- Question
Why are arranged marriages successful?
Why do arranged marriages often endure? This entry maps the explanations offered — that they relieve individuals of a hard choice, that they are made with little agonised deliberation, and that they begin from low expectations that are then exceeded.
Arranged marriages are successful because you relinquish difficult aspects of the choice
Proponents of this explanation point to what the arrangement takes off the individual's hands. With the hardest parts of the search handled by others who are invested in the outcome, the couple begins without sole responsibility for having chosen.
Arranged marriages are successful because you make the choice with little deliberation
This explanation holds that endurance comes from how the decision is made: a choice reached quickly, without prolonged comparison of alternatives, leaves less room for second thoughts and for the sense that a better option was passed over.
Arranged marriages are successful because you start the relationship with low expectations
On this account the marriage begins with modest hopes rather than the expectation of a grand romance, so what follows tends to exceed them, and the couple measures the relationship against a standard it can actually meet.