pessimistic marriage metaphors
Plastic Band Metaphor
Marriage, by raising the cost of a defection, causes each side to be more committed to the relationship. This has the following undesirable consequence: The magnitude of what each side is willing to bear increases. If one thinks of a relationship as a plastic band, the marriage contract has the effect of augmenting the elasticity of this band. Severe fights and disagreements, which would under normal circumstances result in the resolution of the relationship, will now be tolerated by each side. In other words, because of its greater elasticity, the band can now be strained more before it breaks.
Dog Ownership Metaphor
A dog that you can safely unleash on a public space is a joy to have. You can let it roam free with the assurance that it will come back to you after a while. A dog owner, who keeps his dog always on leash, suffers from loyalty problems. He is afraid that the dog will disregard his commands, and inflict harm to others or simply run away. A marriage contract can be pictured as each side putting a leash on the other. The need to enter such a contract hints at the presence of something unhealthy about the underlying relationship.
Marriage, by raising the cost of a defection, causes each side to be more committed to the relationship. This has the following undesirable consequence: The magnitude of what each side is willing to bear increases. If one thinks of a relationship as a plastic band, the marriage contract has the effect of augmenting the elasticity of this band. Severe fights and disagreements, which would under normal circumstances result in the resolution of the relationship, will now be tolerated by each side. In other words, because of its greater elasticity, the band can now be strained more before it breaks.
Dog Ownership Metaphor
A dog that you can safely unleash on a public space is a joy to have. You can let it roam free with the assurance that it will come back to you after a while. A dog owner, who keeps his dog always on leash, suffers from loyalty problems. He is afraid that the dog will disregard his commands, and inflict harm to others or simply run away. A marriage contract can be pictured as each side putting a leash on the other. The need to enter such a contract hints at the presence of something unhealthy about the underlying relationship.
