MARRIAGE: FROM SACRED BONDS TO BUSINESS CONTRACTS
In the old days, marriage was never just about two people falling in love. It was the backbone of societies, the most reliable form of alliance-building. Families joined hands, clans forged peace, tribes avoided bloodshed, and even kingdoms expanded their influence through carefully arranged unions. Marriage meant strategy. It meant survival. If everyone became kin, then everyone could share in prosperity. Conflict was less likely, because bloodlines had already intertwined to create bonds too valuable to break.
But in our modern world, the meaning has shifted dramatically. Marriage is no longer viewed primarily as a sacred bond of families, but as a legally binding contract with high stakes and heavier risks. Today it often resembles a business deal rather than a covenant. Licenses, courts, and divorce settlements are proof that it is not simply about romance. It is about assets, debts, liabilities, and obligations. And when the union collapses, the fallout can be devastating.
Feminism and the Shift in Expectations
Modern feminism has redrawn the landscape. Where foremothers once shouldered burdens to preserve family legacies and cultural traditions, many women today enter marriage without the same sense of duty or endurance. The rise of the “strong, independent woman” philosophy has created a paradox: women seek equality, yet often resist the sacrifices marriage has historically demanded.
For many men, this has turned marriage into a novelty rather than a necessity. Instead of seeing it as the foundation for legacy, they view it as a potential trap, an exercise in financial servitude. Increasingly, the logic goes that it is better to be alone than to be unhappy.
Regret on the Other Side
But the disillusionment is not just one-sided. A recent study by the Department of Sociology and Psychology at UNAM surveyed 2,850 divorced women aged between twenty-five and fifty. Its findings were striking and sobering. It revealed that seventy percent of women who divorced in order to start a new relationship later regretted the decision.
What began as a thrilling adventure, leaving behind a responsible, hardworking husband for a seemingly more passionate partner, often collapsed under the weight of unmet expectations. Love turned into disinterest, adventure into monotony, and dreams into regret. Many of these women eventually looked back with nostalgia, wishing for the stability and security they had once enjoyed but abandoned.
The High-Stakes Gamble for Men
On the men’s side, the stakes remain brutal. Divorce can mean financial ruin, garnished wages, forced alimony, child support, and even threats of imprisonment. Many men who enter marriage in love end up exiting in bankruptcy. It is not uncommon to hear the harsh observation that when it comes to marriage, men are in love, but women are in business.
For this reason, young men are increasingly advised to avoid involving the state in their marriages. If marriage must happen, let it be sanctified under faith, under family, or under tradition. But think carefully before giving the law a say in your love. Once the law is in the marriage bed, love often takes second place to litigation.
But Women Too Can Lose
Still, fairness demands honesty. The law is not exclusively tilted against men. Women too can be legally compelled to pay support, cover children’s schooling, or provide medical benefits if the power dynamics are reversed. The problem is not gendered so much as systemic. Marriage, under the law, is a contract. And contracts, by design, bind both parties, sometimes mercilessly.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So, what is marriage today? Is it still a sacred bond uniting families and preserving legacies? Or has it become a business partnership weighed down by risk, resentment, and regret?
The truth lies somewhere between. Marriage still has the capacity to foster stability and legacy, but it is equally capable of becoming a burden of financial servitude and emotional exhaustion. One thing is certain: it no longer guarantees the peace and prosperity it once promised.
For some, marriage remains the dream. For others, it has become a gamble. And like all gambles, it carries winners and losers.
In the end, marriage has transformed from a covenant of survival into a contract of risk. Love may be the spark that lights the fire, but law is the force that shapes its boundaries. To marry or not to marry is no longer a simple personal decision. It is a strategic choice, one that can either build a life of shared strength or dismantle it in courtrooms.
The question every modern man and woman must answer is simple yet profound: is the promise of love worth the risk of law?
Comments
Post a Comment