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Marriage In American Cukture

The model marriage in present American culture is one which is based upon love and happiness. This principle is emphasized through the “happily ever after” themes in most fairy tales. Contrastingly, during the Renaissance, this ideal was rarely considered in negotiations of marriage.   Matrimony was considered more in terms of business negotiations, often arranged between business associates and those of similar social stature. Marriage was primarily a social, political and economical merging of two families for reasons such as promoting social status and reputation, strengthening political and economical ties, and maintaining social hierarchy.
For most women, marriage was a form of obtaining economic stability. Women who married within or beyond their societal level would ensure the preservation of the lifestyle they were accustomed to. In tax records, the wife is listed as the benefactor for the husband’s financial assets. Women would be able to improve their social rank by marrying into a higher class. “Beautiful Florentine women of lowly origins often married men who were their social superiors and who did not insist on a dowry from their brides.” (Brucker, 50)   Marriage also was one of the only ways for a woman to gain power. Women, who were married to men with more political and financial power, subsequently had more political power than those who were married within a lower social level. In efforts to gain more independence women would aim to marry a man with high political standings. “Lussana’s story describes one woman’s struggle to gain a measure of personal independence in a male-dominated world.” (Brucker, 93) In addition, marriage was a way of salvaging one’s reputation and the reputation of one’s family. The marital status of a woman reflected on the success of the family line they came from. If a woman was to conduct herself in a manner that was deemed unfit by the status quo, it would reflect poorly on her family name. Such a woman would have...