The lower classes
Posted by Marie Bernadette on March 18, 1998 at 16:10:33:
In response to Unmarried mothers, written by Caroline on March 18, 1998 at 12:51:18
I think amongst the poorer people this kind of thing was possibly more common.
What I thought Cassia meant was that the lower classes were not held as rigidly to the same rules as the upper classes. They did marry but it wasn't such a big deal if the bride was 'breeding' before the marriage and, although marriage was the norm, there were more instances of single mothers and unwed couples. Many times, a couple would fall in love and start a family, but they wouldn't marry until they were more established. I know that in Finland, at some point, this latter senario actually was the norm. It was once Finnish custom for a man to post-pone marriage until his intended became pregnant because he wanted to make sure she was fertile before he commited to marriage. That's those practical Finns for you, though.
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