War and Marriage in Utopian Society In Thomas More’s Utopia, he attempts to solve the problems of human society by creating an idea of a “perfect” civilization based on the material benefits of a welfare state. This Utopia provides food, education, clothing, housing, and healthcare to all members of the community, as well as eliminates materialistic and frivolous pleasures in life. More’s utopian vision reflects issues with the time and place in which he lived, Tudor England. However, More presents ideas that deal with societal issues that are still important to the way we live today. Although some concepts of More’s vision, such as slavery and religion, may seem outdated and repressive, he does provide some ideas that address topics such as war, marriage, and healthcare which can still be found relevant. Although the Utopian ideas were meant to create a society like no other, More could not escape the typical mindset that the male was of the dominant sex. Before marriage, women were to present themselves naked in front of the male for him to examine her. “The prospective bride, no matter whether she’s a spinster or a widow, is exhibited stark naked to the prospective bridegroom by a respectable married woman” (More 84). Marriage also came with some precautions that prevented any insubordination or disrespect. In this Utopian society, most of the married couples were only parted when death did them part. In cases of adultery or misbehavior, the innocent party is allowed to separate, while the guilty party is damned to a life of celibacy. In today’s society, this is not the case, but in More’s Utopia, he intends to create a life for all that is justifiable by the proper laws. Women are not allowed to marry until they are eighteen, and boys until they are twenty-two. In today’s society, both parties have to be the legal age of 18, but in Utopia, they adjust to the fact that girls develop faster than boys. Love and marriage are always important in societies, because without love, some people don’t see a purpose. In modern day, a male and female have the same rights and one is not more subject to rules and regulations any more than the other one. More states that the woman must present herself knelt before her husband and confess her sins to him. This is not reciprocated by the man, therefore we see her that More still portrays the idea that the male is the more dominant sex.
A major issue, that has been recurrent in the world since the beginning of time, is war. Certain circumstances dictate whether or not war is necessary, but one thing is certain: it almost always revolves around the desire for more power. Expansion and power hunger drive leaders of countries around the world to do terrible things to innocent people in war time. To start, Utopians dislike fighting and do not see any glory and praise in war. It is an issue in our society that seems to have no reasonable solution in near sight. This is one aspect of the Utopian life that is worth thought because it does not completely eradicate the idea of war, but seems to have a better way of dealing with it. But in order to be protected from others who do not take this view, all members are given training at regular intervals so that they are capable. Utopians “consider war entirely justifiable, when one country denies another its natural right to derive nourishment from any soil which the original owners are not using themselves, but are merely holding on to it as a useless piece of property” (More 60) . This reasoning for going