To marry or not to marry? That is the question. It never was the inquiry. It was ‘When to marry?’ not ‘why to marry’. For years young women were required and put pressure on themselves to catch a husband young, have the ceremony and start up home with nippers and a furry friend, and devote their days to organising a well run house. Perchance because ladies have been freed from what were once their conventional uses, that wedlock is no longer as important and without doubt not the only road to take up. In fact umpteen people- both men and women- absolutely hate the idea of marriage, and can’t imagine gazing into a partner’s eyes and promising without compromise to spend the remaider of their lives with them until death do they part. In many ways it’s a shame, because weddings can be such merry occassions especially when they feature a lovely wedding robe and sky lanterns. But, disastrous marriages can be crushing, financially and emotionally damaging, and the most lonely things of all. Though being in a ill-fated relationship is also massively isolating, somehow with the marriage mark, it’s even worse. The outside world have certain expectations of a couple when they are formally married and have supposedly spent so much money on their wedding day. They are required to be happy or to at least try their damndest to be so. As a result of this sensed external pressure, many men and women feel they have to put on a front and enshroud their honest feelings. The reason why there were once a greater number marriages or why marriages lasted a few generations ago is because couples had no choice but to keep pushing on with their relationship. This is good in some respects, but in others, it is very destructive. Yes there were more married couples, but there were also many more desperately grim ones.