In France, what's the "definition" of marriage?

What's the "definition of marriage" -- in France?
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Dear freedomseekers,

It's amazing to hear ignorant fundis proclaim that the "definition of marriage" has remained exactly the same since the beginning of time. Or at least since the Bible was written.

In fact, the "definition" has varied from state to state, country to country, religion to religion, and culture to culture, even within the 20th and 21st centuries.

And within any one state, country, religion, or culture, the definition has changed over time. For example, within the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Old Testament allowed one man to marry more than one woman.

In FRANCE, if the attached story be true, living people can marry dead people (allegedly under section 171 of the Civil Code, enacted circa 1959). [Help, please! Could somebody please find and post section 171?]

So just how would fundis define "French marriage", as of 2004?

Ms. Shishaldin admits that marriage "cannot be defined". She also claims that she's making "a bold stand in defense of marriage".

Or at least she's boldly defending "NECRO-MATRIMONY".

Fundis must be glad to know that this young woman wants to marry a dead MAN. If she had wished to marry French writer Colette (1873-1954), they'd call her a pervert.

Incidentally, this isn't the first instance of living persons marrying dead persons. Without state approval, some single 19th-century American spiritualists formed "spiritual marriages" with persons they met and loved "on the other side". That was back when many politicians "encouraged" the dead to vote, at least in Chicago.


SaveFreedom [at] yahoogroups.com
SF, CA
30 March 2004
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[from Portland IMC: http://portland.indymedia.org/ ]:

-- arts and culture | gender & sexuality | human & civil rights:


ARTIST TO MARRY DEAD POET:
Isidore Ducasse aka Comte de Lautréamont
to Wed
Shishaldin
[.....]

March 29, 2004--An American artist marrying a French poet is hardly an unusual occurrence, unless, of course, the poet in question has been dead for 134 years.
Utilizing an obscure clause in French law, an American artist, Shishaldin, has requested permission to marry Isidore Ducasse.
Ducasse, writing under the nomme de guerre Comte De Lautréamont, is the author of "Les Chants De Maldoror", widely acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of 19th century French literature. His death at the age of 24, capped a short, controversial, and mysterious career.

Under French Civil Code 171, the President has the authority to sanction marriages between the dead and the living. The law was enacted in 1959 when then President Charles de Gaulle toured the town of Frejus where a dam had burst, killing hundreds. A young woman approached him with the request that she be able to marry her dead fiancée. A special law was passed and, to date, several hundred couples have been married as a result.

"As an artist, I feel compelled to make a bold stand in defense of marriage. I view marriage as a union that cannot be defined, a union of souls and minds, the sort of union celebrated by art and literature... in fact, a marriage of art and literature." says the 23 year old bride to be.

[.... et cetera....]

[For more of this, hasten thyself to
< http://www.shishaldin.com > ]

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