The Pros And Cons Of Fixed Marriage

Fixed marriage never surprised me at all since I have already encountered it many times in reading books, watching movies, and even in reality. As told by my mother, my grandfathers’ sister was married to the son of their family friend due to some agreements of the parents to extend kinship between the two families. I found this marriage as a form of contract between families, not between individuals. It’s such a funny concept. All your life you are taught not to talk to strangers and suddenly, you wake up being with someone whom you've never known your whole life, or maybe you knew each other but you're not close enough to proceed with marriage, worst if you don't even like each other and you're forced to spend your life with that person. I can’t even

What I only knew was that dowry is given by a man to propose marriage. In this research, I have understood that this custom was being practiced by them in order to secure the economic status of the bride. It would also serve as the bases of pre-nuptial agreement. Thus, I could say that negotiations for marriage are many times complex (Fowler, 1985: 36). The fact that dowry is seen as a key symbol of family prestige and status; it also explains the willingness of the bride’s family to spend a lot to keep up their prestige. However, I can’t stop thinking whether it is a good way of proposing marriage or not. For me, this marriage is conditional. You could only marry someone if you satisfy your desired partner’s family with the dowry you present. Otherwise, if it doesn’t suit their satisfaction, simply, there will be no marriage. It’s also too expensive. On the part of the bride, there is excessive expenditure and financial burden on the parents. Though, it’s not just the bride’s parents who provide the dowry. All the bride’s relatives help by giving gifts of clothing, jewelry, and money to the bride, groom, and various important people in the groom’s family’s