evaluating argument : arranged marriage

Arranged Marriage = Pragmatic Marriage?

An arranged marriage, also known as pragmatic marriage, refers to a marriage facilitated and approved by a party other than the bride and groom. Most often parents are the initiator of these types of marriages, although other family members and friends may also be involved. Traditionally these types of marriages are determined almost exclusively by the parents, and the recipient having little or no say in choosing their mate. There are two articles that related with arranged marriage I have chosen, that is "Why an Arranged Marriage is better than a Love Match?" and "The Problem with arranged marriage". There is an anonymous author for the both articles. The author was not put their name in the article that they had written.

The source of the first article is from WONDER WOMAN. This article mostly talks about benefits of arranged marriages. The author main claim is arranged marriages are far more likely to lead to lasting affection. To support his/her main claim, the author state, those in arranged marriages or who have had their partner chosen for them by a parent or matchmaker is tend to feel more in love as time passes (Para 2, Line 1). However, the author was fails to elaborate for his claim; there is no support for his sub-claim.

Besides that, the author also was claim that within ten years, the connection felt by those in the arranged marriages is said to be around twice as strong. This is because arranged matches are carefully considered, with thought going into whether potential partners' families, interests and life goals are compatible. The claim can be refer in paragraph 3, line 1. In arranged marriages, the commitment is very strong. They get married knowing they won't leave, so when facing the hard time or if they face injury or trauma, they don't run away. That's brings them closer.

Last claim from the first article is those who marry for love tend to be blinded by passion and so overlook the crucial details. This is because they are more likely to view the situation simply as a natural end to their romantic dream. This is can be found in paragraph 5, line 1. I agree with the author opinion because in love marriages, partners are trying to impress each other, they are not ready to share their weaknesses. Problems occur when the partner doesn't like to accept their weaknesses after the marriage.

The title of second article is 'The Problem with arranged marriage'. Source of this article is from CBC NEWS. This article talks about arranged marriage problems. The main claim for the second article is arranged marriage is a burden to bride's family.

In the past, arranged marriages were primarily a business transaction between families trading their eligible children for financial security or future considerations for the respective families, the author says. This claim can be found in paragraph 7, line 1. This is because traditional arranged marriages usually need a dowry, a payment for marrying into the family, usually a payment that the bride's side would make to the groom's side. In India, the evil of dowry, caste, community issues, and the concept of matching horoscopes, sometimes taken to its extreme levels have contributed much to the argument against arranged marriages.

The author also says, financing a marriage this way left many families with huge debts. It can refer in paragraph 8, line 1. He/she support this by says, some South Asian families have been known to spend their life savings to get their daughters married off. There is no romance in these unions and there is no love, he/she adds. The author's claim looks lexical ambiguity because he/she did not support with factual data.

Lastly, the author claim that having a daughter was a burden too (Para 8, Line 3). This is because bride's sides have to pay someone to marry their daughter would be the only way of protecting their daughter in the future. The author support can be accepted, it is because I had read in the India's Dowry Culture article that the dowry has increasingly become a common source of income for the groom's family. It is seen as a dreaded payment on demand that follows the marriage, equating to a family paying a man to wed their daughter, where the groom works with his family to demand the greatest price for marriage.

Personally, I'm not agrees with arranged marriages and I believed that, it takes away freedom of choice. Love marriages offer more independence and freedom in the context of choosing who you are with and what you do. Even though, I'm not agrees with arranged marriage, but I found that the first article is better than the second article because the author wrote very clearly. Besides that, the article is easy to read because the author used a simple language.

Most often parents are the initiators of these types of marriages, although other family members and friends may also be involved parties


Traditionally these types of marriages leave very little room for the couple to object the chosen partner for them.


I have chosen two articles relating to arranged marriages, namely ""Why an Arranged Marriage is better than a Love Match?" and "The Problem with arranged marriage". Both these articles were written by anonymous authors.