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Ramblings of the mind today
Apr. 10th, 2008 08:34 pmTraditionally marriages were for children, money, power, etc. Love was an afterthought, if a thought at all. Children being key here, there is little to no reason for same sex marriages.
So, a society which had them would either be rather more lax about children (as in, bastards and adoption and such are not an issue), or there would have to be another reason for them.
Nixing further ramblings on that point, the conclusion I eventually came to was that magic might add a viable reason for a same sex marriage. If we go with the theory that some manner of special bond increases/improves/whatever magic, and combine that with the usual power and affluence reasons, then we have a most viable reason.
Further ramblings led to a couple of different possibilities, one of them being polyamorous in nature, but the one I thought most challenging (and thereby interesting) to work with was the idea that magic wasn't common to everyone. Or rather, it couldn't be common to everyone. I forget how I came to it, but I liked the idea that following a magic path results in infertility. Therefore, families would have several children, for to contract 'blood marriages' for begetting further heirs, and 'magic marriages' for to keep the family strong in magic. If marriages strengthened/improved magic, and also had the usual political and financial benefits, combined with the same from blood marriages, then we have a world that is rife with more politics than I feel like dealing with.
That is to say, with some refinement, this could be an interesting world - except heavy politics are not my strength, and i've too much else to do, and I have no idea what sort of story this would become anyway. But reading Devil's Fire made me think about a society that just accepted such things without real social/cultural reasons for it, and I wondered what sort of reasons might exist. This was actually how Harem and eventually Sandstorm came along. Though this is more complicated, which is why I'm jotting down notes (and man, do I ever love the note program thingie that came with office 07) and then going back to other shit.
I think the poly came in with the thought that perhaps in such a society, more than one spouse might be contracted at leaset in the case of magic marriages (though i wasn't too certain about blood marriages, that would come with further refinement of this still very very rough idea, I guess really they would have to be the same, but we'll see).
Hmm hmm. It's a thought, anyway.
So, a society which had them would either be rather more lax about children (as in, bastards and adoption and such are not an issue), or there would have to be another reason for them.
Nixing further ramblings on that point, the conclusion I eventually came to was that magic might add a viable reason for a same sex marriage. If we go with the theory that some manner of special bond increases/improves/whatever magic, and combine that with the usual power and affluence reasons, then we have a most viable reason.
Further ramblings led to a couple of different possibilities, one of them being polyamorous in nature, but the one I thought most challenging (and thereby interesting) to work with was the idea that magic wasn't common to everyone. Or rather, it couldn't be common to everyone. I forget how I came to it, but I liked the idea that following a magic path results in infertility. Therefore, families would have several children, for to contract 'blood marriages' for begetting further heirs, and 'magic marriages' for to keep the family strong in magic. If marriages strengthened/improved magic, and also had the usual political and financial benefits, combined with the same from blood marriages, then we have a world that is rife with more politics than I feel like dealing with.
That is to say, with some refinement, this could be an interesting world - except heavy politics are not my strength, and i've too much else to do, and I have no idea what sort of story this would become anyway. But reading Devil's Fire made me think about a society that just accepted such things without real social/cultural reasons for it, and I wondered what sort of reasons might exist. This was actually how Harem and eventually Sandstorm came along. Though this is more complicated, which is why I'm jotting down notes (and man, do I ever love the note program thingie that came with office 07) and then going back to other shit.
I think the poly came in with the thought that perhaps in such a society, more than one spouse might be contracted at leaset in the case of magic marriages (though i wasn't too certain about blood marriages, that would come with further refinement of this still very very rough idea, I guess really they would have to be the same, but we'll see).
Hmm hmm. It's a thought, anyway.
