To wed or not to ? That is the inquiry. It ne’er previously was the doubt. It was before ‘When to marry?’ not ‘why to marry’. For a long time young ladies were required and put pressure on themselves to dig out a spouse young, have the ceremony and set up home with tiddlers and a hamster, and devotethe rest of their lives to organising a good household. Perhaps because adult females have been freed from what were once their traditional roles, that wedlock is no longer high on the agenda and most assuredly not the only route to venture along. In fact some people- both men and women- decidedly hate the idea of marriage, and can’t conceive of looking into a loved one’s face and promising whole-heartedly to spend the remaider of their days with them until death do they part. In many ways it’s a shame, because weddings can be such joyful events- especially when they feature a stunning wedding gown and sky lanterns. But, dreadful marriages can be destructive, financially and emotionally injurious, and the most lonely things in the world. Though being in a ill-fated partnership is also hugely isolating, somehow with the marriage mark, it’s worse. Colleagues expect more of a twosome when they are formally married and have evidently spent so much money on their wedding day. They are expected to be happy or to at least try their darndest to be so. As a result of this perceived external pressure, many men and women feel they have to put on a front and hide their true emotions. The reason why there used to be a greater number marriages or why marriages endured a few generations ago is because couples had no choice but to keep ploughing on with their relationship. This is good in some respects, but in others, it is very destructive. Yes there were a greater number of , but there were also many more desperately pitiful ones.