Marriage: a Deeply Flawed Institution

Is marriage a deeply flawed institution?
Since the advent of human civilization, men and women have been joined together in a bond in different ways depending on the culture they follow. In today’s contemporary world this can be easily pictured as a festive occasion where amidst a jubilant crowd, consisting of glowing faces of family members and friends, stand two of the happiest persons on earth at that moment. But does this end in a living happily ever-after scenario as seen in a typical romantic movie, or is it the beginning of a new dark story – a stark reality? Difference of opinion occurs regarding this particular question due to which it has often been difficult to answer whether marriage is a success or a failure. Marriage basically by definition is a contract declaring two individuals husband and wife. Although some argue that marriages fulfill the ambitions of society only, they should not be considered failure because they provide companionship to individuals; they reduce the burden on one individual by dividing financial responsibilities between partners and they provide satisfaction of ownership of one’s partner to both the partners.

Many people claim that marriages look more after the needs of the society since numerous decisions of couples are influenced by the pressures from society. They argue, for instance, that couples are constantly forced by their parents and the society traditions to give birth to children often either because parents want to get pleasure from their grand children or they want to ensure the continuity of their progeny. While it is true that sometimes such pressures drive the couples to manipulate their decisions of future, it is quite often that these decisions are made joyfully rather than forcefully and put into execution when both the partners mutually agree considering all the issues. Can any outsider really have this much power to have such a massive impact on such an important decision and force a couple to abandon...