Different Perspectives on Marriage in Various Societies

Different Perspectives on Marriage

In American society, romantic love is considered the main reason for people to marry. On the other hand, in some societies, romantic love is considered a form of obsession or madness. In fact, even in many societies where "true love" is not considered a form of insanity, arranged marriages are still the norm. For example, in many cultures it's believed that marriage is basically an economic arrangement.

Thus, a farmer needs a wife both to bear children and to share the farm work while raising new "hands" as additional farm labor. In other societies, marriage is mainly about cementing connections between families. Indeed, most marriages between members of European royal or aristocratic lineages were primarily aimed at creating trust, loyalty, and mutual obligations between privileged and powerful families.

There are really so many societies which have different reasons for marriage.