Meaning & Analysis
A 'Smithfield bargain' literally refers to a deal made at Smithfield, London's main livestock market. Such transactions were known for being purely commercial, unsentimental, and often involving sharp dealing, focused solely on the monetary value of the goods (animals).
Insights
Marriage as a Transaction
The proverb's primary metaphorical meaning is a marriage contracted for financial or social gain rather than love. It frames the union as a cold, calculated business deal, where the partners are essentially assets being traded.
Commodification of People
It symbolizes the commodification of individuals, particularly women, within societal structures. The comparison to a livestock market implies that a person's worth is being judged on their material value (dowry, inheritance) rather than their intrinsic human qualities.
Cynicism and Self-Interest
The phrase represents any alliance or relationship devoid of genuine emotion or mutual respect, driven instead by cynical self-interest. It warns against arrangements where sentiment is sacrificed for practical advantage.
Historical Symbolism of Smithfield
The proverb's power derives from the historical reputation of London's Smithfield Market, a center for livestock trade since the Middle Ages. The location was synonymous with crude, unsentimental commerce where animals were haggled over as commodities, making it a potent symbol for a marriage stripped of romance and reduced to a financial transaction.
Social Critique of Marriage Market
As a piece of social commentary, the proverb critiques the practice of arranged marriages, common in the 17th and 18th centuries, where unions were based on wealth and status rather than affection. It reflects a cynical public awareness of the economic realities often underlying the institution of marriage.
Psychological Dehumanization
The proverb highlights the psychological impact of being treated as a commodity. By equating a spouse with livestock, it underscores the dehumanizing nature of marriages based purely on 'interest', revealing a cultural tension between the ideal of romantic love and the reality of marriage as an economic strategy.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The entire phrase is a powerful metaphor, equating the complex social institution of marriage with a crude livestock sale to critique its transactional nature.
Historical Allusion
The proverb's meaning is heavily dependent on the audience's understanding of the notorious reputation of Smithfield Market, making it a pointed historical and cultural allusion.
Dysphemism
The term uses a negative and harsh comparison (a cattle market) to describe what is socially presented as a positive institution (marriage), functioning as a dysphemism that exposes a perceived ugly truth.
Transcription
Quotations
Your Daughter has marry'd a Gentleman:—Is not this better, than a Smithfield bargain?
Marriages thus made [for money] may be properly styled Smithfield-Bargains.
Our Marriage is a perfect Smithfield bargain, when the old Folks have adjusted the point, the young ones are oblig'd to break a Pipkin.
Sure Apollo, will not encourage Smith-field bargains.
Annotations
- See Sugden, pp. 471-2.
Explanation
[A marriage of interest, not love.]
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.