This is a quick post for Jessica, on the subject of marrying your cousin. I guess there has been some fuss up there about that? I don't know, I just go off of what is posted on the internet. Anyway. It is not "totally illegal" to marry your cousin, in fact it's 100% legal in some states. I found this map to be rather enlightening. And it is important to remember that back in the day, it was not only legal, it was encouraged. Just because Elizabeth Bennett and Jane Eyre had terrible cousins who loved them (Mr. Collins = ew), we shouldn't count all cousin marriages as "a bad match," to put it in old-fashioned terms. Think of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. There is a tale of love. As well as a tale of first cousins marrying. And who can forget George Michael and Maeby?
Not that I'm encouraging anyone to date or marry their first cousin. It is generally frowned upon in this day and age. Not to mention pretty weird. But if you're 3rd or 4th cousins, no big deal. Heck, we live in Utah, most people in this state are related in some way!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
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2 comments:
I think one of the big problems with marrying your cousin in this day and age is that, if it doesn't work out and you get divorced, you are still cousins. It could potentially divide the whole extended family.
Maybe it made more sense back when divorce was rare. But these days people like to at least have the option of putting some distance between themselves and a bad relationsip. Marrying a relative would make that more difficult.
Re: Jane Austen, I think that sometimes "back in the day" they would refer to all 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins as "cousin." So maybe they weren't actually first cousins. I don't think Pride and Prejudice ever really clarifies Mr. Collins' exact relationship to the Bennetts.
Re: Jessica, if you look on Steven E's flickr you'll see that she has some cute third cousins. Hence the recent freaking-outage.
Re: George Michael and Maeby, "I told you it was illegal!" Hee.
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