Award-winning Multilingual Arts and Culture Blog Since 2006
I took these photos of the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Smolenskaya Square on the day of my birthday in December. My father and I were walking down the Old Arbat Street, wrapped up in the winter chill and fog.
To the sensitive young woman who has had the benefits of proper upbringing, the wedding day is, ironically, both the happiest and most terrifying day of her life.
On the positive side, there is the wedding itself, in which the bride is the central attraction in a beautiful and inspiring ceremony, symbolising her triumph in securing a male to provide for all her needs for the rest of her life.
On the negative side, there is the wedding night, during which the bride must pay the piper, so to speak, by facing for the first time the terrible experience of sex.
At this point, dear reader, let me concede one shocking truth.
Some young women actually anticipate the wedding night ordeal with curiosity and pleasure! Beware such an attitude!
A selfish and sensual husband can easily take advantage of such a bride. One cardinal rule of marriage should never be forgotten:
GIVE LITTLE, GIVE SELDOM, AND ABOVE ALL, GIVE GRUDGINGLY.
Ruth Smythers, Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride on the Conduct and Procedure of the Intimate and Personal Relationships of the Marriage State for the Greater Spiritual Sanctity of this Blessed Sacrament and the Glory of God, New York, 1894.
If the above sent you in the state of shock, here is an antidote from 2008.