The History of Marriage - Research Paper Example

? 16 October The History of Marriage Marriage is a contract between two individuals,in which both publicly take the responsibility of fulfilling each other’s needs as dictated by the religion and take an oath to be sincere, honest and faithful towards each other throughout the life. The concept of marriage originates in religion. Almost all religions have declared marriage as the sole means by which people can satiate their sexual cravings without having to disobey their Creator. This paper draws upon various religious and literary scriptures to lay a brief account of the history of marriage. Marriage, a religious obligation, has been an all-time necessity of human beings, and one of the most fundamental indicators of the civilization of mankind. Marriage has been an essential part of the culture of human beings since the time of their evolution on Earth. God has always maintained a difference between the way animals lived and the way humans did. It is not that ancient people were not civilized. Although did not have as much knowledge or resources as we have got in the present age, yet they lived in the most civilized manner in their little capacity. Ancient civilizations didn’t have access to the modern-day technology, but their architecture and sense of structural engineering safety is evident from the structures they have constructed out of stones and mortar that have sustained throughout the centuries and are pretty much in their original shape even today. One of the most objective means of learning about the history is religious scriptures. Religions like Islam and Christianity talk about the marriage of Adam and Eve that were the first of all human beings to be created. Adam and Eve lived together in the capacity of a husband and a wife. Although little is known about the way they got married, yet religious scriptures convey that Adam’s and Eve’s children who were born successively were eligible for marring one another. Even the story of Habil and Kabil is one such story in which a man kills his own brother in order to get married to the woman who was the assassinated man’s beloved. The way marriage takes place today between two people may be entirely different from the way it had happened between Adam and Eve, yet the underlying beliefs, ideology and the purpose of marriage has hardly seen any change between then and now. The way marriage is conducted in different communities is fundamentally depicted by their religious teachings. The procedure for marriage in Islam is entirely different from that in Christianity, while Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jewism also have their own distinct procedures of marriage. Not only procedures, but different religions also vary in their rules and principles about marriage, the eligibility criteria for marriage and the number of marriages. Christians go to the Church for marriage. Muslims get the marriage announced through the priest. The bride and the groom are individually asked if both are agreed upon the marriage. Hindus marry by moving around the fire until they complete a certain number of circles. Other religious communities have their own procedures of marriage. Some religions allow polygamy and others don’t. Likewise, some religions are neutral to homosexuality while others are extremely against it. As religions evolved, the procedure for getting married altered among different communities accordingly. Hence, a comprehensive account of the history of marriage with all its principles, ethics and limitations can be traced at least back to the evolution of different religions at different points in time. People’s perceptions of the marriage as an institution, its importance and the bond between marital partners can to much an extent be attributed to the way marriage has been discussed in the literature. A lot of stories and books have addressed the subject of marriage in the past. Two such stories are The Birth Mark and Rappaccini's Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Birth Mark is the story of a woman Georgiana who is wife to a scientist, Aylmer. Georgiana is the lady with perfect beauty except for a reddish mark of small hand upon her left cheek. Aylmer loves Georgiana for her beauty. Everything she has inspires him but the red mark on the cheek. He tells Georgiana that the mark shocks him and that he would like to experiment in order to get her free of the mark. Georgiana tells that her previous lovers appreciated the mark. She herself was never conscious about it until she saw Aylmer disturbed by that. Although Georgiana is not sure that Aylmer is skilled enough to remove the birth mark upon her cheek, yet she gives her consent in favor of Aylmer because in the capacity of his wife, Georgiana would sacrifice and do all that can make him happy even if she loses her life along the way. Aylmer experiments and prepares a liquid. Georgiana is not very hopeful that the liquid would solve their problem, yet she does not retreat from drinking it because of her love for her husband. As she drinks it, the mark does start to recede. However, as it becomes paler, so does Georgiana herself until both the mark and Georgiana are gone. The little hand-mark on her check signified Georgiana’s link with life, so she loses it as the mark disappears. Although it is just another fairytale-like story, yet it speaks volumes about the importance of marriage and the bond between a husband and a wife, though the characters of Georgiana is not the way a wife should be nor Aylmer’s character depicts the character of an ideal husband. Georgiana becomes so submissive because she loves Aylmer, who is her husband. Georgiana says to Aylmer, “I will drink whatever you make for me, even if it is a poison. Give me the glass. I am happy to put my life in your hands” (Hawthorne cited in Klein). Since she is married to him, she considers herself entitled to fulfilling all his wishes. Aylmer, on the other hand, is too selfish to accept the little mark of imperfection. The Birth Mark is an example of the way literature has altered people’s perceptions of marriage for the worse. “The curious feature of institutions is that to society at large they are a static factor, whereas to the individual they are in first instance dynamic. Society they hold steady: they are the received pattern of its organization and its functioning. The