Introduction to Marriage, Partnership, and Divorce

In many societies, marriage is the traditional means of creating and co-mingling families. Although the rites, responsibilities, and nature of marriage may vary among different cultures or in different periods of history, the basic function of marriage is to define a new family unit—a new set of potential parents and children.

Western views of marriage have radically transformed in the modern era. From arrangements based on the management of wealth and the transfer of property, to the rise of "love matches," changes in the nature of marriage influence changes in family dynamics. The popularization of the concept of marriage based on romantic love permeated social attitudes on family life, parenting, gender roles, and childhood. "Caroline Gilman Recommends Wifely Submission," "That Terrible Question," and "An Opinion on Love Matches" provide disparate opinions, each influenced by the author's social position and historical milieu, on the value of romantic love as the basis for forming families.

Marriage is a means of granting legal recognition to family partnerships, but the dissolution of a marriage seldom severs family bonds. Parents often arrange to share child-raising duties, and remarriage blends existing families into new family relationships. While divorce may not fully sever all family bonds, it does alter them. Separation and dissolution of marriage is traumatic for all family members. Divorce has become more commonplace over the past century, but its social significance remains controversial. "Why Divorce is Bad" and "Divorces Increase by Half" provide insight into the emergence of divorce as a prominent social concern.

Today, most social theorists have expanded the concept of the nuclear family to include not only childless couples, but also same-sex partnerships. This chapter also looks at the controversy surrounding the formation of families that do not have full protection and recognition under the law, but are no less emotionally or socially valid to affected family members. The articles "Defense of Marriage Act" and "Marriage Protection Amendment" discuss the political debate over same-sex marriage. "Cohabitation, Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the United States" provides a demographic look at marriage trends, but also at the growing population of couples that live together or form partnerships outside of legal marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage and general partnership rights (for all unmarried couples) often claim that changing traditional definitions of marriage weaken family bonds and threaten social unity. Supporters assert that extending marriage and partnership rights to all who desire them will strengthen family bonds, promote equity and tolerance, and increase the number of stable families.