Marriage has been an important aspect of life for thousands of years. While the world has not always married people formally, the link between a wife, her husband, and both their families has been a significant part of history; however, things change. Many women cheat and have children that are not their husbands’. It has been a problem since Mesopotamian society; at least, that is as far back as society can trace it. Ancient societies started making laws against the adultery of a woman and punished them for cheating. While the laws have disappeared, adultery has still continued through history. Both the “The Demon Lover” by Elizabeth Bowen and the Scottish ballad “The Daemon Lover” deliver messages in order to warn women to stay faithful to their partners, no matter the circumstances. Bowen’s “The Demon Lover” expresses a warning to women during times of war. The story takes place at the beginning of World War 2 and tells the tale of a woman, Mrs. Drover, who remarried after her fiance was presumed dead during his time in the war, but many years later, received a letter from him. She was awestruck, but she had a husband and kids …show more content…
Both stories have the woman remarry and have kids (though the number of kids varies) and the woman reunites with the man in some form, whether through the letter in Bowen’s story or in person in the ballad. Also, the end of the stories are similar, the ballad ends in the sinking of the ship and the couple going to hell and Bowen’s story ends in the taxi speeding away without mercy, (arguably) taking the taxi driver, the Devil, and Mrs. Drover to hell. Both stories varied in details. The number of children changed and the story of the woman changes. The ballad is more straight to the point and conveys the message quickly in contrast to “The Demon Lover” in which the story is more descriptive and is left to deeper
Marriage has been a heated controversy for the past few years because people often marry for the wrong reasons. Anyone who thinks of an ideal marriage would think of two people loving each other and sharing a personal bond or goals together. Marriage is regularly defined as the legally or formally recognized union of two lovers as partners in a personal relationship. This definition remarks there is an actual connection between two people in marriage, but do people actually consider this when committing to “love” and “support” their partners forever? As research and studies have shown, people ultimately get married for many reasons, except love. This philosophy can be easily applied to the short poem, “Marriage” by Gregory Corso. In this emotional poem, the author argues marriage is more effectively understood or known for culture and convenience rather than through the abstract considerations of love. Here, we can identify people generally decide to marry for the incorrect reasons, for instance the story of the author himself. Corso finds himself confused multiple times, wondering if he should marry to not be lonely, for tradition and for his physical and mental health. He disregards love, a relationship or a connection with his future wife. General ways of convenience like loneliness, health and economic status between cultural stereotypes and religion are usually the true reasons of why people chose to have the commitment of marriage with another person.
However, they are similar in the way of both women ending with the ex-lovers in their face. “The driver braked to what was almost a stop, turned round, and slid the glass panel back: The jolt of this flung Mrs. Drover forward till her face was almost into the glass. Mrs. Drover’s mouth hung open for some seconds before she could issue her first scream. After that she continued to scream freely and to beat with her gloved hands on the glass all round as the taxi, accelerating without mercy, made off with her into the hinterland of deserted streets.” (Bowen 1023). This scene by Mrs. Drover exhibits her side of shock that was also shown to the unnamed women in a different way. In both stories the ex lovers are away for enough time that the women moved on. However in the Demon Lover Ballad the wait was seven plus years. "Oh, do not speak of your former vows, for they will breed sad strife; oh, do not speak of your former vows, for I have become a wife"(Ballad 1025). The unknown lady’s shock was portrayed in this quote proving her wait. In conclusion both stories plot twists are significantly different leading to the decisions of both
The theme of matrimony in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as in the Miller’s Tale does not fit in with traditional fourteenth-century culture. The characters in these two texts turn what is suppose to be a sacred unity into a promiscuous and taboo fantasy for pilgrims. The characters narrating these two tales promote the idea of what fourteenth-century canon law would define as adultery—to have had a third lover while married is the new societal trend for the characters in these tales. And so, marriage becomes a component to the larger fantasy of having a relationship with a character who is already in a marital bond, i.e., cuckolding is a fetish for Alisoun in the Wife of Bath’s Prologue as well as for Nicholas and Absolom in the Miller’s Tale. That is, Alisoun’s pursuit of her lover Jankin while being married, promotes the idea that having a third partner amplifies one’s sexual life, meanwhile, Nicholas’s and Absalom’s quarrel over (a different) Alison encourages the idea that engaging with a married someone enhances the gratification of adultery. In other words, marriage is not portrayed as a scared bond, but as a device to fulfill a pilgrim’s sexual fantasy; and, this new fantasy is what the pilgrims try to make a trend throughout England. Note that I will be using the name, “Alisoun,” to represent the wife from Bath, and I will be using the name, “Alison,” to portray the wife in the Miller’s Tale.
Pollit expounds on the true meaning of marriage; by looking at the history of marriage. For a period of time, “polygyny was the rule;”
In the late 1800’s through early 1900’s women and men were did not “tie the knot” like the women and men do in today’s day. In today’s world, women and men get married because they have many things in common, they are in love with each other, and they choose to get married to one another. In many stories written back then, readers can expect to read about how marriages were arranged and how many people were not having the wedded bliss marriage proclaims today.
