Cultural Models of Marriage and Divorce - Research Paper Example

Cultural Models of Marriage and Divorce The topic of the culture of marriage and divorce in America has been studied extensively by Naomi Quinn. She has written many pieces of work in the area and has also carried out extensive applications of data collection to come to the conclusions on the topic. The author in question has studied the cognitive impact that linguistics has had on the idea of marriage in the American society and how the citizens have come about the use metaphors in their daily life to portray their marriage. Quinn has studied the linguistic background of how these metaphors came about and how they can propose different meaning when used in varying context. This paper will focus on what Quinn found in her research and anthropological works on the culture of marriage and how it links to the linguistic field. Further more it will focus on her method of data collection and a comparison amongst other nations who hold a similar cultural model of marriage. Metaphors are constantly reoccurring ideas across the world and people have employed that use of these for all sorts of ideas. They have been used to convey a sense of understanding and help others to understand what we are trying to tell them with the minimal use of words as we rely on the basic idea that we share a common exemplar. This is because we tend to share more or less the same schemas for the words that we use when using metaphors. As with marriage we may say that people use metaphors as a link connecting a source and a target. So it would be to say that when people describe their marriage with a metaphor they are using a source and trying to map it somehow with their own life (John Holcombe, 2007). Marriage is considered to be a tie between two people who are in love and wish to spend the rest of their lives with each other. However, Quinn believes, there is more to the concept of marriage and divorce than many people realized. Quinn interviewed a total of eleven married couples, the husbands and wives separately, over a time span of around fifteen to sixteen hours with as much of a short time span between the interviews as was possible. She used the conversation as her main gateway into how the use of language can show different things in a marriage and what marriage really is. The main finding in from her interviews was the fact that marriage was constantly referred to with metaphors. Quinn picked up on many of these and illustrated how they refer to marriage. The ideas of marriage as being a journey were common amongst the couples. They all sought to refer to their spouses as their companion in life and what more, marriage was a journey they were undertaking together. Some found that this “journey” was tough and difficult. Another quite often used metaphor that was referred to was marriage as an investment. People devoted their time and resources to it and tried to make it work. One of the people who were interviewed believed that if one was willing to put so much time in their marriage then why not see it to the end. That the investment eventually paid off in the end when they achieved some sense of a greater breakthrough (Holland & Quinn, 176). Marriage was also considered as a durable bond between two people and though this wasn’t always the case with couples there did exist a sense of obligation amongst people to try and fix their marriage. There was a bond or cement that held spouses to one another and an anxiety was present when there were signs that the thread holding the pieces of the marriage was breaking. Spouses are also considered to be like jigsaw pieces. Meant to fit together perfectly without overlapping. Interviewees talked about how their spouses were seemingly compatible with their needs and moods making them “perfect” for each other. Though one did express the thought that at the time of marriage, she had not considered this fact. She had not thought about whether she and her fiancé, at the time, fit each others need for that perfect someone. It was only during the later years of their marriage that she came to realize that. Quinn points out that there is a schema that is present in the concept of the metaphorical aspect of a description of marriage. There are a total of eight that she has stated in her literature with three as a subsidiary and not really referred to by the greater public. Mostly marriage is said to be lasting, mutually beneficial, complex, and effortful and unknown at the outset. These five metaphors help to describe what people believe marriage is all about. However, in a nutshell Quinn has narrowed down to three words that were more commonly used than any other. Promise, dedication and a level of attachment were the most heavily described concepts with further categories of their own while the idea remained more or less the same. Promises made were never really in s sense considered as forms of commitment though they did fall under the general category while on the other hand dedication and attachment have a sense of internal meaning. Mapping these three words syntax and metaphorically Quinn found that they fell under the heading of commitment which was used in the interviews a total of 283 times (Naomi Quinn, 776). Using this data Quinn breaks down, even further, the syntax in which this