Hey Everyone,
So as I was making tea (Apple Cinammon Something or Other from Tazo) I was thinking about how relationships in the 1800s (or earlier) when class differences were more pronounced and lines were distinct were very different from our relationships today.
But also, I was thinking about how they are the same.
The general consensus of our society is that the quality of relationships has increased significantly since the breakdown in racial, sexual, and societal barriers over the past hundred years or so. However, has the quality of our relationships really changed?
Historically, marriages were formed in order to form political alliances, combine fortunes, and for many other reasons. Practicality was key. If you were a poor man with many mouths to feed, you attempted to marry your daughter to the butcher. Free meat! (If anyone got the Fiddler on the Roof reference, go you!). If someone had recently let Netherfield Park and they were a wealthy bachelor, you threw your eldest daughter at them with enthusiasm (although anyone can agree that Mrs. Bennet was over the top). In Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie Bennet was a woman out of her time. Her level of literacy and her interest in long walks outdoors pushed the societal norm, which is what both repelled and attracted her eventual husband Mr. Darcy.
But would their marriage really have worked out? How can we possibly know?
Will we ever know if the number of happy marriages has increased? The option of divorce only recently became available (especially to women) and historical record has little to show for what marital happiness was like before the 60s (ish).
So, what do we take away from this? True love is really fucking rare. If you have it (and you realize it) hats off to you.
Emma
PS I may do some more research on this and write an actual cited post that explores the idea of positive healthy relationships (and whether or not more than 2% of the population has them) more deeply. Not that my page has gotten any hits so far :P
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