Upper-Class Marriages During The Elizabethan Era

889 Words4 Pages

Victoria Ichiyama

Rodriguez

English 9H

May 26, 2023

Upper-class marriages

Marriage can differ throughout each class in society, with many different practices and traditions. Many different classes during the Elizabethan Era had many different rules and practices before, after, and even during marriage. The Elizabethan Era was an era when Queen Elizabeth I ruled. Many marriages during this time period were based on class. Throughout the upper class, arranged marriages, traditions, practices, and more were especially common throughout the Elizabethan Era. Although many upper-class individuals are strict on marriage, which includes the male having to ask the father for consent to marry their daughter, the lower and middle classes had more …show more content…

The upper class was "more focused on kinship bonds and property, while love was not a requirement" (Lyon). Individuals getting married had little to no choice throughout the process, which caused these arranged marriages. The parents were the ones who arranged these marriages for their children, no matter if their children liked or did not like the other person, which meant these individuals had no say in these marriages whatsoever. Parents were uncompromising throughout these arranged marriages, and they were to "mostly keep wealth and reputation" ("Elizabethan Era"). So no matter the person, arranged marriages were primarily to keep their reputation and even gain more for both families. It was almost thought of as a business deal for the parents due to the fact that they wanted to keep a good reputation for them. Some of these people "usually meet on the day of the wedding, which was a tradition among well-known nobilities" ("Elizabethan Era"). Since a few of these individuals met their future partners on the day of the wedding, many of them weren’t able to back out. Arranged marriages caused these upper-class individuals to have little to no freedom in choosing who they got to