individual…is moulded dynamically by and into them” (Cott 3). Discussion of the history of marriage is incomplete without reflection upon homosexuality. Despite the rapid increase in homosexuality in the last few decades, people generally see it as a taboo. Homosexuality is still approached in a negative way and is condemned by a vast majority of people even in some of the most modernistic societies. This can be estimated from the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that was signed in 1993 by the US former president Bill Clinton. According to this policy, anyone with a record or intention of being involved in a homosexual relationship would be denied entry into the US military. This step was taken because of the fear that hiring homosexual soldiers in the US military would “create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion that are the essence of military capability” (Johnson). Gays being denied service in the US military is just one example of the oppression for homosexuality embedded in the US culture, gays are also frequently humiliated and made fun of in social circles. Media approaches gays in the same way by stereotyping them as objects of mockery. There are quite a lot of countries in the world who consider homosexual relationships as illegitimate and there is no official certification of the relationship. Although there are some countries that issue marriage certificates to the homosexual couples, yet there are still a lot of countries that have laws inflicting severe punishments upon the gays. A curious peek into the concept of homosexuality and facts consequently collected from numerous United Nations documents and the most recent survey report of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Inter-sex Association (ILGA) reveal that people are also put to death for their sexual orientation in Southern Somalia and about 12 Nigerian states. It formerly carried the death penalty in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule and in Iraq under a 2001 decree by Saddam Hussein. (Shah). A vast majority of the countries that have conventionally severely condemned homosexuality are Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iran. The omnipresent rage for homosexuality can fundamentally be attributed to the stance of religion upon homosexuality. A vast majority of religions have disliked homosexuality if not condemned it while there are some that have strictly condemned it. The Holy Book Quran encapsulates the story of the people of Prophet Lut. Most of them were homosexuals. Prophet Lut conveyed the message of God to them and forbade them from carrying on this practice. “Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practise wickedness (even) in your councils?" But his people gave no answer but this: they said: "Bring us the Wrath of God if thou tellest the truth” (Quran 029.028-29 cited in Mission Islam). They were destroyed by God due to their disobedience and continued display of homosexuality. In addition to that, there are quite a lot of Hadiths by the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) that depict that homosexuality is a very heinous and illegitimate practice. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) SAID, “Kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets if be done to him” (Tirmidhi cited in Mission Islam). Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.) also said, “May Allah curse him who does that Lot's people did” (Ibn Hibban cited in Mission Islam). Muslims represent more than 20 per cent of the present population of the world. The reason most non-Muslims also consider homosexual couples not eligible of acquiring the marriage certificate is both the influence of Muslims and their own religions’ negative stance on homosexuality. There has occurred a noticeable decrease in the number of marriages over the centuries. There has been a 50 per cent decline in the marriage rate in US since 1970. 76.5 out of every 1000 unmarried women got married in US in 1970 compared to 39.9 today (Jayson). This can be attributed partly to the widespread fear of unsuccessful marriage, and also to the strict laws about divorce and the division of assets between the former marital partners. A look into the historic literature tells that the flexibility and the immense tendency of women to compromise and submit have conventionally been the core secrets of successful marriages. With the passage of time, with more representation of women in the working population and increased freedom for them in all respects, women’s tendency to compromise in marriage has reduced a lot. In addition to that, several other factors such as homosexuality and cohabitation have caused a decrease in the marriage rate. An in-depth analysis of human nature and human psychology suggests that marriage would always have remained a fundamental part of human society whether or not there is sufficient literature to support this assertion. Marriage is not something that one deems important because it is a part of the culture or because others do it. The need for marriage originates within the nature and psychology of every human being. The need of marriage is one of the most basic factors that make human nature different from that of the animals. Animals don’t get married and have no ethics of marriage but human beings have the nature to possess things. The sense of self and self-identification inculcates the urge in human beings to have a marital partner who is solely theirs. Just like there is no doubt in the fact that humans have been eating, breathing, sleeping and communicating since the origin of their time, there is also no point denying that they have been getting married to one another. Works Cited: Cott, Nancy F. Public vows: a history of marriage and the nation. USA: Harvard University Press, 2002. Print. Jayson, Sharon. “Divorce declining, but so is marriage.” Nation. 18 July 2005. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . Johnson, Ramon. “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . Klein, Barbara. “The Birthmark (By Nathaniel Hawthorne).” 2009. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . Mission Islam. “Islam and Homosexuality.” n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . Shah, Sabir. “Homosexuality permitted in 113 countries, illegal in 76.” 9 July 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . Read More