At the end of the day, what’s the point? Is it strictly a reproduction method? Is it a way of maintaining social order? Are we all really two halves of the same whole looking to become complete?
I wonder if the way one answers this question determines the kind of spouse they will be. Furthermore, I wonder if a marriage works if both partners have different answers. What do you think dear reader, particularly those of you who are married?
I’ll take this moment to confess that I am an unmarried product of an abusive union that did not end soon enough. With this picture in mind, as well as the few life experiences I’ve stumbled through I have come to this belief about marriage: It is about partnership and companionship in which a couple shares mutual goals. I also think it is a choice. It’s a choice that one has to make again and again, year after year. However, the partners make that choice because they share goals and a commitment to make it. That is not a very romantic view, is it? At the same time, however, I like that idea. That it’s something I’m choosing with my eyes wide open. There’s something romantic in that unromantic idea.
What is the purpose of marriage?
By sahara - Posted on November 18th, 2008
The institution of marriage, if you think about it, isn't really that romantic. It serves far more practical purposes than romantic ones. Why? Because all the romantic reasons can be done outside of marriage (at least in modern Western society). You don't have to marry someone to love them and want to be with them for the rest of your life. You can even raise kids together without being married.
Marriage serves as a practical method of legally connecting two people who are otherwise unrelated. This allows them to take advantage of a number of legal benefits, such as jointly filing taxes, power of attorney (without PoA documentation), resolving custody matters (it's not a question if the parents are married), and shared medical insurance.
I am treated as evil by people who claim that they are being oppressed because they are not allowed to force me to practice what they do. ~D. Dale Gulledge
The answer only lies in people who are actually happily married. (not me) =]
I'm sure you're right, and the answer will prollky be different depending on who you're talking to!
"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."
H.D.Thoreau http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sahara
In many cultures and countries around the world marriage has to do with little else than a form of social contract between two families, often with both of them standing to gain something. In Western cultures people marry for a variety of reasons - love, money, power, sex, etc. Personally, I think a marriage only has a real "purpose" between the two people forming the union. I believe that marriage is for two people to commit themselves to one another wholeheartedly; to pledge to support, care and love one another through all sorts of life's situations both the easy and the difficult. A marriage should be based on more than just the mushy love feelings (feelings which don't often last) but based on the deeper feelings of love, connectedness and respect one begins to feel for a longterm partner. I think that marriage partners should have some beliefs in common, but identical beliefs are not required. Marriages also take work as they are something which requires more involvement than a more casual relationship... I believe that marriages are a lot more than simply pieces of paper and a means of reproduction, but have a much more spiritual meaning for me. It says a lot about two people when they are willing to be that committed to each other... And that's just me ^_^...
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"The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times more than the blood of a martyr."
- Lupe Fiasco -
"...but have a much more spiritual meaning..."
Thanks for your thoughts and for posting! I completely agree with this idea, despite how unique the way marriage is done in the US. Thanks for bringing up the idea of the way it's done in other countries. I didn't think about that. {blush}
"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."
H.D.Thoreau http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sahara