The discussion of the Wife’s five husbands describes her evolving role as a woman and how she overcame the most ridiculous obstacles to maintain this idea or illusion of marriage. The Wife’s depiction of her marriages was that three were good and two were bad. The initial marriages were to older rich men where she kept up this idea of marriage in order to receive money, but was not faithful by
Marriage is an important part of life of many modern societies. The institution of marriage was formed many centuries ago. While some of its aspects vary based on specific country or community, but the core is often the same – by contracting a marriage, both sides undertake specific commitments. Specifically, they promise to care about children that already exist or will appear in the family; or to be faithful to the partner. There is a serious problem with the second issue. Adultery is an event that was often mentioned by popular literature sources including the Bible. The poetry is not an exception. James Dickey and Anne Sexton focused on the topic in their poems “Adultery” and “For My Lover, Returning to His Wife” respectively. Authors described the theme from different points of view. Dickey highlights the considerable age of the practice and treats it as an inevitable evil. The adultery existed, exist and will continue to exist in the community. Sexton looks at the problem from the female point of view; her poem is written from the
Butler explains to her readers the ample reasons why wives of the medieval time period would decide to leave their husbands. In fact, on page 338 of her article, Butler writes, “The goal of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive perspective of husband desertion, including the risks involved in deserting one’s husband, the wife’s motivations, and the logistics of desertion” (Butler 338). She begins her article with some background information in hopes to enlighten her readers that at this point in history, men had all the power in any marriage. Following the brief history of the misogyny found in medieval marriages, Butler uses the rest of her article to explain to her readers the trials and tribulations these wives had to go through, the risk of others knowing she wanted to leave, and what made the wives want to leave at all.
Adultery in today’s society is more common than it was during a time when there were knights, kings, queens, and crusades because adultery was looked as a sin due to the fact that in the mid-1400s there was no law higher than the church. In the passage The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer characterizes the Wife of Bath as a woman who uses men for her needs and pleasure. For example, the wife explains she has many husbands but desires to lust and love other men she acknowledges. In the second passage La Morte D’ Arthur, Thomas Malory explains how people use each other for their own personal gains, such as Queen Guinevere and her second partner do, as she commit’s adultery behind her spouse’s back. Therefore, both the wife’s are guilty
England has always had a rich history of interesting cultural traditions but arguably none as prevalent as marriage. Marriage, the union of two people with emotional ideals and expectations, are brought on by many different factors that include: for love, for money, for climbing social status, escapism, survival, etc. In Jane Austen’s novels, she focuses on the importance of marriage in her world because she wanted to emphasize how marriage is the most important life event of a woman as this would determine her place in society. Persuasion shows readers good and bad examples of marriage: the amiable Crofts and other couples such as Sir Walter & Lady Elliot and the Smiths. Jane Austen uses the Crofts to support the importance of marriage
They respect pledges without any second thoughts about their responsibilities. They invite kids and don't live on edge lives fussing about sparing cash for their youngsters' school instructions or restricting their families on account of vocations or individual aspirations. They rehearse the specialty of living. The fastest way to bliss is to overlook yourself and give yourself away for the joy of another person. In this nation, everybody realizes that marriage offers life's most noteworthy wellsprings of satisfaction and moves the topic of extraordinary stories all deserving of retelling with ponder and recollecting with appreciation. This is because they partake in the higher laws of Mother Nature and the celestial secrets of God the Father: They are a section of a story they have gotten and not made, and whose end they will not find in this world. Protecting Marriage, then, clears the psyche of cannot, an ethical the prominent Dr. Johnson made acclaimed by uncovering sheer drivel, empty wistfulness, unique speculations separated from reality, and smart fallacy. Dr. Esolen likewise does not endure silliness, numbness, or shamelessness happily. With bold trustworthiness and Quixotic challenging, he sallies forward to do gallant fight with every one of the monsters, evil presences, and magicians that toxic substance the decency of life and sick person
Marriage unites two people for better or worse, in sickness and health, until death they do part. In earlier times, some people might say wedding vows were taken more seriously; other say divorce was different back in the day. Looking at Katie Chopin and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who both exemplify martial vows in their short stories, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Birthmark.” It is clear in one instance, it was because divorce was different but then on the other hand the stories demonstrate the seriousness of the wedding vows. However, these stories express a husband-dominated relationship, in which the men possess ideals such as possession, perfection, and being all knowing.
Western society today has evolved to romanticise the idea of love, and along with it, the idea of a marriage based upon love. This has therefore pushed a negative stigma onto the concept of arranged marriages. A classic example of literature that pits these two clashing ideas against each other is William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Even today, many debate over the two, love or arranged marriages.
Established with Adam and Eve, still surviving, marriage is the oldest institution known. Often the climax of most romantic movies and stories, whether it may be ‘Pride and Prejudice’ or ‘Dil Wale Dulhaniya Ley Jaein Gey’, marriage has a universal appeal. It continues to be the most intimate social network, providing the strongest and most frequent opportunity for social and emotional support. Though, over the years, marriage appears to be tarnished with high divorce rates, discontentment and infidelity, it is still a principal source of happiness in the lives of respective partners. Although marriage is perceived as a deeply flawed institution serving more the needs of the society than those of the individuals, nevertheless, marriage is
In modern-day society, marriage is considered to be a capstone event in people’s lives, the culmination of their romantic endeavors in a lifelong, legally recognized partnership. In Paradise Lost, Milton’s characterization of the first union of human beings—the marriage of Adam and Eve—strips marriage down to its most basic, primal form, and uses Adam and Eve to explore the relationship between obedience and autonomy. The obedience expected of Adam and Eve from God is mirrored in the obedience Adam expects from Eve, and her desire for greater independence is met with confusion and concern. However, Milton’s characterization of Eve as both a sinner and a victim implies that God and Adam