy. The marriage process is much different today as to how it was during the Elizabethan times. Although there are many difference between the marriage processes, there are also many similarities.
Firstly, in both times it was required to have a marriage license to get married. During the Elizabethan times you could get a marriage license if you wanted to make the marriage process go quicker. Now, it is required to have a marriage license to legally get married. Secondly, then and now the wedding has been an all day event starting with the marriage ceremony and a celebration after. After the bride and groom got married, there would be a great celebration often including a feast and a dance. Thirdly, in present day the bridesmaids show up at the bride's house and they all get ready together. This also happened during the Elizabethan times. The brides would wear white to their wedding, as most still do. There are many similarities when it comes to marriage customs between the two time periods that are
traditional.
" 'As Marriage Binds, and Blood Breaks': English Marriage and Shakespeare" Shakespeare Quarterly 30, (1979):
Centuries ago in Elizabethan England there were many traditions about marriage and the treatment of women. One strong tradition of these times was the practice of marriage between races. Interracial marriages were considered extremely taboo. (High Beam). In this era marriages were arranged by the parents with strong help from the local church. The individuals had little choice as to who they would marry. (Elizabethan England Life). Yet another example of these traditions was the respectable treatment of women. While the husband was in charge of his wife, as was the father, the husband were expected to treat the women right (Elizbethi). In spurning all of these traditions, Shakespeare demonstrates a view of marriage far different from that of Elizabethan England, in doing this he is trying to plant new ideas in the people who read or view the play.
During the medieval time period women had specific roles that usually categorized as the daughter, the mother, the sister, the wife—the one who bares all the struggles but still does not receive the same recognition as a man. They are solely recognized by their male counterparts identity—the wife of the man, the daughter of the man, and the mother of the man, etc. So what happens when they no longer have the male counterpart to rely on? What happens when they are no longer their father’s daughter but another man’s wife? And what happens when that man dies and the women has to face society under the title of a widow? What does her role in society become then and what is her title? What is expected of the widow? In certain medieval societies when a woman’s husband died she had zero rights in property and homely matters and she in order to survive in society she had to begin anew and join a relationship with another male. In some societies women were not allowed to remarry, while in others for the woman’s family and betterment she was allowed to remarry. In Medieval England women played many roles in different areas, in many occurrences women had much say in their own lives while in other they lived in the shadow of man. Widows had many expectations and ideals that they had to live up to, they were expected to live virtuous lives as deemed by the bible, take care of the land their deceased male counterpart left behind with the help of administration consisting of married men and women, however if stricken by poverty they were still expected to partake in society through self-reliance and struggling.
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer portrays a wide spectrum of marriage from what can be traditionally seen as the worst to the best. Three of these tales, The Miller's, The Franklin's, and The Wife of Bath's, support this examination of what can constitute an ideal marriage.
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, demonstrate many different attitudes and perceptions towards marriage. Some of these ideas are very traditional, such as that illustrated in the Franklin’s Tale. On the other hand, other tales present a liberal view, such as the marriages portrayed in the Miller’s and The Wife of Bath’s tales. While several of these tales are rather comical, they do indeed depict the attitudes towards marriage at that time in history. D.W. Robertson, Jr. calls marriage "the solution to the problem of love, the force which directs the will which is in turn the source of moral action" (Robertson, 88). "Marriage in Chaucer’s time meant a union between spirit and flesh and was thus part of the marriage between Christ and the Church" (Bennett, 113). The Canterbury Tales show many abuses of this sacred bond, as will be discussed below.
“Love and Marriage.” Life in Elizabethan England. Elizabethan.org, 25 March 2008. Web. 3 March 2014.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses different ways to show how marriage is connected to the kind of male and female characters portrayed in the play. We can see from the use of clothes to disguise themselves to pretend they are someone else, to the way taming is portrayed to control other characters, how women were considered in that time. They were first court by lovely ways and in marriage they were treated as an inferior sex to them. Women were forced to deal with their husband in silent without saying anything to anyone. We can perceive that this play is just about social position to be able to marry who you want to be with. And most important, money is the main reason people got married in that time.
