In class we had a great discussion about Book II of Utopia. However, after having this discussion I realized how much I disliked the idea of a Utopia. I realized how NOT perfect a Utopia really was...to be honest it was just as bad as any other society. One thing I thought was pretty interesting was the "Marriage and Divorce" section. If a Utopian couple cannot get along, they find others who they would like to live with. However, they have to get the senate's approval in order to "separate by mutual consent and contract new marriages" (73). Divorce is only accepted if the senators and THEIR wives have thoroughly evaluated the situation. In my opinion that'a a little weird, and I believe the couples are not receiving as much freedom as they should. It goes on to say that divorce is given unwillingly because "they know that husbands and wives will find it hard to settle down together if each has in mind that a new marriage is easily available" (73). Well that's very interesting because it seems as though the senators are not just handing out free divorces if a couple has a problem. They actually make them at least TRY to work it out... I guess that's pretty good too. Unfortunately, as I kept reading I saw that they punish adulterers with the "strictest form of slavery" (73). I don't like the term slavery at all..so that kinda pushed my buttons just a bit. In Utopia there should only be perfection right? Why even have slavery or adulterers? Again, that's the reason why a Utopia will never exist because no one is perfect.
While in class we discussed the health care situation given in Utopia. That was one thing we could all agree was pretty awesome! I mean who wouldn't love four hospitals in every city? No one could ever complain that the wait to be seen by a doctor was too long, because there were many other hospitals to go to! Also, with having all of these hospitals it showed that the main concern was to take care of the sick and make sure they were 100% healthy (that's great in my opinion)! We talked about how the hospitals were very large for comfort reasons and for those who had contagious diseases to have private rooms. This was another awesome aspect! Everyone would love going to the hospitals in a Utopian society, the nurses and doctors were great care givers, the hospitals were well supplied, and hunger would never be an option because of the wonderful food! Only a crazy man wouldn't accept this type of health care!
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ReplyDeleteI think what is so interesting about their divorce policies are rooted in the fact that they are nearly impossible to get. I am a huge proponent of this aspect of More's vision of Utopia for the reasons that you quote from the text: that the couple "[would] find it hard to settle down" if they went into marriage figuring that "hey if it doesn't work out, we have that back-up plan called 'divorce.'" What is the value in entering into a marriage then - if you can just get out of it at the drop of the hat if it's too difficult to make it work?
ReplyDeleteFor example, how much of us have a lot of faith in the longevity of celebrity marriages? Personally, I think some of them could do well with being shipped off to Utopia for a little pre-marital counseling.