Identity and Stability in Marriage

This book presents a unique approach to understanding marriage behaviour, based on detailed examination, by interview, of the joint lives of a small sample of married couples. It focusses on two contradictory aims of marriage: to achieve a sense of personal identity and a sense of stability or security.

This book presents a unique way of looking at and understanding marriage behaviour, based on detailed examination, by interview, of the joint lives of a small sample of married couples. People seek various types of aim in marriage, and the intention of this study is to examine two such possible aims, namely the search for a sense of personal identity and for a sense of stability or security. These particular aims are chosen because, although the seem to be commonly sought, the conditions necessary for the achievement of one appear to conflict with those necessary for the achievement of the other. The study indicates that successful marriages achieve a compromise which fulfils neither end completely. The study advances our knowledge about the internal nature of marriage and offers a means of understanding why marriages fail, and even why changes in divorce and marriage rates occur.