Another thing that bothers me in reading a lot of historical, epic, or fantasy stories nowadays is that the protagonists are teenagers. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, but it has become a very serious problem in literature. I've seen stories where kids ranging between the ages of fifteen and seventeen are completely immature and then are forced to grow up when they find themselves thrown into a particular situation. This is another history-inspired post, so just bear with me here.
The reason I have a problem with most teenagers in stories today is that, if they're in a historically-based or fantasy story, then they tend to be very immature and unlikable. This would not be true in history. Think about it. In historical times, girls were often married off as young as the age of twelve or thirteen. But, when they got married, they were not unsure what they were doing. These girls were mature, generally well-educated, and were trained to run a household at a young age. They were constantly busy and had absolutely no time to angst or complain about growing up too fast or too slow. This is especially true if your protagonist is a male and is an orphan or only one parent; he would have to grow up faster to take on a man's responsibilities to take care of the family. Teenagers would also have to grow up rapidly if they were poorer because they had to work hard to help support the family, like if they live on a farm. In other words, back then children had a very short transition period from child to adult, and that was the accepted norm.
Case in point: John Quincy Adams. The sixth president of the US and son of John Adams was only eleven when he accompanied his father overseas. He spent most of his teen years traveling all over Europe, including serving as a secretary to an American envoy to Russia when he was no more than thirteen or fourteen. By the time he was twenty years old, Adams had quite a career already under his belt, and so he had little difficulty in becoming a lawyer and later a foreign minister, all before the age of thirty. Not all children had the same opportunities as Adams, but they nonetheless became adults very early in life. This made them far more mature than most teenagers today, and this means that some literature focused on teenagers and young adults is inaccurate.
If you're writing a story set in modern times or after the 1950's, then you can largely ignore this post. But, if your story is a fantasy or historical, I think you should consider that not every teenager back then acted like teens do today. Instead, young people in the past were far more mature and capable than they are portrayed in literature today.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Arranged Marriages
I've always been something of a history geek, and this hasn't changed over the years. When I was younger, I had a great fascination with English royalty, evidenced by a book that detailed the lives and reigns of every king and queen from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II.
A particular theme that I've noticed in literature, whether it be published or not, is that there is frequently an arranged marriage involved somehow. Generally, it happens to the girls of the story who also happen to be princesses or from a high-rank family. The parents try to encourage the girl to marry a certain man of great wealth or rank, and then she screams and refuses to do it, which leads her to run away, become the heroine, and then find true love with a man of a lower rank.
While this is all well and good, my historical research over the years, especially in regards to European royalty has led me to question whether or not this is an entirely accurate picture. I'm certain there were people who did not want to marry a complete stranger all for the sake of the family's honor and rank, and I'm sure that some arranged marriages were truly miserable. However, that being said, some arranged marriages actually produced true love, even if it wasn't under ideal circumstances. I'll give you a few historical examples.
- Edward I of England (if you've seen the movie "Braveheart," he was the wicked English king). In real life, Edward arranged to be married to a Spanish princess called Eleanor. The two had never met before, but the two deeply fell in love and were very attached to each other for many years (as evidenced by a legend that Eleanor sucked the poison out of one of her husband's wounds during the Crusades). After Eleanor died, Edward erected crosses all over England in her honor.
- Henry VII of England (the father of the infamous Henry VIII). He married Elizabeth of York solely for political reasons so that he could hold the throne, as the entire country had been undergoing the War of Roses for years. Even if they weren't in love, they were still very attached to one another throughout their lives.
-Charles I of England (the one beheaded by the Puritans in 1649). Charles arranged to marry the Catholic French princess Henrietta Maria, and the two had a very difficult first few years. However, they eventually warmed up to each other and fell in love, becoming very attached to one another.
- William and Mary of Orange. When the British Mary learned that she was arranged to marry her Dutch cousin William, she cried for several hours. However, the two became very close to one another over the course of their marriage.
- George III (the king during the American Revolution). He met his wife Charlotte for the first time on their wedding day, and they likely married only because George was desperate to find a wife. However, they were a truly happy couple, as evidenced by the fact they had fifteen children and that George never took a mistress like many men of his rank did at the time.
There are more historical examples, but generally in history arranged marriages were not completely miserable affairs. Some people, like Mary, did not want to go into them, but they ended up being happy with their new spouse. But, then again, men and women back then didn't have issues of angst like many people today do; they may not have liked what they were doing, but they did their required duty for the sake of something greater than their own feelings.
So, next time you think of writing how someone runs away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, think about this post.
A particular theme that I've noticed in literature, whether it be published or not, is that there is frequently an arranged marriage involved somehow. Generally, it happens to the girls of the story who also happen to be princesses or from a high-rank family. The parents try to encourage the girl to marry a certain man of great wealth or rank, and then she screams and refuses to do it, which leads her to run away, become the heroine, and then find true love with a man of a lower rank.
While this is all well and good, my historical research over the years, especially in regards to European royalty has led me to question whether or not this is an entirely accurate picture. I'm certain there were people who did not want to marry a complete stranger all for the sake of the family's honor and rank, and I'm sure that some arranged marriages were truly miserable. However, that being said, some arranged marriages actually produced true love, even if it wasn't under ideal circumstances. I'll give you a few historical examples.
- Edward I of England (if you've seen the movie "Braveheart," he was the wicked English king). In real life, Edward arranged to be married to a Spanish princess called Eleanor. The two had never met before, but the two deeply fell in love and were very attached to each other for many years (as evidenced by a legend that Eleanor sucked the poison out of one of her husband's wounds during the Crusades). After Eleanor died, Edward erected crosses all over England in her honor.
- Henry VII of England (the father of the infamous Henry VIII). He married Elizabeth of York solely for political reasons so that he could hold the throne, as the entire country had been undergoing the War of Roses for years. Even if they weren't in love, they were still very attached to one another throughout their lives.
-Charles I of England (the one beheaded by the Puritans in 1649). Charles arranged to marry the Catholic French princess Henrietta Maria, and the two had a very difficult first few years. However, they eventually warmed up to each other and fell in love, becoming very attached to one another.
- William and Mary of Orange. When the British Mary learned that she was arranged to marry her Dutch cousin William, she cried for several hours. However, the two became very close to one another over the course of their marriage.
- George III (the king during the American Revolution). He met his wife Charlotte for the first time on their wedding day, and they likely married only because George was desperate to find a wife. However, they were a truly happy couple, as evidenced by the fact they had fifteen children and that George never took a mistress like many men of his rank did at the time.
There are more historical examples, but generally in history arranged marriages were not completely miserable affairs. Some people, like Mary, did not want to go into them, but they ended up being happy with their new spouse. But, then again, men and women back then didn't have issues of angst like many people today do; they may not have liked what they were doing, but they did their required duty for the sake of something greater than their own feelings.
So, next time you think of writing how someone runs away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, think about this post.
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