After one semester at Cornell, Maslow returned to the City College of New York, Now to be nearer to Bertha. After the fortuitious event described in the opening vignette, A be and Bertha were soon married but not before overcoming his parents' resistance. Maslow's Parents objected to the marriage partly because he was only 20 and she 19. However, their strongest fear was that a marriage between first cousins might result in hereditary defects in any possible offspring. This fear was ironic in light of the fact that Maslow's parents themselves were first cousins and had six healthy children. (One daughter died during infancy but not because of any genetic defect.)