Literary notes about marriage (AI summary)
In literature, the term “marriage” is portrayed as a multifaceted institution reflecting a spectrum of human experience—from a societal obligation and legal contract to a source of both joy and torment. Some authors highlight marriage as a revered resource and even a sanctification of relationships, as seen when it is depicted as a remedy for life’s afflictions or as a transformative bond ([1], [2]). Others use the concept to critique societal norms and personal sacrifices, drawing attention to the tension between love and duty, as when marriage is portrayed as a constraint that may oppress personal freedom ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, narratives also reveal the pragmatic aspects of marriage—its legal, financial, and ritualistic features—underscoring its role in structuring social order and familial ties ([5], [6]). Overall, literature presents marriage both as an intimate union charged with personal meaning and as an institution that embodies broader cultural, moral, and economic values.
- Yes, marriage is the best, it may be the only, resource.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - But I thought that our marriage might be a sanctification for us both.
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy - Felix de Vandenesse: "Marriage, my child, is our purgatory; love our paradise."
— from Repertory of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A — Z by Cerfberr and Christophe - Observe the conduct of the wife Pagans in this point, who preferred a single life before marriage, and be ashamed that you cannot come up to them.
— from Letters of Abelard and Heloise by Peter Abelard and Héloïse - None of them would oblige any man against his will to enter into a marriage contract.
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy - It can be seen by all this that a Persian legal marriage is not a simple matter nor a cheap undertaking.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson
