Question

Which of the following statements about 16th century and early 17th century peasant life strongly supports the position taken by o.Lofgren in this excerpt?a. Marriage was necessary to support the economic underpinning of a typical family. b. Land-holdings and other implements were divided among the male members of the family. c. Individuals increasingly made their own way in the growing market economy found in rural areas. d. Each member of the peasant family shared in the same kind of work.

Answer 1

Assuming the question is about an excerpt from the article "Family and Households among Scandinavian Peasants" by Orvar Löfgren in Ethnologica Scandinavia (1974), the following statement supports the author's position: "marriage was necessary to support the economic underpinning of a typical family" (a).

Löfgren argues that marriage among peasants (and the ensuing children) enabled the families to be productive thanks to a division of the farming/housekeeping labor, as well as the ability to put resources in common. The phrase from the text which explicitly states this thesis is: "this made marriage a necessary condition for a viable farm unit."