How did marriage and family life change in the eighteenth century?
TTHE BASIC UNIT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION is and has always been the family. Within the structure of the family, human beings love, mate, and reproduce. It is primarily the family that teaches the child, imparting values and customs that condition an individual’s behavior for a lifetime. The family is also an institution woven into the web of history, but that does not mean that the family is static. It evolves and changes, assuming different forms in different times and places. The eighteenth century witnessed such an evolution: patterns of marriage shifted and individuals adapted and conformed to the new and changing realities of the family unit.
The Village WeddingThe spirited merrymaking of a peasant wedding was a popular theme of European artists in the eighteenth century. Given the harsh conditions of life, a wedding provided a treasured moment of feasting, dancing, and revelry. With the future of the village at stake, the celebration of marriage was a public event. (Private Collection/The Bridgeman Art Library)