"His majesty sends twenty girls to be married to the Canadians and to the other inhabitants of Fort Louis, in order to consolidate the colony. All these girls are industrious and have received a pious and virtuous education. You will take care to settle them in life as well as may be in your power, and to marry them to such men as are capable of providing them with a commodious home." - Announcement to the congregation of Fort Louis, Louisiana, March 1704
Imagine beginning a whole new life in a foreign country, sent by your King to become a wife to a settler - a stranger who you've never met before, who you know nothing about. In modern society, such a thing rarely happens, although some cultures still believe in arranged marriages. À la Seinfeld, today's women are more apt to be highly selective. For example, in the episode The Sniffing Accountant, Elaine breaks up with one boyfriend because of punctuation. Jerry replies, "George was right. Didn't take you long."
Nowadays, women wait longer before marriage - they have careers, they travel, they are independent. Such was not the case in the eighteenth century. Travelling half-way around the world, without family or friends by her side, without a place to call home and unable to return to France, Elizabeth's choices are limited. Unlike her companions, she is fortunate enough to fall in love with the husband who chooses her. But how much does she really know about him? Without any background knowledge and no real courtship, his character and values are an unknown. Will she be able to trust him and depend on him?
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