I have a friend that says that marriage is a "firm"/business/partnership and a relationship is a hobby. The first you treat as a given and the second as something you love to do. I must say I agree to some extent with this definition.
It is so interesting how people are successful in being miserable in their marriages. They fight and stop caring, and take for granted...
I think both genders have issues about marriage and there are so many bad (and good) jokes about it.
I have been in 2 (still am in the second). In my first marriage I thought it would come naturally - what my parents had (at the time I thought it was a perfect marriage one in 100 million). Well ... it obviously didn't happen.
If I were to start all over again I would never marry or even live with someone. I would date till the end of our lives. Maybe stay over the weekends. Getting into the dirty "socks and dishes" is something I couldn't do any more. If I were 30 again, don't know...
I am not the kind for one relationship/marriage in life no matter what. I think people make mistakes, have only one life and the right to correct them. Most of us need a fulfilling human connection, a true partnership, a lover, a parent to kids.. it does not work one way.
Many of the participants in this thread have talked about honesty and moral in other threads. It is also a 2 way street.
So my conclusion would be that marriage is not the answer to anything. It is a piece of paper (it is my Law degree talking
), so many are divorced. It is one day in your photo album, video collection... if there is no religious meaning for both then it is just a ceremony, most of the time for showing of.. specially for the mothers.