Provocative and comprehensive, this study of how marriage has affected the lives of women from the earliest days of civilization to the 21st century uses the modern marriage as a focal point. Yalom charts the evolution of this institution in the Judeo-Christian world and discusses the role it will p...

Provocative and comprehensive, this study of how marriage has affected the lives of women from the earliest days of civilization to the 21st century uses the modern marriage as a focal point. Yalom charts the evolution of this institution in the Judeo-Christian world and discusses the role it will play in the future.

How did marriage, considered a religious duty in medieval Europe, become a venue for personal fulfillment in contemporary America? How did the notion of romantic love, a novelty in the Middle Ages, become a prerequisite for marriage today? And, if the original purpose of marriage was procreation, what exactly is the purpose of marriage for women now? Combining "a scholar's rigor and a storyteller's craft"(San Jose Mercury News), distinguished cultural historian Marilyn Yalom charts the evolution of marriage in the Judeo Christian world through the centuries and shows how radically our ideas about marriage have changed. For any woman who is, has been, or ever will be married, this intellectually vigorous and gripping historical analysis of marriage sheds new light on an institution most people take for granted, and that may, in fact, be experiencing its most convulsive upheaval since the Reformation.