Why do you think Lucius's mother is so intent that he marry? Why did he agree? Why did she choose Natasza and do you think she anticipated the result?

Lucius’s mother insists he marry. Why do you think she was so intent that he do so, and why did he agree? For what reason did she choose Natasza for him, and do you think she anticipated the result?

Lucius's mother was a business woman and realized that their future as Title owners was in danger of becoming less important than having Capital. She also convinced Lucius that if Margarete had wanted to contact him she would have done so by the time he had come back home. She also reminded him of his age (26) and that he was getting older and that more men were coming home from the war so the opportunity would become less and less to find a suitable wife. What made him finally agree with her was the false siting of Margarete and how he realized their was no hope in finding her.
Natasza was chosen by Lucius's mother because Natasza's father was an important man. He was rumored to be in line for the Polish Southern Command. I am not sure how this would help the family gain more Capital from the marriage unless Natasza's father also had business interest that would profit in the new Polish independence.
I don't think that Lucius's mother anticipated the bad ending of her son's marriage because her attitude at the start of the search was one of thinking that any wife would be quite happy with whatever type of husband Lucius would be.

His mother wanted him to marry mainly for money since the empire had collapsed and their relations to the Habsburgs were no longer the most important thing. She mentions that at his age, either he left a girl behind or he was an “invert” which was a way of saying he was gay at that time, but she did not really think so because he did not have panache. She tells him that if this girl had wanted to get in touch, she has had plenty of time to do so.
She wants him to get married now to beat the rush of returning men from the war. I think he agreed out of hopelessness over Margarete and he felt that maybe he could find some happiness. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be true.
I don’t really think his mother cared that his marriage failed. Generally, she seemed to be pretty heartless.

She wanted him to marry for the money as her way of life was coming to an end. She was a cold person, appearances is everything.

I think it was all about status in society and maintaining the income she saw disappearing. Appearances were everything to her. I found her extremely manipulative and despicable and couldn't believe his inability to blow her off! He seemed way too vulnerable to her way of convincing him it was hopeless to find Margarete.

His mother was a woman who only cared about appearances and status. If Lucius married into a prominent family, it boosted her status. I think he agreed because he was so beaten down and lonely and thought he would never find Margarete. His mother selected Natasza because her father was a powerful man. Lucius's mother just assumed they would stay together. The thought of what was best for Lucius never entered her mind.

Money, now that that was becoming the status symbol rather than being royal. He agreed because he was lonely, and for a bit lost hope that he would ever see Margarete again. Being connected to Natasza's family she hoped would give her and her family status in the new order of things. I doubt she even considered Natasza as a human being, just as a means to an end, and therefore didn't check out her character.

Lucius's mother was no different from anyone else of that generation. You married to keep the family line going. His mother also knew that the war was winding down and soldiers returning would be looking for wives so his selection might not be as good. It was not surprising that she was looking for him to marry rich and to unite with another "dynasty" family.

AS others have said, she wanted to make sure the family dynasty was maintained. Back to the first question about social status, that meant everything to her and I think appearances weren't as good as they could be I her son wasn't married and wasn't married to the right person. I think Lucius gave in because he thought his mother would never give up, that he was tired of fighting and battles and decided he just didn't want to engage in more of that.

I agree with the others that Lucius' mother wanted him to marry for her sake, status and lineage, and Natasza fit the bill. Thinking he couldn't marry Margarete he needed to move on with his life. So he agreed to marry her because he thought it would work out. I'm also thinking that Lucius and his mother didn't really know Natasza because I was surprised that she had no regard for him and no idea about being a doctor's wife. I also agree that Lucius' mother was not really looking out for his best interests but only hers.

I agree with the other posts. Lucius's mother was only concerned with being wealthy and to return to power. Lucis was the key to that and she pushed on him until he agreed. Natasza was just an asset. It seem likely Natasza would be a better asset to use in Lucuis's mother's head. I think Lucius caved in for two reasons. One is being tired of being bullied into it. The second I think was Lucius's mom being what is considered in today society a narcissist. It played mind games with Lucius's head. I think Lucius also felt pressure because of the society rules in that time period. While the author didn't explicitly write about societal norms at the time, I felt it was to be assumed. I think some parts in this book were not fully explained because the author wanted to leave it to the reader's interpretation.

Lucius's mother was building status for her and her family. His other brothers were all doing well and with the change in fortune of the aristocrats, she needed a son to marry into another "business" rather than the aristocracy to build their connections in that arena. That's what the world was doing. Sh did not care one way or the other what the two felt for each other. In her world that did not matter. The marriage was an agreement between families not a love affair between two people. They did not need to love one another or even like or know one another much. She did not care at all what the result of the marriage was other than to cement a business relationship. Lucius gave in and gave up. If he got back into medicine then he would manage.

This marriage was a calculated move to maintain power and financial status. Lucius's mother was astute enough to see that the economy was changing; I must admit that in some ways her financial observations surprised me. However, I also thought that she might want to ensure there was no possibility of people thinking her son was gay. By finding a physically pretty wife, people would be more likely to think that Lucius must be quite "manly" after all.