"Marriage is a Private Affair" revolves around conflicting views on the custom of arranged marriage. Although the story was written in 1952, the practice is still common in many cultures, reportedly making up sixty percent of all marriages worldwide.
Contrasted against a marriage in which partners seek each other out and decide the terms of their engagement and wedding, arranged marriage involves a person's family—often one's parents—selecting a partner for the person to marry.
In popular culture, the custom is most often associated with India, where reportedly as many as ninety percent of marriages are arranged. Arranged marriages typically involve a screening process in which an individual's elder relatives seek prospective partners through word of mouth in their community or social circle, through newspaper advertisements, or matrimonial websites and publications. Once prospective partners are selected, the families will usually arrange for a chaperoned courtship, which may lead to time alone if neither side objects. Often, the decision to wed or not occurs within days of the first meeting.
While the custom of arranged marriage may seem unromantic to people unfamiliar with the convention, only one percent of marriages in Indian result in divorce, and couples report high levels of satisfaction.
