Utopia has Marriage figured Out!
the ways that people get married in Utopia are some of the best that I’ve ever heard of. @remarkable-hythloday was telling @peter-giles and I about how their institution of marriage is structured over there, and I was blown away. Women do not marry until they are 18, and men until they are 22, and if they are ever caught having relations before then, they are barred from marriage forever (unless the ruler lets them, anyways)! This is done, apparently, so that they appreciate being with one spouse for their whole lives more than they would if they were allowed to have sex whenever they wanted. And the way that they date? Well the bride is taken to the groom’s room *naked* by a responsible woman, and the man does the same! This is done so that neither can hide something from the other, that could ruin the wedding night. Quite the custom if you ask me!
It may seem odd, but when you consider that their marriages can’t be dissolved? it makes a lot more sense. They only way that a Utopian marriage is dissolved is by death or adultery, or some other horrible act. And, in that case, the offender is never allowed to remarry! But, you can’t divorce a woman simply because her body becomes disfigured, which seems like a good idea to me. Why should men be allowed to leave woman when she needs his support the most? And, adultery is the only crime that has prescribed punishments. On the first offence, they are forced to hard labour, and the victims can remarry (unless they choose to pity the undeserving party), and on the second offence, they are killed. All other laws, though, are punished on a case by case basis.
Hold on, hold on! This can’t be a real thing! You’re just making this up to trick us into reading your philosophies because you can’t sell a proper book!
Quite the contrary, Siward! I have been to this Utopia myself, and all of what my friend recounts is true!
