At a guess, given Barrayar's militaristic culture and patriarchal system, I'd venture to say that yes, the marriage/reproduction age for men would be higher than for women.
The idea that a man has to 'establish himself' before having children (because his wife probably doesn't work, and is expected to be a full-time mother even if she did work before having children) is pretty common in lots of patriarchal systems, and Barrayar is probably no exception.
The rampant militarism would feed into that - note Barrayar's interesting way of marking military service ("a ten-year man" or "a twenty-year man" etc. - there seem to be commonly recognised benchmarks, after which one has the option to leave or continue). That would mesh well with the general idea of a man having to reach a more settled point in his life before marrying: like the Spartans, Barrayaran men are probably expected to fulfill their duty to the Emperor before pursuing a personal life. Women, not being able to serve in the military (and being prized more for reproduction than any other purpose) would marry younger, in order to maximise their childbearing potential.
I think 25-30 (or 35) is a reasonable estimate for (Vor and middle class) men. There's probably generational fluctuation within that range, as people might marry earlier in politically unsettled times (have to make sure there's an heir! And if we're taking sides, better make sure to marry off all your kids into useful alliances!) and a bit later during peaceful ones.
Given Barrayar's law/custom of primogeniture, I'd also expect that birth order has a significant influence - the firstborn heir needs to marry sooner, in order to continue the line, but his younger siblings don't need to rush as much... unless Big Bro dies heirless and they're suddenly on the spot as the new heir.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2016-06-20 02:45 am (UTC)The idea that a man has to 'establish himself' before having children (because his wife probably doesn't work, and is expected to be a full-time mother even if she did work before having children) is pretty common in lots of patriarchal systems, and Barrayar is probably no exception.
The rampant militarism would feed into that - note Barrayar's interesting way of marking military service ("a ten-year man" or "a twenty-year man" etc. - there seem to be commonly recognised benchmarks, after which one has the option to leave or continue). That would mesh well with the general idea of a man having to reach a more settled point in his life before marrying: like the Spartans, Barrayaran men are probably expected to fulfill their duty to the Emperor before pursuing a personal life. Women, not being able to serve in the military (and being prized more for reproduction than any other purpose) would marry younger, in order to maximise their childbearing potential.
I think 25-30 (or 35) is a reasonable estimate for (Vor and middle class) men. There's probably generational fluctuation within that range, as people might marry earlier in politically unsettled times (have to make sure there's an heir! And if we're taking sides, better make sure to marry off all your kids into useful alliances!) and a bit later during peaceful ones.
Given Barrayar's law/custom of primogeniture, I'd also expect that birth order has a significant influence - the firstborn heir needs to marry sooner, in order to continue the line, but his younger siblings don't need to rush as much... unless Big Bro dies heirless and they're suddenly on the spot as the new heir.