Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Old maids and all that

Did you know that in my neck of the woods, the average marriageable age of women is around 21 or 22? And probably a year or two older, for guys. But still.

OK, I don't have any hard and fast stats on the subject. I'm just going off my friends and their engagements--what I see in the papers--and who I see standing outside the occasional churches, posing for pictures.

I understand this isn't the case with everyone, or everywhere. But let me tell you--it's quite an odd feeling, knowing that people my age are married, some expecting. Makes me feel--well--old maiden-ish.

Roman women married between 14 and 16, usually, back in the day. I'm totally past my prime, on that account. (Thank Heavens!)

So...a link to a story about a way one guy sought someone out for marriage in the wilds of ND. What verve!

5 comments:

Leigh Hutchens Burch said...

I felt strange when my friend's started to get married before me and when my sister (three years younger) got married and started having kids before I walked down the aisle...

I took the plunge when I was 27... just over a year ago. It was a good age to get married -- I guess.

Sometimes the grass is greener!

Stephanie Thornton said...

Egyptian women were in the same boat as the Romans. You've got to hurry things up when the average life expectancy hovers around thirty years old!

I got married at 23. It was good for me. :)

Swapna Raghu Sanand said...

Centuries ago, India was no different from Egypt and Rome when it came to the marriageable age. In the last few decades, this has changed drastically. I've got so many friends who are in their late 30's and not planning to marry for some more years and they really love their independent life.

However, the social pressure in India is huge because after 2o years, a girl or a guy is constantly asked the question by all and sundry, "So, when are you tying the knot?"

Just Another Sarah said...

It's surprising, looking at ages like that. I work in an Archives, and spent an internship going through old marriage records. Like, from the 1900s. The most interesting part was looking at the ages of the brides and grooms. They dipped low and went high. Sometimes the bride was like 16 and the groom 45, and sometimes, surprisingly to me--though when you think about it, it's not surprising at all, really--the bride was like 50, and the groom 30. It was survival, then.

Wow, these were great comments, by the way--I find this whole subject just horribly fascinating. :)

Amalia Dillin said...

Let me tell you, it was really weird to be the first person to marry in my family, as the baby. And I still feel weird for being married so young...