I just saw a picture of this sculpture by Beth Cavener and it hit.
This is marriage for the Evangelical woman, for the Fundamentalist woman, for those who buy into complementarian ideals.
This was marriage for me. I imagine it’s marriage for many women.
I photographed a wedding a while back. The bride and groom’s interactions reminded me of my wedding 20 years before. I tried to describe this to my assistant as we drove home. The way he leaned away when she tried to kiss him on their wedding day. The absolute poison of trying to meet the expectations of the parents, the patriarchy, the church, the “Bible clearly states” folks…
So much effort went into that laced veil of purity. It was the death of her.