Essay: Marriage Arrangments
The phrase „Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.“ illustrates a very common view about marriage in Europe and the USA. Therefore more and more people decide to never get married. On the other hand, in some parts of the world people can not afford to pick and choose and have to let others decide their marriage for them
Although at first glance an arranged marriage does not seem desirable to us, it was also common in Europe not too long ago. There are several points speaking in favour of this system. First of all it can be difficult for women in some cultures to meet people outside their family without risking their reputation. Therefore, getting to know someone through dating and the like is sometimes impossible. Furthermore, for their daughter’s safety and their own welfare parents have to take certain circumstances like social status and political power into consideration and try to make the most of the marriage.
In westernized countries, arranged marriage is often understood as being forced. Although this is true sometimes, it is not always the case. In Japan, for example, people often choose to have their marriage arranged. However, generally spoken in western countries love plays an important role in choosing a future spouse and marriage for materialistic reasons is frowned upon. Yet, intentional or not birds of the same feather tend to flock together and usually people seek someone close to there own social and educational background.
In conclusion, whether or not and whom to marry should be decided by each individual person without pressure. However, it is not important how a marriage partner is found, be it through fateful encounters or arranged by one’s parents. Besides, looking at our divorce statistics marriages out of love might not be as ideal as we may think.