Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet: A Cultural Analysis

All cultures have different ideas when it comes to marriage, they are as diverse in ideas as they are in populace. A popular discussion has been going on for several years about the type of marriage called arranged marriage. Whether arranged marriage is a healthier alternative to love matches or if it is a human rights violation. For most of history, arranged marriages were the norm because marriage was less about the union of two people and more about the union of families. The popularity of the love match or the marry for love ideal came later in Western culture. Marriage was not about the happiness and romance did not have anything to do with marriage until recently. An arranged marriage is usually influenced by cultural values, religions, or customs of a certain demographic. What typically defines arranged marriage is that the bride and

Dejima marriages, arranged marriages, and love marriages are the types that come up in the book. Arranged marriages are discussed with the main character by Ogawa Uzaemon, where he describes how his marriage was arranged through his family and a Nakodo or matchmaker. The families negotiate marriage like it is business and it is likened to a transaction (Mitchell). Arranged marriage still exists in some parts of the world and in modern times arranged marriages are not as prominent as they have been in history. If both parties consent to being married by their families, then it is a valid method of marriage but there are aspects of the practice that are dated.

In the article, “To Arrange or Not: Marriage Trends in the South Asian American Community” by Farha Ternikar, which explorers the occurrences of arranged marriage among the South Asian immigrants in America. The author investigates the differences in arranged marriage by interviewing second generation South Asians of three different