Things Worth Knowing

[ouij]

An interesting take on relationships, from the The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing by Joseph Triemens.

The Claims of Companionship

Comments

[stdanmark]

At least there is a sense of equality about it. Often we say that we want to throw off the formalistic certainty of older times, though what we throw off with it is the certainty of knowing through cultural convention where you stand with another person. And because most of us lack the communication skills and/or the self confidence to communicate how we feel about a person without social convention, and many of us lack the integrity to do the right thing without social opinion holding us to the fire, we have in fact thrown off certainty in relationships by disposing of formalism.

[cptjohnc]

In 1911, there was still a cultural presumption of the marriage as a bargain for the formation of a household.

What else is it? I mean, for all the talk of marriage as a 'love' commitment, the whole marriage question tends to come down to economics, in the end (the economic benefits or costs thereof, that is...)