AlexandraCuevas Period8 3/15/13 LoveOverTheClassDivide AccordingtoShiftinMarriagePatternsHasEffectonInequality,forthegenerationborn between19761981,58%ofthepopulationmarriedintothesameclass.Whilemostmarriages arewithinthesameclass,somecoupleschoosetomarryoutsideoftheirsocialclass.For example,inOthellobyWilliamShakespeare,thewealthyDesdemonamarriesthepoorOthello. Asaresult,societyisnothappywiththemarriagebecauseDesdemonaandOthelloareina crossclassrelationship.Whilemarryingapersoninadifferentclasscanbringalotof happinesstothecouple,mostmarriagesthatcrossclassboundariespresentasetofconflicts thatverydifficulttoovercome.

To begin, in Othello, marital dramaiscreatedbetweentheMoorOthelloandthedukesdaughter Desdemona. Othelloandhis bride are of different social classes. This makesthemarriageend disastrously. For example,whenRoderigowasindespairfor nothavingDesdemonaslove,Iago takes advantage of him and persuades him to sell his land for money. Iago says I say, put money in thy purse. It cannot be that Desdemona should(long) continueher love to the Moor put money in thypurse nor he histo her. She must change for youth. When she is sated with his body she will find the (error) of her choice(I,iii, l384395). If Roderigo has money in his pocket, he is goingto lookbetter than Othello. Also, Othello saysYet tis the plague (of) great onesTisdestinityunshunnable,likedeath.Even thenthisforkedplagueisfatedto us. Whenwe do quicken.Look whereshecomes(III,iii,314318).Othellodescribeshismarriageinthisquote when Iago tells him lies about Desdemona having an affair with Cassio. Hemeansthatmenof higher ranks do not experience wifely infidelity as much as those inlowerrank.Basicallysaying

that he has a greater chance to experience infidelity. Another example where social class is showed is when Othello is reminded by Emilia that he called Desdemona awhore.Nowomen wants to be calledlikethatspeciallyifshesfromawealthyclass.Emilia saysHathsheforsook so many noblematches,herfatherandhercountryandherfriends,tobecalledwhore?Would it not make one weep? (IV,ii, 146149) Othello starts to insult Desdemona with those kinds of words, which made Desdemona feel bad. Love starts fade whenthe guy/girl starts calling the otherpersonnamesthatcanreallyhurtevenifshe/herdontshowit. Furthermore, there are many challenges that could arise when two peopleof different classes marry. People whomarryacrossclasslinesarealsomovingoutsidehis/hercomfortzones,and intotheunchartedterritoryofpartnerswithadifferentlevelofwealthandeducation.Forexample, in the article When Richer Weds Poorer,MoneyIsnt the Only Difference, Dan Croteau says thatwhenCateWoolnertoldhimsoonaftertheybegandatingthatshehadmoney,itdidnotland as good news. Mr. Croteau explains, When she told me, my first thought was, uhoh,thisisa complication from that momentI had tobeginquestioningmymotivations.Youdontwanttofeel like a gold digger... And she does the lions share of the decisionmaking (Lewin 1). Another example, in Across the barricades: love over the class divide, Emily says He said, Marrying you has taken me put off the upper class and out me into theclass. I know hewasjoking,but equally, theres an element of truth to it.(Williams 4) Before Emily and Tom got married, they both had to feel they could be themselves and they did so they got married. ButAlsoinShift in marriage patterns has effect on inequality social scientist Dr. Catherine Hakim stated As women become bettereducated,andstarttooutnumbermenamonghighereducationstudents, it becomes impossible for all to marryan even more highly educated and highearning spouse, so they are increasingly forced to marry equal or down (McVeigh 3). It is not to say that marriages will not work between different class backgrounds, but there are less crossclass

marriagesbecausewomenhaveimprovedtheirsocialstanding. On the other hand,people in favor of different class marriages have several reasonswhyitisa positive social contract. For example, in When Richer Weds Poorer, Money Isnt the Only Difference, Dan Croteau says he sometimes finds himself back in class confusion, feeling again that he does not get the nuances. Theyre gracious tome,very well bred andverynice, he says (Lewin 2). Also before Mr. Croteau moves in, Ms. Woolner gives him money to buy a new car and payoff some debts. I wanted to give him money Ihadntsweatedit.Itoldhimthat this money that had just come to me for being born into one class, while he was born into another class, says Ms. Woolner (Lewin 2). He sometimes referrers it as an allowance. In marriages like this with different social classes, theycanhelpeachotherout. Anotherexample, in Across the barricades:love over the class divide, Alice DouglasandStevehadtwochildren and split up overthe classic things that split parents up, regardlessofclass:maturity,reliability, whos still in the pub and who isnt. The children are blessed with being comfortable in any class.saidAlice(Wiliams3). In conclusion, though some people say that marrying outside class canbring happiness to the couple, research clearly showsthatcrossclassboundariespresentasetofconflicts.Societyis not always happy with the marriage because the coupe is in across classrelationship. They are also movingoutside their comfort zones,andinto theuncharteredterritoryofpartnerswitha different level of wealth and education. There is an underlying feeling that there might be more conflicts, leading to of high divorce rates. All these examples demonstrate how cross class boundariesgothroughalotofconflicts.