So this past weekend I watched, what I would consider one of the greatest movies, Pride and Prejudice (2005 version with Kiera Knightley). The book is also fabulous and I absolutely love the story. Not only does it accurately illustrate the complexities of the female mind but it also hints at the evolution of the female status in society. This lead me to think about the intangible concept of love.
In Pride and Prejudice the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, struggles to break through the boundaries of English society. She rejects marriage proposals, which at the time were primarily made based on social and economic status. And she tries to find love, which she eventually finds in the very proud Mr. Darcy. But what does it mean to "find love"?
In some countries, arranged marriages are the norm and love is unearthed from the pairings. But in America, we all go out looking for true love. We are repulsed by the idea of allowing money and standings to determine who we end up with, and we look down on other countries for their practice of arranged marriages. Divorce rates in America are about 40-50%, which is relatively high in comparison to countries such as India with a .11% divorce rate, Japan with 27%, or Singapore with 10%. (Statistics from www.divorcestatistics.org/).
Jasmine, An interesting post (and an interesting blog this quarter on the whole). I like the links you provide to the movie and to divorce stats. You seem to be advocating arranged marriage and seem to suggest there is a media influence on American views of love. But, Americans treasure freedom of choice and did so long before the advent of movies. Might not people also think of the women in those other cultures as trapped -- not just in who they can marry, but also in what they can do if they are in an unsuccessful marriage?
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