Discussion Does polygamy in western settings actually exist?

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by lnv, May 11, 2020.

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Does polygamy in western setting actually exist?

  1. Yes

    36 vote(s)
    73.5%
  2. No

    13 vote(s)
    26.5%
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  1. lnv

    lnv ✪ Well-Known Hypocrite

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    I was watching an anime and it was mentioned in it that having multiple wives/concubines was common. And this isn't the first time I am hearing it, actually it is a common theme in anime/manga/novels, especially harem.

    BUT, here is the thing. In many of these mediums, you meet many nobles, kings, rich merchants and the like and guess what? Not one of them would actually have more than 1 wife. If you hear something like 2nd or 3rd wife, the others are usually dead and he only married them afterwards. Or they would be some mistress a noble is hiding. Not legal wives/concubines.

    Now there are plenty of cases of polygamy seen in asian settings, especially with a female MC, they would always be sisters who are children of concubines or the like. But for the male MC in a western settings, 9/10 times we are told that polygamy is something common, but the MC seems to be the only one who practices polygamy despite their "moral values".

    So...
    A) Was the MC lied to by everyone?

    B) Did the author just half ass the polygamy in?

    C) Did polygamy only become common the moment the MC entered the world and it was altered, thus no one having enough time to gather more wives yet?

    D) Showing other people having multiple wives would make the MC less of a special snowflake so it isn't shown?

    So I ask again, does polygamy in western settings actually exist?
     
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  2. replay

    replay ★Milk and Honey smelling Merchant★

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    is it in reality or just a plot on story?
    because i think every author cab pick a setting even jf it's asian eor western and just slap anything they want on that story, unless that is they are writting real events or history itself, or hust based on a true story,
     
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  3. Inraviel

    Inraviel Well-Known Member

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    It depends, but can exist. In some worlds/settings they can have only mistresses, but in others, if they have opportunities or are higher nobles/kings, they many times have other wives.
     
  4. Anra7777

    Anra7777 All powerful magic grammar hamster queen pirate.

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    I think, in most cases probably not. Except for in case of cults or offshoots of religion like the Mormons...
     
  5. Kaminomikan

    Kaminomikan 神のみ感

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  6. Chrono Vlad

    Chrono Vlad 『Banned From Drinking』

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    Dunno about settings but there's a polygamist cult in Murica called FLDS and hidden ones :blobpeek:
     
  7. Defiring

    Defiring Well-Known Member

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    I mentioned Flowers for Algernon here before. Well, that book has full-on polygamy.
     
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  8. slightofhand

    slightofhand Well-Known Member

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    Laws against polygamy in European nations (and American nations) is due to religious practices. Everywhere that Christianity spread outlawed polygamy. In practice, kings and nobles often had live in mistresses that could not be official due to the church. They were called Maîtresse-en-titre.
     
  9. Ak0w

    Ak0w Well-Known Member

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    Op ain’t talking about rl. Op is talking about how the world settings of some novels allow polygamy but no one seems to practice it except for the mc.
     
  10. icerror

    icerror Well-Known Member

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    FYI, old turk and a part of middle-east are considered western, and they practiced the Islam religion which allowed polygamy. Christian ones don't.

    And the thing about novels where polygamy exists but few have multiple wives: no man than can get with multiple girls want them all as wives.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2020
  11. Kemm

    Kemm Custom title

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    Which anime are you speaking about?
    It sounds like Hachinan, but with that anime they are doing a mix of what they did with Didn't I Say to Make my Abilities Average? and the in medias res kind of start that they are doing with a lot of isekai recently (which in most cases just spoils the story or makes things weird; it's difficult to pull off that). A lot of data that is explained in the novels and part of which would have made the cut with another style just goes unmentioned, and in there go the examples (basically, it's usually only high nobles who have several spouses due to financial reasons, though, while mentioned just in passing, the MC's father also has a commoner concubine that gave him two sons and two daughters).

