Marrying a stranger? Le Saint Valentin is the perfect day for finding one.

The old superstition which states that the first man an unmarried woman sees on St. Valentine's day should be her future husband has, in my humble opinion, many flaws.

Let's pretend we were still pandering to this kind of superstitious nonsense in contemporary society. If this was how things worked, then I'm assuming that a vast number of women would outright refuse to leave their homes (which would make life quite challenging considering the great number of women who work), living in fear that they may end up having to marry 'the guy next door' (literally).

Unless of course they have already woken up with their partner and that he or she is the person they would wish to marry. If not they would have had to throw them out the night before, or, failing that, keep their eyes closed whilst getting ready for work in the morning so they don't lay eyes on them...(this in turn would make the other person feel a tad unloved I suspect).

So, let's say that I am single. I wake up, switch on the television, have breakfast, get ready for work, then leave to get the tube. Now, does the first man I lay eyes on have to be someone I meet in person, or could they be a chap on the television? Could my future hubby end up being either a nauseatingly lively morning presenter (which would be awkward...trying to get hold of a celebrity is never easy), or worse still, some anonymous guy from a cheesy advert for car insurance (how on earth would I track down this person? I don't even know his name...).

On the other hand, if it does have to be a 'sighting' in person, then usually the next man I'll come across will be another pedestrian. And not always a very desirable one at that (particularly where I live). You really could end up with any Tom, Dick or Harry, drug-dealer, crack addict, crazy or otherwise.

Now, from a woman's point of view all this not-leaving-the-house, keeping-eyes-closed-whilst-getting-ready, or walking-into-work-blindfolded is tricky enough.

Now imagine you're a man, spied by a single woman on the morn of the 14th February. They too must fear for their future lives - what if they are the (un)lucky one that the woman first lays her eyes on? Can they 'opt-out'? Or is it best just to come out heavily disguised as a woman on days like this? And what happens when you get to work, and find that the crazy Bridget-Jonesesque woman who sits in the corner has already installed herself at your desk with her eyes closed, ready to open them as wide as she can just as you (as silently as you can) put your bag down?

Worse still, what if you are a married man? What then? Two, three, four wives? Or divorce from the first so she can be replaced by the second? Would this happen every year? I really can't see how this will solve anything.

Good job then that this doesn't happen (and probably never did) as the country would grind to a halt, everyone would be securely locked up in their houses, too afraid to watch the television or answer knocks at the door.

Hang on, hang on...so, if all the people who are already taken, or didn't want a totally random and potentially crazy person as their future wife/husband stayed in, and all the people who were desperate to get married went out...

...then surely it would all work out perfectly in the end?


Text & photos © Abby Clarke 2011