To All-Father Odin, love was a diversion during a life of conquest, while marriage was an important tool for securing rule over the Nine Realms.
In his view, if it was not for an exchange of benefits, there was no need to form a marital bond at all. Granting a partner honor and status, sharing his rule with her—he had to get something in return. Otherwise, it was meaningless.
To some extent, that was not wrong. Marriage inevitably involved an exchange of interests. Only love between equals could last, and only a mutually beneficial marriage could remain stable. If only one side kept giving over the long term, falling apart was bound to happen sooner or later.
Odin was very satisfied with Thor's marriage, because his union with Sif had stabilized Asgard's internal rule. Sif could also help Thor carry out the various reforms. So far, the benefits brought by this marriage were gradually becoming apparent, and the future looked bright.
That left only Loki's marriage to give Odin a headache. Now that Asgard's internal rule was extremely stable, the next step was to extend its influence deeper into the Nine Realms. Among the races of the Nine Realms, humanity currently had the greatest potential.
Most individuals of this race were very weak, but the powerful ones were absurdly strong. Yet that had an advantage as well: powerful humans could ensure the reproduction of their weaker kin. Given humanity's rate of reproduction, as long as one such powerhouse emerged every few generations, human civilization would one day flourish throughout the universe.
But Odin was wiser than other rulers in one respect: he believed that even political marriages needed some emotional foundation. That was why he considered Sif the best choice for Thor's wife. The two had grown up together, and