Turns out Rake has taken on that inglorious task. And, if I'm being honest, done it quite well. Well almost. If only he wouldn't have married the third woman. Because, you know, three's a crowd. I mean, two loving marriages is understandable and something we should sympathize with. But how could someone have three loving marriages? INCONCIEVABLE!!!
Lest you accuse me of forcing the connection between polygamy and homosexuality in this episode, let me point out that Keegan connects the dots himself. His argument to the judge is that the law is ridiculous. Keegan compares it to a law arresting consenting sodomites. Of course, he must also point out the irony of putting people in prison for sodomy. Don't make me spell it out...
But, see! It's like they were begging me to write this article. Comparing bigamy to sodomy AND a dirty joke?!? How can I resist???
But maybe there is a grain of truth from this episode of Rake. Not in the rosy portrayal of polygamy, but rather in the reason that people are willing to defend such insanity. In his closing arguments, Keegan sites the statistic that half of all legal unions end in divorce. That's insane. If we are truly so concerned about the sanctity of marriage, perhaps we should start treating marriage as something that is sacrosanct. Maybe if we treated marriage as more than just a contract, we would have stronger marriages.
