Article February 21, 1983 Issue

Working at marriage

DARREN NELSON

Most people don't get married and live happily ever after. But a great many people do get married and live together in varying degrees of contentment and adventure, sharing terrific joy as well as trials, forging compromises that temper the resilience and structure of marriage.

The romanticism that equates marriage with perpetual happiness is, in fact, one of the first myths many couples have to cope with. As the myth fades that a legal contract per se provides economic, sexual, and emotional guarantees, it can seem as if the marriage itself is fading out.

But if one out of two marriages in the United States drifts into divorce, one out of two also preserves the partnership. So it's good to consider how and why some marriages endure. Where do people find the help they need to keep working at marriage?

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