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Literary
May 6, 1885
New Ulm Weekly Review
New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota
What is this article about?
Theodore Parker reflects on marriage, noting that young people instinctively marry opposites in temperament, leading to growth through reconciliation, while older people marry similars for practicality. A perfect, total marriage is rare, ripening over decades like a fruit, and is a beautiful spectacle.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
A Perfect Marriage.
Theodore Parker writes: Young people marry their opposites in temperament and character, and such marriages are generally good ones. They do it instinctively. The young man does not say, "My black eyes require to be wed with blue, and my over-vehemence requires to be a little modified with somewhat of dullness and reserve." When these opposites come together to be wed they do not know it, but each thinks the other just like himself. Old people never marry their opposites, they marry their similars, and from calculation. Each of these two arrangements is very proper. In their long journeys these opposites will fall out by the way a great many times, and charm the other back again, and by-and-by they will be agreed as to the place they will go to, and the road they will go by, and both become reconciled. The man will be nobler and larger for being associated with so much humanity unlike himself, and she will be a nobler woman for having manhood beside her that seeks to correct her deficiencies and supply her with what she lacks, if the diversity be not too great, and if there be real generosity and love in their hearts to begin with. The old bridegroom, having a much shorter journey to make, must associate himself with one like himself. A perfect and complete marriage is, perhaps, as rare as personal beauty. Men and women are married fractionally, now a small fraction then a large fraction. Very few are married totally, and then only, I think, after some forty or fifty years of gradual approach and experiment. Such a large and sweet fruit is a complete marriage that it needs a very long summer to ripen it and then a long winter to mellow and season. But a real, happy marriage of love and judgment between a noble man and woman is one of the things so very handsome that if the sun were, as the Greek poets fabled, a god, he might stop the world in order to feast his eyes with such a spectacle.
Theodore Parker writes: Young people marry their opposites in temperament and character, and such marriages are generally good ones. They do it instinctively. The young man does not say, "My black eyes require to be wed with blue, and my over-vehemence requires to be a little modified with somewhat of dullness and reserve." When these opposites come together to be wed they do not know it, but each thinks the other just like himself. Old people never marry their opposites, they marry their similars, and from calculation. Each of these two arrangements is very proper. In their long journeys these opposites will fall out by the way a great many times, and charm the other back again, and by-and-by they will be agreed as to the place they will go to, and the road they will go by, and both become reconciled. The man will be nobler and larger for being associated with so much humanity unlike himself, and she will be a nobler woman for having manhood beside her that seeks to correct her deficiencies and supply her with what she lacks, if the diversity be not too great, and if there be real generosity and love in their hearts to begin with. The old bridegroom, having a much shorter journey to make, must associate himself with one like himself. A perfect and complete marriage is, perhaps, as rare as personal beauty. Men and women are married fractionally, now a small fraction then a large fraction. Very few are married totally, and then only, I think, after some forty or fifty years of gradual approach and experiment. Such a large and sweet fruit is a complete marriage that it needs a very long summer to ripen it and then a long winter to mellow and season. But a real, happy marriage of love and judgment between a noble man and woman is one of the things so very handsome that if the sun were, as the Greek poets fabled, a god, he might stop the world in order to feast his eyes with such a spectacle.
What sub-type of article is it?
Essay
What themes does it cover?
Love Romance
Moral Virtue
Social Manners
What keywords are associated?
Marriage
Opposites
Love
Maturity
Reconciliation
Theodore Parker
What entities or persons were involved?
Theodore Parker
Literary Details
Title
A Perfect Marriage.
Author
Theodore Parker
Subject
On Marriage
Key Lines
Young People Marry Their Opposites In Temperament And Character, And Such Marriages Are Generally Good Ones.
A Perfect And Complete Marriage Is, Perhaps, As Rare As Personal Beauty.
Men And Women Are Married Fractionally, Now A Small Fraction Then A Large Fraction.
Very Few Are Married Totally, And Then Only, I Think, After Some Forty Or Fifty Years Of Gradual Approach And Experiment.
But A Real, Happy Marriage Of Love And Judgment Between A Noble Man And Woman Is One Of The Things So Very Handsome That If The Sun Were, As The Greek Poets Fabled, A God, He Might Stop The World In Order To Feast His Eyes With Such A Spectacle.