Stories About Marriage

Read Stories About Marriage Online

This collection features tales where love, marriage, and relationships play a central role. The stories encompass a wide range of genres, including fairy tales, myths, and legends, showcasing both the challenges and rewards of marriage.

Marriage and Transformation
A recurring theme in these stories is transformation, where characters undergo changes—either physical or spiritual—before or during their marriages. In The Frog Princess, a prince is turned into a frog, and only through the marriage to a princess does his true form return. Similarly, Iron Hans tells the story of a wild man transformed into a prince, with a young boy helping him break the curse. In Beauty and the Horse, a horse transformed into a prince marries the woman who helps him escape his curse, while The Bear in the Forest Hut revolves around a princess who marries a bear, who is later revealed to be a cursed prince. In The Silent Princess, a prince must help a mute princess speak to break a curse, leading to their eventual marriage. These stories illustrate how love and marriage can be linked with magical changes and personal growth.

Tests and Trials in Marriage
Several stories focus on trials and tests that characters face before achieving marriage. Cinderella depicts the classic story of a girl who, with magical assistance, overcomes her difficult circumstances and marries the prince. Allerleirauh shows a princess forced to marry her father but escaping through disguise, only to eventually reveal her identity and marry a prince. In The Golden Arm, a man obsessed with his wife’s golden arm leads to his tragic fate after stealing it from her grave. The Princess and the Pea shows a prince testing the authenticity of a princess by placing a pea under multiple mattresses. Each of these stories explores the notion of challenges or trials to prove worthiness for marriage.

Marriage and Social Expectations
In many stories, marriage is linked with social expectations and the fulfillment of duty. The Adventure of the Daughter of the King of Ireland tells of a prince who abducts the daughter of a king, ultimately resulting in a marriage after a battle. Similarly, The Three Lemons follows a prince who embarks on a journey to find a bride as beautiful as his ideal. The Queen of Lanternland highlights a prince who rescues a queen to prevent her from marrying a powerful wizard, leading to their union. The Twelve Huntsmen tells the story of a prince who marries a princess after recognizing her among a group of huntsmen. In The History of the Young King of the Black Islands, a king’s wife’s infidelity leads to a conflict, ultimately leading to the king regaining his kingdom and marrying again. These stories demonstrate how marriage is often seen as a way to fulfill one’s obligations or to secure peace, alliances, and loyalty.

Marriage Through Sacrifice
Some stories feature characters who sacrifice for the sake of marriage or love. East of the Sun and West of the Moon tells of a woman who sacrifices her comfort to help a cursed prince, and through her actions, she breaks the curse. In The Dolphin’s Bride, a girl marries a dolphin who later reveals he is a cursed prince. Sunev depicts a girl who is transformed into a tiger by a jealous witch, and after a long process, she is restored to human form and marries the prince she loves. These stories focus on the theme of selflessness and the personal sacrifices characters make for the love or marriage they desire.

Unusual Marriages and Unlikely Partnerships
A few stories explore unusual unions that challenge societal expectations. In The Jolly Miller, a miller raises a girl he finds abandoned, and she later marries a young squire, defying class expectations. In The Laughing Prince, a princess challenges a tsar to make her laugh, eventually marrying the farmer’s son who succeeds in making her smile. Molly Whuppie shows a girl outsmarting a giant and marrying the king’s youngest son, demonstrating how the characters break traditional roles for marriage. The Green Cat shows a man helping a princess cursed into a cat form, leading to a marriage after the curse is broken. These stories highlight the unpredictability and non-traditional nature of marriage in folklore.

In sum, these stories offer a broad range of narratives where marriage is central, often tied to transformation, challenges, sacrifice, and societal expectations. Through themes of magic, tests of character, and unlikely unions, the tales illustrate the diverse paths to marital happiness.