Marriage

“And for some there was a sense that they wanted others to witness their vows not simply as a statement of love or of politics, but in order to make real or tangible what had hitherto been private promises. It was as if making public their commitment meant that there would be an external check on impulses to abandon the relationship during the hard times. This felt and expressed need for a degree of community recognition of commitment was not expected. It revealed a need for connectedness with others, as well as with established ways of conducting relationships, which fits uncomfortably with ideas about free-floating, easily abjured modern relationships which last only as along as they are mutually convenient.”

(Carol Smart – Personal Life pg 76)