I think the marriage is horrifying. But we are imposing our knowledge upon a different time and place where ignorance reigned. The bride's mother called her daughter a "woman" and felt she was ready to marry because she was able to cook well. They were in a backwoods, uneducated, poverty-stricken society that generally viewed children as miniature adults. They may not have even understood that menstruation means fertility. Throughout her life, Eunice claimed to have no regrets about her marriage. I think she and her mother thought it was the best possible future for her because the husband owned land and could provide, and they were so very poor. As to the groom... in anything I found that quoted him, he didn't sound all that bright. I think he mistook his friendship with the neighbour girl for adult love. Gross, but I can see how the societal values allowed the travesty.

And bring back child labor, too.

Where the hell did that little factoid come from?

Why would they want to reduce the marital age? That doesn't seem to make sense

Can I get some evidence please? Thanks /g

Incorrect. There are laws in all US states about marriageable ages. 9 year olds can’t be married in the US and even when this happened it was shocking.

I can't imagine why that matters, unless you're trying to defend it.

In all my research, I didn't see any indication that money changed hands. I believe that there was major ignorance about how/when children mature (the mother called her daughter a woman because she could cook). I also believe that they saw it as the safest possible future for Eunice in such a poverty-stricken society. I mean, it's still gross AF. But I think I understand the ignorance that led to it.

I've researched this out of interest's sake on and off for a few years. I never saw anything suggesting that money changed hands, though I do believe that the parents approved the match in part because they felt it would be a safe future for their daughter in their poverty-stricken world. Eunice's mother called her daughter a "woman" because she could cook. Given the extreme ignorance and poverty of the society, they may not have understood the importance of puberty. Eunice said throughout her life she had no regrets. Anything I've read quoting Charlie... he didn't seem to be that smart. I still think it's gross. But if you look at the society they were in and the sheer ignorance... you can see the warped logic.

This might be something else, but I think it was maybe her father.

Blood tests revealed that it was not Lina Medina's father who violated her. The best guess is that it was a stranger at a festival that happened around the time of conception. The doctor who delivered Lina's baby provided for her financially for the rest of her life and appeared to do his best to protect her.

no that was an african case, where she became a grandmother at 17. The horrifying case of Lina Medina was suspected to be her grandfather. The boy was raised as her brother. It's horrifying enough going thru premature puberty (which started AT THREE) but that she was (g)raped by someone in her own family is.... heartbreaking.

I heard it was her brother

Lina Medina had a condition called precocious puberty. She'd been menstruating since the age of two. That of course did not render her body capable of safely carrying and delivering a child. She survived because of a very caring doctor. As to the allegation it was her brother... blood testing showed it wasn't a relative. The best guess is that it was a stranger at a festival that had happened around the likely time of conception.

There is no exact age when a girl reaches puberty. There have been suggested ranges of "normal," but that's as close as it gets.

She reportedly started having periods at the very young age of around three years old due to a tumor on her pituitary gland I think it was I read somewhere