particular word is used. The focus is on how a single change of verb in the sentence that is being spoken can alter the entire meaning of what is meant to be conveyed. Promise would be considered as a state of mind amongst the spouses that they need to stick through the marriage and try to make the whole thing work. Dedication required a more mental standing to stick it out with your partner through out all the ordeals of marriage whether they were good or bad. Attachment was taken more seriously by many. They considered this to be a bond with their respective spouse. Dedication was an international factor keeping people working at their relationship which attachment was considered as an external factor (Naomi Quinn, 789). This attachment could have been long-term or short-term based on the backing and how the overall relationship was. Quinn, in her piece, concludes her research by stating that the relation present between the words promise and dedication was see through while attachment gave the two a state of exclusivity and belonging. She argues that there is a cognitive connection with the words that are verbally produced and the underlying meaning. That people will talk about what they have and indicate what they aim for or want to have. In another work of hers she discusses the concept that Derne produced when he categorized marriage to have the features of lastingness, exclusivity and an idea of all or nothing. Quinn believes that the idea of using metaphors is so common among people that there must be some underlying cause. She argues in her book Cognitive Theory of Cultural Meaning that the reason may be that these metaphors can help to explain what people normally would have a hard time to get across to others. They serve the purpose of clarifying a situation. Some can use them to simply outline a simple and steadfast picture while others use it to exaggerate ideas. A second reason or cause for the extensive use of metaphors in the cultural setting is that they help in categorizing our already established ideas. They help us to perceive what is being told to us with the use of pre-established exemplars. These exemplars can vary from society to society and it makes it easier for the listeners to grasp what is being conveyed to them when they have some common or neutral object to relate it to. Metaphors of marriage have an ability to not only convey the sense of the marriage and the features that it has but also the relationship between the features. People who describe their marriage to be as long-lasting as a certain natural entity wish to project the enduringness of their relationship. However there is a question as to how the American public has come to share such exemplars when they are using the metaphors that they do and how this became such a shared phenomenon. According to Quinn this is due to the connectionist framework that is existent in the country. People have certain pre-conceptions from a time before of what is meant as a symbol of what. Enduringness as in the literature is compared with the American notion of Gibraltar (Strauss & Quinn, 148). The culture in the nation is so similar from place to place that there does not seem to exist, too widely, a lose framework amongst the exemplars. The society thus moves to adopt those particular metaphors which prove to be somewhat natural to them and help to explain what they believe. Though at other times people do go forth and adopt some novel idea to help and explain a situation that they have no come across yet. Yet, Quinn argues, when we make use of new metaphors we need to make sure that the understanding or knowledge that is being relayed across the table with that is being taken in the correct and applied sense. Clichéd metaphors have been embedded in our minds for a long time that we have come to accept that there is an underlying concept that is meant to be translated to us when those particular words of choice are being used. Quinn tackles the argument by pointing out that there needs to be an understanding among the listener and the speaker and an appreciation of the metaphor in question in order for a smooth flow of communication. There is now a new culture that has risen in the later generations of the American society. Love has come to be a necessity and a pre-requisite for marriage. Without love people don’t generally give marriage a thought. In the older days there was the idea of which the parents believed to be right for their child but now the parents have stepped aside and give their blessings to their children and allow a more free hand. The idea of love also extends into the realm of marriage as people who are in love believe that marriage is the next step. Quinn here argues against the ideas put forth by Derne that marriage is a long-lasting affair as the whole love business argues against this. People are prone to “fall in love” and some even fall out of it and go on to remarry someone else. Marriage is thus not a notion that can be said to last forever as was the perception that it should in the past due to divorce being a social and religious stigma. Love has made marriage secondary which is dependent on the emotion of love for it to continue prospering. Even those whom Quinn interviewed for her data were of the idea that when there is no love between the couple then marriage is surely