You could consider some points such as: Marriage was the only real option for women to establish themselves; it was the norm for parents to arrange marriages for their children; wives were legally subject to their husbands, and their property belonged to him also. However, in Shakespeare’s writing and some other writing of the period, there is a great respect for the idea of marriage as a union of like-minded people and a source of happiness and strength. Wives in Shakespeare aren’t generally doormats!
Re: Romeo and Juliet: It’s significant that it was not the norm for girls to be married at 14. He is definitely emphasising how young the lovers are.
If you put “marriage shakespeare’s time” in a search engine, you will be taken to some intersting articles and essays on this subject.
www.studyworld.com