Both arranged marriage and marrying for love have good points and bad ones. And this is the issue I'm going to explore in my essay.
Although arranged marriage is not as popular as it used to be, people still can benefit from it.
First, the idea of marrying for love was considered bizarre and foolish in the past. Marriages were contracted largely for political or military reasons, to cement alliances, for riches, land, status or trade advantages, and to form bonds between two families. Therefore they were extremely important to the nobility, as they could provide alliances with other families to increase a family's prestige or influence. Hence, very few men and women of noble birth chose their own partners. Families usually took a strong hand in arranging marriages. .
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (In Austen, ch. 1).
I have a very good example of successful arranged marriage.
In the 17th century, with the love for her country, princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty traveled from afar to Tibet to get married with the King of Tibet, Songtsan Gambo, a man of wisdom and courage. After the marriage, the Central Plains and the Tubo area maintained close relations for more than 200 years a period almost free from wars and was most notable for its varied cultural and commercial exchanges. Under her direction, the Tubo Kingdom experienced fast social progress. So we could see that the marriage served as a bridge to promote the friendship between Tibet and inland China and left a historic legacy of friendship and cooperation between the Han and the Tibetan peoples.
.
Second, many important factors for mating could be taken into account in arranged marriages, such as age, race, religion, educational level, national origin, obligations of social class, family expectations and economic circumstances. These factors are a lot down to earth, therefore could prevent people from being too passionate and emotional when making marriage decisions.