Marriage and Divorce
Divorce is the tragic suicide of a marriage that kills the hopes anddreams, not only of the partners, but also of the children. Divorce affectsthe future relationships of the children as well. If their parents werenot able to hold together a marriage, one to which they promised tomaintain in sickness, health, good times and bad, what hopes do thechildren have in maintaining a good and satisfying marriage when they reacha mature age' The consequences of marital suicide affect successivegeneration like the rippled from a single stone tossed into a still pond.The ripples don't suicide until they reach the shore and reflect back onthemselves - until the entire pond is disturbed, and left restless. Ethel, in the middle of her distress, asks "Is divorce so dreadful' .. . and of all the things that hold a marriage together, how many of themare good'" Her questions belie her struggle against the forces which aretearing at her own heart, and marriage.
Her father died at an early age,and her mother married someone who she didn't like. In thebalance of the universe, when we give, we are given to, but when we demand,we only become more selfish, and sow seeds of sorrow in the veryrelationship which could be a source of happiness, and joy. In the story's quiet climax, she reveals the fearsthat tear at her heart. However when the fears of the past become the content of thepercent, the future no longer looks positive. At that point, the trenchersof the world become attractive, and often partners begin to fantasize aboutwhat it would be like to continue to look for their dreams . When the couple is able to make a marriage that meets their hopesand dreams, but in positive representation of their dreams, as well asavoiding the fears of the past, they feel a sense of accomplishment andpeace. Changing attitudes and perspectives on life takework, and taking responsibility for the ways that personal habitsnegatively affect others, and then finding the inner determination forchange is even more difficult. She had to wearclothes that she didn't like, and go to a party that she didn't enjoy. Marriagesuccess is about making another person the focus of your giving andattention in order to make their lives everything they hope for. AT the beginning of theirrelationship, Ethel followed her husband to the train yards as he left forwar, and around the country, as he changed responsibilities. Unfortunately, many married couples never uncover the reality of Ms. In her essay Why Marriages Fail, Anne Roiphe says that each individualcomes to marriage with a conscious and unconscious set of expectations thatinfluence their choices in a mate, as well as the choices they make in themarriage. Theirexperiences together served to give her hope that her marriage would bedifferent that her parents, which she exposes in the story's lastparagraph. Marriage is not about making self happy by serving self.
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