Similarities Between Romeo And Juliet

1485 Words3 Pages

Love and Marriage from Past to Present
Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and most easily of all, the gates of fear” (Brainyquotes.com). Nowadays, love and all these mixed and odd emotions frequently create a desire in couples to spend the rest of their lives together. However, marriage is an institution which has evolved over the centuries. There are many differences and similarities between marriage of our ancestors and marriage of today including: the social norms, love aspect, freedom of choice, and role of sex, gender roles, and finally divorce.
The love stories so beautifully recorded in our classical literature, novels, and poems are also reflective of changes and redefinition of marriage. In Romeo and Juliet both lovers pay a very heavy price for marrying for love. They married for love rather than for money and social position which was not acceptable in 1500s period. It was considered foolish to marry for love especially among nobility. People married for prestige and status. A marriage was arranged between parents frequently as a way of combining adjacent estates, forge …show more content…

With the common acceptance of divorce, gay rights established, and modern families built on the same sex couples we are seeing the creation of a new norm. We are certainly seeing different forms of non-traditional marriages and relationships. We are seeing people who raise children without entering the marital union at all. The public no longer sees marriage as the only way to form a family frequently considering the marriage too binding. The question remains, what hasn’t changed? Laura Kipnis in her article “Love in the 21st Century: Against Love” answers the question by saying simply: “Love is, as we know, a mysterious and controlling force. It has vast power over our thoughts and life decisions. It demands our loyalty, and we, in turn, freely

Open Document