[SauronOfMordor]

This is actually an argument for getting married later, e.g. 30+, so that both parties can more accurately project the kind of person they've actually married. It is trite and a (good) generalization, but status matters to both men and women in some fashion, and this plays into the marriage calculus. What a person is doing at 20 these days has almost no bearing on what a person will be doing at 30, and hazarding a guess at that age as to marriagability based on this fact may yield unpredictable results.

I believe that back in Victorian times, middle-class gentlemen were more likely to marry at around or after 30, to women in their early twenties. Marriage was deferred until the man could support a wife, which meant that men married well-into their careers

[Nowhere Man]

I believe that back in Victorian times, middle-class gentlemen were more likely to marry at around or after 30, to women in their early twenties. Marriage was deferred until the man could support a wife, which meant that men married well-into their careers

That is so true. I'm into the Victorian/Edwardian era historically and for the most part men past the age of 25 to maybe in the mid 30's and even a little beyond usually went to social events like dances and the like. Usually the women there were like 17, 18 to the early 20's and that's how some people found each other in order to court and hopefully marry.

I've heard from various Biblical scholars that Joseph was around 30 or so and Mary was 15 to about 18 when she married Joseph and had Jesus so there is precident where the man concentrated on his career and taking care of many issues before taking a wife.

I guess deep down inside I think I found a good term to describe me politically and socially, "neo-Victorian." B-)

[Jim Noble]

I believe that back in Victorian times, middle-class gentlemen were more likely to marry at around or after 30, to women in their early twenties. Marriage was deferred until the man could support a wife, which meant that men married well-into their careers

That is a great system, but it takes the best wives off the market for 20 year old men, creating a large unmarried urban and rural proletariat.

England is still suffering from the result.