Dating has always been hard. Back in the days when women were considered property and a man could just buy the woman he wanted by giving her father some goats and a bushel of wheat, sure, dating was simpler - but it was a lot harder (especially if you were the woman in this scenario). In recent centuries, when the idea of a love match came into being and women achieved the right to refuse to consent to marriages that weren't right for them, things became fairer, but a lot more complicated. Couple that with people moving around a lot more and meeting more people, and suddenly you can end up overwhelmed by choice. Since women are no longer legally barred from having their own money and freedom, marriage is not necessary for them anymore - it's something people do because they want it. That means they are freer to value their partner for himself, not just as a meal ticket.

Of course, the upside of the old way was that if you were miserable, at least you could blame the system. Having a world full of choices means that if you're miserable now, you have to contend with the possibility that it's your own fault (which it may indeed be).

Some people navigate this by choosing all the modern options, while others stick with the older ways. Which are you?