Bride and widow in single ceremony

[Lucid]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/02/10/france.marriage.ap/index.html

NICE, France (AP) -- Dressed in a demure black suit, a 35-year-old Frenchwoman has married her dead boyfriend, an exchange of vows that required authorization from President Jacques Chirac.

Under French law, Christelle Demichel became both bride and widow in the ceremony, which was performed Tuesday at Nice City Hall on the French Riviera.

The groom, a former policeman identified as Eric, was killed by a drunk driver in September 2002.

Demichel told LCI television she understood "it could seem shocking to marry someone who is dead," but her feelings for him had not dimmed. His body was not present for the ceremony.

Such marriages are legal if the living spouse can prove the couple had intended to marry before the other died. The French president must also authorize it.

thoughts ?

[MMP]

Talk about not being able to move on. I cant see how letting someone marry someone who has been dead for a year and half is healthy. I wonder if there is more to the story with benifits or something that she might receive as his wife.

[April]

My first thought, too, was that it must be about the benefits or something. But then I thought about how I would feel if something happened to my SO and it makes more sense. If I lost someone like that before I got the chance to marry them, I wouldn't want to have to refer to them as "my boyfriend" for the rest of my life and spend my life mourning not just a boyfriend but a husband I never got to have. Marrying them posthumously would give me more of a sense of closure.

[Quamie]

I think getting the ok from the Pres. might have been what took her so long to get the marriage underway. But I can totaly understand her need for closure. What if they already had a date set just weeks off from his dealth? Dresses already pruchased and invitations sent? I can understand her need for complete closure. Because I would feel like I was already married if we were just days or weeks away from the wedding date. I agree with you MM.

[PsychoBunny]

I agree with MM and Quamie. I can imagine the heartache she must have went through, and there is no timeline on mourning. I can imagine that this must have made her feel much better.