Marriage to a much older man

[jo1962]

Hi everybody,
would welcome your thoughts on why an upper middle class woman of 25 would marry a man of 57? The year being 1917. Her parents were very wealthy so it obviously wasn't for the money the marriage would bring her.  The man died a year after the marriage, interestingly she 4 years layer married a man the same age as her so I have ruled out that she was attracted to older men or was looking for a father figure.
Thanks

[Ruskie]

Money?

Maybe he was after her money? 

Status?

Parental pressure?

Some reason related to the war?

Maybe she liked him?

Although her family were wealthy, if she was not the oldest son, she may not have seen any of it. 

Did her first husband leave a will, and if so was his wife mentioned in the will?

It really is anyone's guess as to why she married him. Did they have any children?

[pinefamily]

As Ruskie has said, there are any number of reasons why. You will probably never know for sure. On another thread recently someone said we can find all the facts but never why.
Researching the husband's background might give you some more insight.

[majm]

  to get away from her parents' control
  lust
  because he proposed to her
  she was pregnant by him
  she was pregnant by someone he knew and he was happy to support his friend's child
  he needed a person who knew how to handle the household staff and manage the household expenses
  there was no-one else available in her social network/age group as they had all enlisted for the western front
  she knew he had a medical issue and her nursing knowledge would assist in his palliative care and by marriage, she was not causing issues for her parents by her living under same roof as her patient.

JM

[Guy Etchells]

Hi everybody,
would welcome your thoughts on why an upper middle class woman of 25 would marry a man of 57? The year being 1917. Her parents were very wealthy so it obviously wasn't for the money the marriage would bring her.  The man died a year after the marriage, interestingly she 4 years layer married a man the same age as her so I have ruled out that she was attracted to older men or was looking for a father figure.
Thanks

Rather than ask for guesses why not try to research for more details of their lives both before and after the marriage and any reports of the marriage.

Wealthy parents does not mean she would be wealthy herself or even benefit from their wealth, they could have been very stingy or very controlling.
Her husband could have offerred her everything that was missing from her life or she perhaps offered him everything that was missing from his life.

The only way you will get close to the truth is to undertake deep research into their lives.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Guy

PS this will probably mean research in the archives and libraries around where they lived

[Mart 'n' Al]

I have an even greater disparity of age. My great grandmother at the age of 29 married a 70 year old man. 9 and a half months later she gave birth. The father died the following year, obviously a proud and happy man. Initially we thought the marriage would be due to pregnancy, until we did the arithmetic. There was no family fortune that we are are aware of and it is a mystery that I think we will never solve.  A year or two later my great grandmother took up with (we've never found a marriage) a man who, with her, fathered 6 children, including my grandfather.

Martin

[Kiltpin]

Hi everybody,
would welcome your thoughts on why an upper middle class woman of 25 would marry a man of 57? The year being 1917. Her parents were very wealthy so it obviously wasn't for the money the marriage would bring her.  The man died a year after the marriage, interestingly she 4 years layer married a man the same age as her so I have ruled out that she was attracted to older men or was looking for a father figure.
Thanks

I often think that the simplest answers are the correct ones. Why do most people get married? Love.
Regards
Chas

[starcat]

My Grandfather was 50 years old when he married for the second time, his new wife was 26, he died 9 years later & she was known to say that they had 9 happy years together, I think they married for love despite the age difference.

[Skoosh]

He was witty, urbane & made her laugh till she wet herself! 

Skoosh.