Marriage

Wolfson begins this reading with an extended definition of marriage to show how integral it is to our culture, global culture, and historical culture. Marriage has almost always existed, and everywhere there are people, there is a form of marriage. His main points are that marriage is a way to declare to society that you are in a committed, loving relationship, gain indispensable legal benefits, and to feel more as one with your partner.

I think that his definition is logical and complete, but it feels as though the reading is very weighted. Except for the last paragraph, Wolfson writes assuming that all people want to be married. He makes it seem as though without marriage, your loving relationship is incomplete, which though for many is true, there are also many who are happy with their own autonomy within the relationship. He does not push the fact, but to a minor extend I feel like he invalidates the relationships of non-married people with no intent to marry. He also assumes that all who marry have good marriages. I know couples who had lived together for years and broke up within months of "making it official." He doesn't account for the fact that despite claiming unconditional commitment, people do lie, cheat, and abuse.