|
|
Marriage And Living With Others Happily?
Are you developed enough for marriage and living
with others happily? Living with anybody is a strain. Before
they marry, most people have had years of experience living in the
families in which they grew up, but this is not quite the same.
Marriage and living with others means that suddenly
you are called upon to adjust in a most intimate way, to a person
who is usually in some respects a rather complete stranger.
At best the adjustments required are a considerable
strain; too much of a strain to be handled successfully by any
except mature persons.
In no other human relationship is so much demanded.
Furthermore, it is a relationship from which escape is difficult.
One especially difficult problem is that of the wife being and
remaining a good companion to her husband.
Twenty years ago, George married a girl who was
greatly inferior to him. During their first years together she had
done the cooking and the housework, and there had been the children.
But the children had grown and left home, and the man had prospered.
Now servants took charge of the entire household.
It is a terrible experience to be no longer needed. The wife did
what most people will do under similar circumstances; she tried to
make a place for herself.
She became "pushy," and began to annoy her husband
with all sorts of petty details. She insisted upon buying his
clothes, and watched his diet with an eagle eye. She even tried to
push into the operation of his office and the transactions of his
business deals.
As her husband bitterly remarked, "Twenty years ago
she was so pretty. Her helplessness seemed so cute, and such a
challenge to me. Now she is just fat and a nuisance."
Yet it is hardly fair to blame the wife. The
mistake was made during the dating days when he chose his life
partner, a woman who was not intellectually capable of continuing to
make an important contribution to the relationship.
Can
you hold up your end emotionally?
Will
you be a good influence on your children?
How
can you tell about your emotional stability?
Will
you be a good influence on your children?
Back
to Marriage and Mental Health page
| About | HOME | SiteMap | Privacy Policy |
| |