Universal and early marriage: marriage ideas and behavior of Russian peasants in the 18th—19th centuries

Abstract

The typical idea of marriage among Russian peasants of the 18th-19th centuries was that every person should get married and get married as early as possible. Therefore, they had a low age at first marriage and a high marriage rate. On the one hand, the Orthodox concept of marriage, the need of peasant families for labor force, the central position of the family in the material and spiritual life of the peasants demanded that the peasants should marry without exception. On the other hand, the patriarchal tradition gave parents control over the marriage of their children, and parents forced them to marry as soon as possible, based on family interests; and moral public opinion in the village commune created an atmosphere in which celibacy was considered unfortunate and late marriage a disgrace.