• Snowclone@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 month ago

    Not that normal. In Romeo and Juliette her parents tell Paris that while they agree to the betrothal they won’t let them marry immediately until she’s ‘‘a few seasons older’’ but also, the plays were for everyday people, and aristocrat’s were the only people marrying so young, and Paris is this big good get for the family to have ties to, so it makes sense he doesn’t see a problem but her parents do.

      • Snowclone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        29 days ago

        Yeah, let me walk you through it. JULIETTE has parents. In the play. Those parents that are her parents. THOSE parents, Juliette’s parents, THEY say that she’s TOO YOUNG to get married. Her parents. They say that. They say she’s too young at 13 to get married. What they mean by saying this, about Juliette, their daughter, is that she’s only 13 and shouldn’t be married, because she’s TOO young. Her AGE. It’s too small for marriage. They say this in the play. Juliette’s parents. It’s a subtle nod to the people watching the play, so they can get the idea that the parents of Juliette think that she isn’t old enough to be married. At her age in the play.

        • Seeker of Carcosa@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          29 days ago

          I’m a mathematician so I’ll give you a free lesson: 13 is less than 16. So in a thread discussing Disney and the historic attitudes of people towards a 16 year old marrying, saying that it was inappropriate for a 13 year old in a Shakespeare play is immaterial to the discussion.

          • Snowclone@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            edit-2
            29 days ago

            9Yeah those 3 years really demonstrate how the myth of ‘‘they married young in the past’’ can’t possibly be a myth.

            Average marrying age in 1950 was 20. Well after high school, and there’s plenty of scandals documented of middle aged or old men marrying teens that drew responses of shock and moral outrage.

            Most scholarship on this said the mid 20s is when views in the US shifted to viewing teenagers marrying as morally wrong.

            • Seeker of Carcosa@feddit.uk
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              28 days ago

              Yeah those 3 years really demonstrate how the myth of “they married young in the past” can’t possibly be a myth.

              When talking about a lower bound on something, the only information one can directly infer from the statement “13 is too low” is “any number below 13 is also too low.” If you’re arguing that “13 is too low” implies “16 is too low” then ditto 19, 22, 25. It’s an absurd argument.