I actually think marrying young can be incredibly beneficial for couples, because they learn to grow their lives together and have more time to become a unit. Couples who get together much later tend to have a difficult time working as a unit because both spent too much time independent of each other. It's basically trying to force two grow intwined together when they're already too old to do so.
The problem seems here is it seems both got married in a state panic/vulnerability, and then when they felt trapped, both internally shut down and they started to avoid each other with individual coping mechanisms. I think the same thing would've happened if they had the same vulnerable mindsets, even if they were older.
Feeling trapped in the marriage, neither made the choice to properly communicate with their spouse, (communication is something you have to choose to do, not something that naturally comes with age). Had they been honest about their feelings, and then agreed to work as a unit to make the best out of the situation, I think they would've made a decent pair. But at this point, the years of purposefully avoiding each other became habit. The feeling of "why didn't you help me all this time," has tainted everything they do in the relationship. Trust is even more difficult to build between neglectful family than complete strangers.
*dislikes this reply*
Based on experience, I can say that it doesn't work out well. It was very common in my family.
My mother and her 3 sisters got married young, mostly at around the age of 18 and this is how their lives turned out:
-the shortest marriage was my mothers, she suffered finicial and emotional abuse
-The longest marriage was my mothers oldest sisters, she was physically abused and eventually died of cancer. They had about 5 children. (the marriage was arranged in a way)
-My mothers other older sister got married young, they had a very long marriage but they didn't trully love one another. He controlled all the money and refused to give any money towards food (she was a stay at home mother, 4 kids.) Eventually he set the house on fire and they got a divorce later on.
-I have no clue about the last one, but it just wasn't good.
Im not sure about my grandmother but considering that my grandfather refused to allow any money to go towards her cancer treatment, I dont' think it was a great marriage. Oh yeah and she was kinda crazy and abusive. Thankfully she died before I was born, if she didn't then that would have been a nightmare for me.
Honestly, I have never met anyone who got married too soon + had kids too soon that also happened to have a healthy relationship. Even if I consider the people outside my family, their relationships didn't end well either.
They are living proof of how getting married too soon (and having children too soon) can fuck shit up. On that experience alone she is right to question this engagement.
Her love starved son is only 15 and getting engaged to what looks like a horrible person for political reasons.
She was a bad mother, but thankfully she has a chance to do something about it now. More so than going shopping and to shows, slowing down this marriage may be the best thing she does for her son.
Her husband is traumatized too. He had to take over for his father at a young age. So he seems to think that forceing all of this responsibility on the son is natural. But it is not, he just had a bad time of things, but he is still young and healthy! He should be able to be the lord of his lands for quite some time. He doesn't have to try and force his kid to grow up super fast.