The perks of obnoxious marriage cultures — and why they need to spread
April 10, 2025
People have been poking fun at marriage-obsessed cultures for a long time, from Mrs. Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice” to current TikTok videos of the mom from India who doesn’t care that her daughter gets nominated for a Nobel Prize because, unfortunately, she’s not married. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, both Mom and Dad and the entire overbearing Portokalos family get on Toula’s case for her lack of prospects. Even in Greek school, Toula wryly observes, “I learned valuable lessons such as, ‘If Nick has one goat and Maria has nine, how soon will they marry?‘”
In the centuries before and after she wrote, Jane Austen and her Mrs. Bennet merely reflected a culture-at-large emphasis on marriage, a “truth universally known.” However, these days, India Mom, the Portokalos clan and other marriage-centric communities have become distinct from 21st century social norms that view marriage as not only optional, but dispensable.