and bound to fail and divorce is inevitable (Strauss & Quinn, 195). This fear of not being loved is prevalent in many homes as society has come to attach love with marriage and a lack there of with divorce and separation. So any violation of a spouses trust and love was considered to hammer a nail into the coffin and slowly but surely create a divide between them. Extra-marital affairs are one of the most common forms of diversions in which married couples in the United States indulge in citing that there was a need to feel a sense of being wanted or loved. This is not taken lightly by their partners who see this as a deception. There is a cultural divide between nations such as the United States and Japan. In Japan women, even though they may enter into a marriage on the basis of love, do not rely on their husbands as much emotionally as their American counterparts (Cynthia Dickel Dunn, 351). Once again, as found in the American culture, marriage was explained in terms of metaphors while in the Japanese society three seemed to be expressed more often than others. As a joint creation, marriage is meant to be the start of something new that the couple must work on together. The exact details as to what this creation may be vary from couple to couple. Some may wish that the couple build a new home together or a wonderful future (Cynthia Dickel Dunn, 357). As a union it signified how the husband and wife would now become one in feelings or the joining of two hearts as one (Cynthia Dickel Dunn, 358). One similar and probably the most prevalent notion of marriage is that it’s a journey. To lay down a cultural model of marriage in the Japanese society would be that it is a difficult step to take and requires cooperation from both sides. The two must work in it together to make sure that it works and is a lasting affair and does not blow away with the wind. As the union is considered to be between two well matched people there is expected to be love and trust amongst them and as the Japanese signify more than the Americans, there needs to be emotional unity (Cynthia Dickel Dunn, 362). A comparison among the two different culture points out the emphasis that is laid on the idea of compatibility in the American society while the Japanese couple is taught or told to be willing to work on what they have or will be creating (Cynthia Dickel Dunn, 365). In countries like India marriage has a culture that is markedly different from those in the West or even other countries of Asia themselves. Here arranged marriages are still dominantly preferred and love marriages are considered to be the idea of the West (Victor C. De Munck, 699). A great cultural divide presented as marriage is not considered a compromise on part of both man and wife here. When those who are forced or take part, willingly, in an arranged marriage it is more commonly the girl who is to compromise and consider the wishes of her husband as primary while her own needs and desires are secondary. Marriage in India, mostly in the rural areas and villages, is to last a lifetime and beyond with no concept of marriage. It is even considered a custom that when a husband dies then his wife is to throw herself at the pier on which his body is being cremated. The three different societies show a contrast in what the cultural backdrop might do to marriage. How the use of metaphors is generally the way that people approach the topic and try to explain what they have leaving it to the listener to interpret what the speaker is trying to convey with his use of language. Culture of marriage is thus reliant on the society in which it is placed and this society is what shapes the expressions and outcomes. Citations: De Munck, Victor C. "Love and Marriage in a Sri Lankan Muslim Community: Toward a Reevaluation of Dravidian Marriage Practices." American Ethnologist 23 (1996): 698-716. Jstor. 25 Apr. 2010 . Dunn, Cynthia D. "Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions." Ethos 32 (2008): 351. Dunn, Cynthia D. "Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions." Ethos 32 (2008): 357. Dunn, Cynthia D. "Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions." Ethos 32 (2008): 358. Dunn, Cynthia D. "Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions." Ethos 32 (2008): 362. Dunn, Cynthia D. "Cultural Models and Metaphors for Marriage: An Analysis of Discourse at Japanese Wedding Receptions." Ethos 32 (2008): 365. Holcombe, John. "METAPHOR: THEORIES." Textetc. 2007. 25 Apr. 2010 . Naomi Quinn. "Convergent evidence for a cultural model of American marriages." Cultural models in language and thought. By Dorothy C. Holland and Naomi Quinn. New York: Cambridge UP, 1987. 176. Quinn, Naomi. ""Commitment" in American Marriages: A cultural analysis." American Ethonologist 9 (1982): 776. Jstor. 21 Apr. 2010 http://www.jstor.org/stable/644696. Quinn, Naomi. ""Commitment" in American Marriages: A cultural analysis." American Ethonologist 9 (1982): 789. Jstor. 21 Apr. 2010 http://www.jstor.org/stable/644696. Quinn, Naomi. “Research on shared task solution.” A cognitive theory of cultural meaning. By Claudia Strauss and Naomi Quinn. New York: Cambridge UP, 1997. 148. Quinn, Naomi. “Research on shared task solution.” A cognitive theory of cultural meaning. By Claudia Strauss and Naomi Quinn. New York: Cambridge UP, 1997. 195. Read More