You "accounted" for it Chris by talking about salaries, apartments, etc. What does this have to do with love?
Joanna
I'm one overlimit here, mea culpa.
I pointed out economic reasons that may determine why marriage patterns differ in Eastern Europe and the West (isn't it like this in Romania BTW? Poland? Wojtek?). That does not mean the people don't love each other -- though certainly the interpersonal dynamic is different (God knows Russian men are often more self-centered in their relationships than American men, say, despite the token things like opening the door for the woman and giving presents on Woman's Day and so forth, which is why my roommate won't date Russian men. They are also a lot more likely to philander, or at least are more likely to fess up to it). Emotional attachments take place within a socioeconomic context, right?
Here's an example from my personal experience. I know two guys, both about 50 who are old friends from their Soviet army days. Guy One has an adopted daughter. Guy Two comes to Guy One and says, "hey, guy one, this is awkward, I'm really in love with your daughter. I'm tormented by it all the time." Guy One says "if she loves you too, I'm not against the marriage, but you have to wait until she's 18." Guy Two says "I love her, I can wait." Well, they got married. They seem to love each other as far as I can tell.
Nu, zayats, pogodi!
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