What's the opposite of a cougar?

[delphipsmith]

Rereading Gone With the Wind for about the thirteenth time and loving it, as always. However, for the first time I really noticed some of the ages mentioned, and was a bit taken aback. Gerald O'Hara is 43 when he marries Ellen Robillard, who is only 15. Suellen O'Hara's "beau" Frank Kennedy is 40 and she's 14. And Rhett Butler is mentioned as being 30 or 35 at the beginning of the novel and Scarlett is only 16.

For some reason this never struck me before, but even for the 1860s this seems rather a wide age disparity.

Comments

[gelsey.livejournal.com]

It wasn't uncommon in that period. It fluctuates depending on culture and time period, but back then, not so unusual. In his 40s, she'd have been his second or third wife, his previous ones probably have died in childbirth. Many times men wouldn't marry until they were established.

For example, Regency era, men didn't often marry until their late twenties early thirties if I remember right. And despite what romances say, you weren't on the shelf unless you put yourself there until your late 20s, according to research I've done (if I could find the link I'd send it to yoy). I believe this changed more in the Victorian era when marrying young came more in vogue again. And through out child birth took many women. I'm not as studied in that era though.

[delphipsmith]

True, true. I think what surprised me wasn't so much the youth of the girls as the enormous age gap between them and the men. As you say, youthful marriage has always been around and it still happens even today, but the wide age disparity is something I associated more with medieval/Renaissance era. Especially since neither Gerald, Frank nor Rhett had been married before.

[gelsey.livejournal.com]

Now it was very unusual, I think, for the 40+ man to have never been married before. He would have been thought a rake, likely? or a permanent bachelor of *ahem* perhaps questionable morals. The 30 somethings had a little leeway, but the farther into the decade they got, the more they should have had a wife already.