Dear Angie:

The “testing” above is because there have been technical difficulties on the site and I lost posts before. Actually I will copy this one in case it is lost as well.

Regarding arranged marriages: in India where it is most common as far as I know- there is a lot you can read about it, being as interested as you are. You can find lots of writing about it, I imagine. Always evaluate the source best you can to see that it is mostly non fiction. I trust the stories of the many people- on this very website- who wrote about their experiences with it.

Can arranged marriage drive someone crazy? You asked. From what I read, it drove many people to live very dysfunctional lives: having relationships outside the arranged marriage seems common to me, from my readings. Then what you observed visiting your ex’ family: lots of gossip, everyone in everyone’s business, this distracts all the individuals from their own personal dysfunction, that simple ongoing gossip and pressures applied on individual. If you read more than I have and you get new insight to the consequences of arranged marriage- please let me know, here on this thread. I am interested to know!

anita