Marriage for Love or Marriage to Prosper

To me it seems marriage in a state that is weak or absent is a factor of survival not love. In the reading where the woman read Shakespeare in the bush, the tribe's people thought it was magnificent that Hamlet's mother married his uncle. To them if he hadn't it would have been hard for her to survive without a man in her life. Not only did the men think so but also the women.

It is also common knowledge that a century or two in the past a family would have on average a larger amount of children. Many children in those days meant that your farm or homestead would be well taken care of and that your crops would be plentiful.

Now days marriage for love is popular and those who don't believe in love or haven't found it do not pursue marriage. A co-worker of mine was in love, had a child with that woman but they broke up before ever getting married. From that experience he has denounced love and marriage and also refuses to have any more children. He loves his daughter but his lifestyle negates any reason for him to have more. I believe the reduced amount of farming as well as the well known over population crisis are huge factors for people not wanting kids or marriage.

There are a couple examples, however, of marriage to prosper in present day. Still children are a non-issue, they may have one or two but it is unpopular to have anymore then that. The Clinton family is clearly a marriage built around their political careers, if they were not in any public offices that marriage would have ended long ago.

If that is not enough I'll tell you of my girlfriend's bosses. Her bosses are a married couple that own a small restaurant but the love and effection that a married couple shows for one another, even simple pecks on the lips are never witnessed. Ever. The wife always says she would murder him if she had the chance. The husband simply ignores her and even tends to enjoy the company of other men. Although much of this is speculation everyone on their staff and even their customers notice that their marriage is for the business and not much else.