送交者: tomcatee 于 2004-12-29, 17:11:17:
I am curious about the opinions of big gap marriage from people other than Chinese; so I did Google the term “marriage OR marriages "age gap" OR May-December”. In English, there are term such as “age gap marriage” OR “May-December marriages”. The following are excerpts and links. I should point out that the age gap in these articles is only 5 to 20; I couldn’t find out any information about the big age gap such as up to 54 years which I planed to look for.
It is true that “The age issue is always more important to those outside the relationship than the people concerned”; but it is also true that it should be discussed or even studied for the sake of culture or other matters. Anyway, people can learn much more from indirect experiences (such as books) than direct experiences.
Some highlights first:
It all depends how young the man and the woman feel surely!
an ancient formula that says the perfect age of the bride is half the age of the groom plus five.
their husbands would die so many years before them. That's not fun.
I just hope the groom can make it down the aisle unaided.
It would also be nice if he could remember his bride's name. Otherwise, it'd just be a little too weird.
A minister in England has refused to marry a 54-year-old bride-to-be because her fiancé is only 27.
1.
Senior Controversies sex, age, and marriage!
http://www.healthandage.com/html/res/meetingplace/content/page22.htm
Anne, "I have a question for you. A good friend of mine recently got re-married. She is aged 61 and her new husband is 74. Don't you think that age gap is too big? "
Speaker, "Well, that is a very good question, what does everyone else think?"
James, "It all depends how young the man and the woman feel surely! Maybe the man is much older than his wife, but he feels a lot younger than his age. Also, perhaps she feels a lot older than her age. Maybe he is 74 and actually feels 60 years young, and she is 61 but actually feels 80 years old."
Speaker, "Yes, that is true. Although in some traditional societies the age gap between man and wife remains wide, in Scandinavian countries and generally in industrialized societies the age gap in marriage has been decreasing to just a few years and in some places the gap is even less than a year."
Dennis, "I'm not sure where it comes from, but I've heard of an ancient formula that says the perfect age of the bride is half the age of the groom plus five. For example, if the groom is 24 years old, then the bride should be 17 years old (12+5=17). If the groom is 50, then the bride should be 30 years old (25+5=30). That is supposed to be a golden formula from ancient times."
Anne, "Men may see it as golden, but as a woman I see it as terrible. If we all married according to that formula, it would be disaster for women. Their husbands would be old men. Besides, their husbands would die so many years before them. That's not fun."
2.
Large age gap in marriages lacks appeal
By Katie Volin
Published: Thursday, September 12, 2002
http://www.trumanindex.com/news/2002/09/12/Opinions/Large.Age.Gap.In.Marriages.Lacks.Appeal-271280.shtml
In a frenzied swirl of sweetheart necklines, plastic flowers and the chicken dance, my 20-year-old friend married her 33-year-old fiancé this summer.
Frankly, I don't understand the appeal and doubt I ever will. My friend who's living with the professor just informed me she plans to marry him. So I've given up fighting this bizarre situation. I just hope the groom can make it down the aisle unaided. It would also be nice if he could remember his bride's name. Otherwise, it'd just be a little too weird.
3.
Tuesday, 19 March, 2002, 11:13 GMT
Age-gap marriages: Can they work?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/1874486.stm
A minister in England has refused to marry a 54-year-old bride-to-be because her fiancé is only 27.
4.
October 20, 2004
May-December Marriages Again
Posted by Kieran
http://www.crookedtimber.org/archives/002710.html
For the sake of reducing the general level of snarkiness in the world, the pursuit of truth to its innermost thingys, and of course the children, I’ve looked a bit further at the question of May-December marriages and what that tells us about revealed preferences. As is often the case, the data tell us both more and less than you might think. The amateur demography continues below the fold, at Holbovian length.