SFWG Study Hall

New to this group and going through the forums to learn my way around. So I come to this question late, I know.

Part of the problem is defining what "getting married" means. In one Fantasy story I'm working on, a man is shocked to hear that a married couple from an alien culture were married at 4 and 3 (Earth) years old, respectively, at the choosing of their parents. But he learns that, while such a marriage is the norm for them (and they find our ways cruel, forcing teens to grow up with their future life mate a complete unknown), the couple does not even live under the same roof until their teens, when one spouse moves into the other spouse's parents house, and even then they remain separate until the age of 20. So at which age were they "married" in our terms?

This is not so alien a story, of course. Many Earthly cultures have had similar customs through the years. India comes to mind immediately.

In Western civilization, defining an legally acceptable age is a modern development. Until the twentieth century, the only factors were "can he support a family?" and "can she safely bear children?" In other words, it was reduced to the strictest practical terms for a "the man provides, the woman makes babies" culture such as we were. In those terms,14 would be old enough for some women (as many 14 year old women sadly still prove in our society), but not for others. And would usually NOT be old enough for the man.

...
Regards,
Eric Fretheim