The book Magdalena and Balthasar by Steven Ozment describes the relationship between a married couple in the sixteenth century. Balthasar was a merchant who traveled a couple months out of each year for his trade. Magdalena, his wife, was very devoted to him and helped him with his business. Their relationship, which included trust, loyalty, and love, was very different then most married couples of their time. They had a son together and even though he was not in their lives for long, he was dearly treasured. Although Magdalena and Balthasar led different lives of modern day, the relationship between the two are very much the same as a typical married couple today.
             Marriage in the sixteenth century varied greatly from Magdalena and Balthasar's relationship. Besides loving, trusting, and respecting each other Magdalena and Balthasar shared a closeness that many couples of their time could not come close to achieving. Magdalena would share her thoughts about everything with him. She would express her feelings of widows remarrying too soon saying that it is a sign of betrayal to their dead husband. She also shares her business interests with Balthsar. Most men would not put up with that and not listen to their wives, but Balthasar valued what Magdalena had to say. He too shared his worries and opinions with her. They always expressed how they felt about each other and they were always trying to prove their love to each other. These things are all a part of the reason of how and why Magdalena and Balthasar were so close to each other.
             Since many marriages during the sixteenth century were arranged many couples were not in love with each other. They did have to learn to love each other's qualities and learn to love each other in general. This is very unlike Magdalena and Balthasar, who were very much in love. They knew that they were in love with each other and chose to get married to each other. Their r...