近代早期英国的独身观念

英国宗教改革反对禁欲主义,肯定了婚姻的合理性和必要性,但市场经济对社会的冲击和婚姻中存在的诸多不确定性因素,使反对婚姻生活的独身观念逐渐在近代早期社会中萌芽成型,许多未婚的青年男女对婚姻望而却步。加之部分已婚人士以自己失败的婚姻为例,告诫未婚人士避开婚姻的陷阱,更坚定了他(她)们独身的决心,独身观念得到进一步的发展。究其原因,是因为男女双方都担心婚姻带来的只有经济损失和感情背叛,从而使自己陷入婚姻的陷阱无法自拔。独身观念激励了更多的人保持独身,独身者也因独身而受到社会的批评和质疑。尽管如此,独身观念的传播使更多的人认识到人们可以以独身的状态过幸福的生活。与此同时,随着女性独身者数量的增加,女性的群体意识增强,一定程度上冲击了父权制的权威。

The Concept of Celibacy in Early Modern England

The English Reformation opposed asceticism and affirmed the rationality and necessity of marriage,but the concept of celibacy and resisting matrimony began to sprout in society because of the impact on society of market economy and many other uncertain factors in marriage.As a consequence,many young people were discouraged from entering into marriage,and moreover,some married persons took their own failed marriage as the example,and warned those unmarried persons to avoid the pitfall of marriage,which confirmed people’s confidence in keeping single and made the concept of celibacy have further development.The reason was both male and female worried that marriage could only bring about economic losses and emotional betrayal,and make themselves fall into the pitfall of marriage and unredeemable forever.This concept encouraged more people to keep single,and the celibate people suffered criticism and questioning from society for being single.In spite of this situation,the spread of the celibacy concept made more people aware that they could live a happy life in the state of celibacy.Meanwhile,with the increase in the number of single women,their group consciousness was strengthened and to some extent shocked the authority of patriarchy.