Permission to propose

[always2late]

My first marriage was to my son's father..and he did not ask my father's permission. Although I come from an Italian family that is VERY conscious of old traditions...I did not feel it necessary for anyone to get "permission" to marry me. Permission harkens back to the time when women were considered the property of their family, until such time as they were married. The permission aspect was not so much a blessing, as a transfer of said property.

That being said....at this point in my life should I decide to get married again, the only person I would seek an opinion from is my son.

[Martina]

It would never occur to me to ask a prospective partner's parents for her "hand."

[Ciaran]

Originally Posted by Martina

It would never occur to me to ask a prospective partner's parents for her "hand."

If someone asked my parents for permission to marry me, my father would come out with some sort of wise-crack along the lines of, "Hallelujah - great to finally get Ciaran off our hands after decades of eating us out of house and home. Oh, and if you are ever stupid enough to lend Ciaran any money, write it off as you'll never see it again."

I should add that my dad is my best friend who warmly embraces my partners, respecting my decisions in this regard. In fact, my parents are hosting one of my exes for a week this coming Christmas.