" It said that an expanding range of adult parenting arrangements and the growing disconnection between marriage and children. The report believed that it would be wise to examine the events, which have been happening. Canada recently stood at the forefront of Western nations in instituting radical changes in family law. The U.S.A. seemed to be taking the same direction (Cere).
The dominant stand among legal elites, including the two groups, which wrote the two reports, was that the family law should not aim at protecting the rights of children to grow up with their own, married parents (Cere 2005). Instead, it should protect and promote a concept called "family diversity." The stand drew from the belief that societies flourished when people of different backgrounds lived and worked together. The authors of the reports argued that society would be better off with all kinds of families co-existing and viewed as equally advantageous for children, for couples and for society itself. The avoided ideal types or authoritative standards, which could violate the norm of family diversity. They contended that the individuals should have the freedom to choose from a variety of family forms rather than standardize that freedom or choice into a certain type of nuclear family. They objected to all forms of intimate relationships, which privileged marriage. The reports, in essence, sought to de-privilege marriage and revise it into just one of the many kinds of recognized relationships (Cere).
These major trends in law appear to be attempts to channel public law into an entirely new and authoritative framework "beyond conjugality (Cere 2000)." If they managed to make marriage as only one of many equally valid forms of close relationships, any kind of close relationship could be legally recognized and deserving of social support. The observation was that, recently, the most controversial subject in marriage law was not gay marriage but polyamory. Polymory is distinguished from polygamy. Polygamy means many marriages and polymory means many loves. A polyamorous relationship could consist in multiple-partner sexual relationships, whether in marriage or not. Advocates of polyamory...
Imbalances were most evident in three relational areas: decision-making, emotional involvement, and equity. A higher percentage of both men and women stated that men usually made more of the decisions, were less emotionally involved, and usually experienced "the better deal." Lastly, male dominance -- but not equality of power between genders -- was found to be linked with greater romantic relationship longevity. It seemed that the higher the relative
Marriage as Captivity: The Short Fiction of O'Henry and Chopin The short stories "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin explore the nuances of married life in memorable and plaintive manners. At first glance, these two short stories appear to be very different and portray the institution of marriage in dramatically distinct ways. However, the reality is that each story looks at
223) a person without a condition of some kind, was cruelly marginalized by society, as even the well-meaning people would avoid the connection with someone who was not seen well by the others, so as not to be marginalized in his or her turn. The situation of the woman is again entirely dependent on the man, since the society would not accept a woman who did not perform her
PETRUCHIO: They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command.-- Obey the bride, you that attend on her./Go to the feast, revel and domineer,/Carouse full measure to her maidenhead,/Be mad and merry, or go hang yourselves;/but for my bonny Kate, she must with me./Nay, look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret, 230I will be master of what is mine own./She is my goods, my chattels, she is my house,/My
Marriage in Literature: "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and "The Story of an Hour" On the surface, it would not seem as though Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" would be comparable because of their varying tones, the former is comedic and the latter is more serious, and themes, escapism vs. reality. However, at the heart of both stories is a
..In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife." (Smith, 2004; p.5) Smith relates that a
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