Of marriage and single life

Central argument: Single men have a greater potential to be successful than married men as they do not have the burden of taking care of wives and children.

Francis Bacon a famous philosopher, scientist, and writer claimed that single bachelors have the potential to achieve much more than those who are married and tied down with a wife and children. I disagree with Bacon’s claim’s, it is false to say that just because single men do not bear the burden of wife and children, that they have a shot at greater fortune. If we look at the at the world’s richest and most successful men, we see that all are married and most have children. I disagree with Bacon when he states “wife and children are only impediments to great enterprises.” I feel that through the support of a wife a man can tolerate the everyday pressures of life and only through his son’s aid can he make a small enterprise large. Additionally in current times much of Bacons writing can be considered sexist as women have gained much autonomy from men over the years women down.

Bacon was wrong when he said “HE THAT hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune” Bill Gates who was famous for being the richest man in the world was married and has four children. His family didn’t seem to block his potential, only aid it. Bacon was also wrong when he said “Certainly the best works, and of greatest merit for the public, have proceeded from the unmarried or childless men; which both in affection and means” because there are plenty of married men that have contributed to the betterment of society. Namely: Martin Luther King , Steve Jobs, Mahatma Gandhi, Bono, Haruki Murakami. Wife and children are no draw back, men destined to do great things will do great things, regardless of their relationship status.

Bacon’s essay doesn’t apply in our world today because the status and image of women has drastically changed over 200 years when Francis Bacon wrote the essay. He mentioned several times that women, wives rather weigh men down and that men have to share their wealth with women, that women prevent men from becoming rich and that women are a hindrance towards innovation. I think that these claims are wrong and especially don’t apply to our world. Today women are leaders, and money makers, the time is gone when their job was to sit in the kitchen or take care of the children. Women have entered the larger workforce and sometimes it is men who drag them down. Times have changed, and so has the paradigm. This simple shift, and the raise of women’s status invalidates much of what Francis Bacon has to say.