First and foremost, the married couples in As You Like It all have similar social statuses in the society. Shepherd Silvius married shepherdess Phebe, nobleman Orlando married mistress Rosalind, and Touchstone the clown married goatherd Audery. Not only did all the couples share the same social status, but their ideology and actions in the play conformed to the social convention as well. Right after Rosalind met Orlando, Celia asks Rosalind about why she had been silent for so long. Rosalind responded Celia with “Some of it is for my child’s father” (1634: 09-10). Then Celia asks why Rosalind suddenly fell in love with Orlando, to which Rosalind replies “The Duke my father loved his father dearly” (1634: 24). It is clear that Rosalind’s affection towards Orlando stems from his father’s affection to Orlando’s father. It was a convention for parents to arrange their children’s marriages, especially for aristocracy. Therefore, Rosalind knew that she was to marry Orlando and that became the rationale for her further affection towards Orlando. Another example of a character in the play conforming to social convention is Phebe. As a native of the forest of Arden, Phebe was straightforward and somewhat arrogant. She was very clear about her feelings to Ganymede and Silvius. However, in the ending scene, when she realizes that the man of her dream was actually a noble woman, and that she was set up into the marriage with Silvius, Phebe conforms to the arrangement and marries Silvius. With a comedy one might expect Shakespeare to make happen something unconventional. However, the marriage part seems to be very conventional as everything was socially expected. But the title of the play somehow conveys an ironic
Tina Turner belted out, what’s love got to do with it?” (1984). Keeping this in mind, in order to accurately compare and contrast the relationships between Kate and Petruchio and Bianca and Lucentio, it is first necessary to understand the ideologies of Elizabethan marriages. Shakespeare models “The Taming of the Shrew” after the traditional idea of marriage at the time. His play depicts the business venture of marriage and at times, scoffs at tradition. Within this framework, Kate is shown to be the “shrew” and is therefore considered a societal infidel. Bianca, her sister, is portrayed as a kind soul, willing and able to do anything to please her suitors. Marriage in Elizabethan times, among the middle class it would seem, was considered a business transaction. Love was not necessary. Money, land and a dowry were the main components. In “The Taming of the Shrew,” did love eventually win out at the end between either of these couples?
In Elizabethan times, the traditional marriage ceremony consisted of a wedding held in a church that symbolized the separation of a father and his daughter as well as the transition into the daughter’s newly married life. As Arnold van Gennep states, there are three major “rites of passage” which include “separation, transition, and reincorporation,” (qtd. in Boose 325). First the father ...
During Shakespeare's time, the wedding and engagement rings indicated commitment. The rings Portia and Nerissa gave to Bassanio and Gratiano, that they were never to remove, were just that. "I give them with this ring, Which when you part from, lose, or give away, Let it presage the ruin of your love And be my vantage to exclaim on you" (3.2.171-4). The rings stood for the man's commitment to his wife just as rings Bassanio and Gratiano would give to Portia and Nerissa at their weddings would stand for the wives' commitment.
Although modern weddings have similar customs to Ancient Roman weddings, they were still different. While there are many differences, there are still similarities. The elements of a marriage in ancient Roman culture consisted of an engagement, choosing the date, the preparation of the bride, and the location of the wedding. While the much broader subjects are similar, the way it is performed is changed.
Many pamphlets and books were written during the reformation era which explained how to be a good wife or husband. At this time there was a widespread change in the way people viewed the roles of husbands and wives.
To give a little background on the play; the pursuit of marriage is the driving force behind the play. “I now pronounce you, man and wife.” This traditional saying, commonly used to announce a newlywed couple during a wedding ceremony, marks the happily ever after that many dream of today. In today’s society, marriage is an expression of love between two individuals. Marriage has not, however, always been an act of love. In the Victorian era, marriage was almost a chore. Most people married out of need rather than want. In the Play this is evident when Lady Bracknell objects to Gwendolen and Ernest’s engagement on the basis of his lack of legitimate background. On the other hand, Jack objects to the marriage of Cecily and Algernon’s
Each of these women was married, and so it is the first part that should be compared. Marriage, in the Early Modern Period, allowed for women to have security outside of their parent’s home. Depending on location, women would usually get married in their mid-late teens, completed housework, and produced children. Once under their husband’s domain if these women did not become sick or die in childbirth, the quality of their life depended on the relationship they had with their husbands. In the cases of Glikl bas Judah Lieb, Marie de I’Incarnation and Maria Sibylla Merian, their marriages dictated their level of success and position in society.