The Price of a Virgin

In sumerian times, for instance, the main payment at marriage was a huge gift of food paid by the groom's father to the brides. But as time went on, this payment often began to take on the qualities of a simple purchase. Since the illegal deflowering of a virgin was considered a property crime against her father, marriage was referred to as taking possession of a woman. For women with wealthy or powerful parents, all this remained largely a matter of principle, modified considerably in practice. The really critical factor here was debt.