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It seems very clear which version you prefer, but why do you call it a "fantasy" of spontaneity?

Because it happens all the time, it's no fantasy at all. You might not like it, but it very much exists. It's not just something from the movies, it's how basically everyone I know who's married got started.

You're right that arranged marriage is very much anathema to mainstream American culture, since arguably the most central value of the country is that of individual choice/liberty.




>It seems very clear which version you prefer, but why do you call it a "fantasy" of spontaneity?

I should've been clearer: 'fantasy' doesn't mean 'false' here. More like 'embellishment', an additive, framing, to reality that makes it more palatable and exchangeable (symbolically). The point of bringing up arranged marriage demonstrates spontaneity itself is more radical than is framed in the case of mainstream rhetoric around amorous relationships rather than a partisan approval.


The problem with Americans and Indian arranged marriages is that they don't understand that, for modern arranged marriages, they're usually not forced upon anyone, but instead are basically a system where the parents play matchmaker.




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