A History of Marriage

Download or read book A History of Marriage written by Elizabeth Abbott and published by Seven Stories Press. This book was released on 2011-01-04 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does the "tradition of marriage" really look like? In A History of Marriage, Elizabeth Abbott paints an often surprising picture of this most public, yet most intimate, institution. Ritual of romance, or social obligation? Eternal bliss, or cult of domesticity? Abbott reveals a complex tradition that includes same-sex unions, arranged marriages, dowries, self-marriages, and child brides. Marriage—in all its loving, unloving, decadent, and impoverished manifestations—is revealed here through Abbott's infectious curiosity.