What is an arranged marriage?

• A. A marriage planned and agreed by the families or guardians of the couple concerned.
• B. A marriage between strangers with no consent.
• C. A marriage formed through dating over time.
• D. A marriage that is illegal.

Answer: (A)

In this topic, the important idea is who drives the decision about who to marry. An arranged marriage is when families or guardians take the lead in planning and agreeing to the marriage for the couple, rather than the couple choosing each other entirely on their own through dating or romance. The families arrange the match and bring the people together, though the individuals may still have some say or give consent.

This best option fits because it focuses on the involvement of families or guardians in planning and agreeing to the union, which is what distinguishes arranged marriages. The other ideas describe different patterns: a marriage formed through dating over time is a love match, where the couple chooses each other; a marriage between strangers with no consent describes a forced or coerced arrangement, which is not what arranged marriage typically refers to; and a marriage that is illegal refers to legality, not the social process of how the marriage is arranged.