Can This Be Kind Of Like A Proof For Mary's Virginity After Giving

[KarenJoanna]

I was reading a question on Mary's virginity and I had this idea that, if Mary was married to Joseph when she was told she would have Jesus and if she was a virgin even though she was married, wouldn't that be proof that she was forever a virgin? or she would have not been a virgin because she was married to Joseph already and so, since she was, what was she waiting for because she was married and she did not know she was going to have Jesus until the Angel told her? I don't want to call this proof as I don't have all the facts right now, but it is something interesting that maybe would show her virginity.

[CatherineM]

Mary became pregnant while she was betrothed to Joseph but not actually married. It was common in that era for girls to become betrothed which is a very formal type of engagement. Think of it as the wedding contract between the groom and the brides parents, or when both are quite young, between both sets of parents. In some cultures this would occur before the girl was old enough to marry. The girl would enter the home of the groom's parents to learn what would be expected of her as a married woman in their clan. Once she came of age, then the marriage ceremony would take place.