    Even if that's not the series in question, it often is the case that the reasons are similar so:
    A) No, it's common.
    B) Not the fault of the author, just the issues of adaptation.
    C) The underlying reason for it is so important that even in real life western nobles had mistresses for that reason (they didn't marry them because most christian doctrines ban polygamy), so there are many cases of it, just not shown in adaptation.
    D) I have come across lots of cases where the multiple wives (or at least part of them, and more than one) are shown; the main reason they could have to not show them would be status (of the first wive; it could be compromised if they gave the other women anough time in the spotlight).




    Also (I know that most likely you know about it, but I like to mention it because it seems funny to me), japanese media "western settings" are rather "japanese fantasy western fantasy settings". Quite convoluted.
     
  12. adrielpirate

    adrielpirate Well-Known Member

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    refresh my memory please... he loved one woman, and dated another... and because of that, he was full of sorrow because he dont really loved her.

    i dont recall polygamy.
     
  13. Toralk

    Toralk Certified Grouch

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    I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it, but I can't think of a single example of a non-MC character having multiple wives in a western setting. But then again, even in eastern setting ones the extra wives are sometimes mentioned but never introduced as anything but generic background characters. At most 1 or 2 of them will even have names, and the second named only exists if there is some drama between her and the main wife that somehow involves the MC.

    I guess authors just don't want to bother creating female characters that can't develop a relationship with the MC.
     
  14. metazoxan

    metazoxan Well-Known Member

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    Yes it does. Whether or not the story features it depends on exactly which culture is portrayed and whether or not the author chooses to acknowledge it.
     
  15. metazoxan

    metazoxan Well-Known Member

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    Basically yeah author's don't want to have to write a bunch of women that don't add to anything.

    But there are a few series here and there with western settings where it's mentioned others have "multiple wives".

    But you also have to keep in mind a few things. Even in these western settings you generally had to be especially "desireable" to get multiple wives. Meaning you needed to provide a reason multiple women would accept such an arrangement and not just find a different noble to marry.

    In the MC"s case in most of these settings where the MC gets a real harem he's like a world changing hero so obviously he ranks above basically every one.

    Often times kings or dukes will get mentions of having multiple wives unless they "Just have no interest".

    But yeah the REAL reason only the MC seems to have a harem is just lack of interest in the author to write women who are just there to give background character's multiple wives.

    But once in a while the writer will at least write that "so and so has multile wives" even if they aren't shown.
     
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  16. adrielpirate

    adrielpirate Well-Known Member

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    no, polygamy was not common... having multiple wives either...
    you could have concubines and impregnate a X(infinite) amount of women, but any bastard son/daughter is a stain on your lineage... and should, and will be wiped.

    but husbands having extramarriage-affairs was really common, and wives going in a killing spree, hanging any mistress in sight, was also common.
     
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  17. Deleted member 155674

    Deleted member 155674 Guest

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    There is no such thing as 'allowed' polygamy, historically speaking, people of old used to marry and get however many women they wanted, from all countries and religions, be it western or others, women rights weren't a thing in the old times, we are speaking about people who persecuted women and people because of 'lack' of faith, those who knew a bit of math were witches and such... :blobsweat_2: islam is the only religion that mentioned rules and regulations to put a stop to such acts and it didn't allow but limited the number to four as a maximum and that is only under conditions which are nearly impossible to be respected thus reducing the number to one, but unfortunately people don't do as told and those under misconception like you are many, the correct word that you should have used is arabs not islam
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 11, 2020
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  18. Hacalyhd

    Hacalyhd Well-Known Member

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    Most western settings are influenced by western history/values, which in turn are influenced by Christianity.
    And the latter is/was pretty clear about how relationships were supposed to be.

    So while Love-triangles, playboys, mistresses, etc. are all fair game, polygamy is usually not.
     
  19. Stormaggeddon

    Stormaggeddon Well-Known Member

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    while it is rare, yes, it does exist. though i don't believe it's legal. it's much more common within Middle Eastern countries.
     
  20. icerror

    icerror Well-Known Member

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    I'm not talking under the table hanky panky but real marriage. Only old islam is cool with having multiple wives, "legally". Or at least, how public figures are expected to conduct: Only one wife is recognized by the Christian faith and the state. Again, you don't have to explain how that doesn't mean anything, I'm saying christian state didn't agree with polygamy.
     
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