Marriage has not always meant just one man and one woman. For much
of human history, over much of the globe, the most common
alternative was polygamy: marriage involving more than one spouse.
Polygamy, or plural marriage, has long been an accepted form of
union in human societies, involving people living on every
continent. However, polygamy has come to symbolize a problematic,
even "barbaric," form of marriage that is often labeled as
"backwards," less modern and progressive, embodying the oppression
of women by men. In Polygamy: A Very Short Introduction, Sarah M.
S. Pearsall explores what plural marriages reveal about the inner
workings of marriage and describes the controversies surrounding
it. The book emphasizes the diversity of historical polygamist
societies, from the Shi'ite Muslims and Wendat men who practiced
short-term marriages to the Mixteca, Maori, Inca, Algonquin, and
Marta indigenous people of North America and the Pacific Islands,
as well as medieval Irish kings, rulers of the Kingdom of Buganda
in east Africa, and residents of the Ottoman Empire. Pearsall also
explains the Old Testament origins of polygamy in the book of
Genesis, making note of vocal Protestant defenders of the practice
such as Martin Luther and John Milton, and the divides within
Christianity that led to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and the Mormons'
fight throughout the 19th-century under his successor Brigham
Young's leadership to freely practice plural marriage. Polygamy: A
Very Short Introduction looks at how polygamous domestic and sexual
relationships have influenced larger dynamics of power, gender,
rank, race, and religion in societies all over the world, while
also attempting to untangle the paradox of female constraint and
liberty for women who advocated for polygamy, arguing that plural
marriage offered security and stability rather than restraint for
women. In balancing an explanation of the many complexities and
misunderstandings of plural marriage, the book reveals how polygamy
continues to have an influence on society today.
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