From many social constructs, marriage has been one of the most common throughout the centuries. There are multiple debates and controversies over the relevance of marriage and its comparison to cohabitation. However, it still has its weight and importance nowadays despite new ways and types of relationships that exclude the possibility of marriage. This essay aims to identify the benefits of marriage, compare the level of happiness between married couples and cohabitors and analyze the conditions that contribute to the marriage advantage.
Marriage, in particular ways, has many benefits that contribute to people’s health, wealth, and, most importantly, happiness. Every aspect connects, but everything begins with happiness. Individuals who are satisfied with their lives, careers, hobbies, and interpersonal connections are more likely to enter the relationships that eventually lead to marriage. Despite the popular opinion that individualism does not comply with marriage, the persons who acknowledge their inner nature and achieve full self-realization have better chances of building strong and happy relationships in the marriage framework. Once two loving people align, they become stronger and more grounded since they share all the good and bad that life brings.
Firstly, spouses usually integrate their incomes and create the typical family budget to cover all the expenses and have meaning for living. Moreover, the fact that people got married indicates that they probably have already had financial stability. Commonly, couples with lower income or those in poverty tend to avoid marriage and live as cohabitors. Secondly, since the individuals live together and their relationships are officially registered, they can take proper care and support each other if one spouse gets sick or gains some disease. Furthermore, in case of an emergency, the other person has all legal rights to manage the health and life of the loved one.
It is also worth mentioning that couples who decide not to get married and have their relationships in the status of the cohabitors experience happiness and deep emotional connections as well. However, there are specific differences between married people and those who, for some reason, preferred to stay as cohabitors. Unmarried couples have more time for social life, interactions and meeting with many different people, attendance of cultural events, and overall more opportunities to explore the world. While cohabitors have wider borders of interaction, spouses keep more focus inside of the family. Their perception of the world is more narrow, but they still feel joy due to the family’s safety and stability.
Nevertheless, marriage is not always a happy place or an act of great romantic love between people. Depending on various aspects such as phycological, financial, and demographical, the concept of marriage can significantly differ. It is reasonable to notice that in the more developed countries the amount of happy and prosperous families can be higher than in the Third World counties. Due to social and material privileges, people from progressive counties have more freedom and opportunities to control their partner’s choices and further develop the relationship.
Overall, marriage is the concept of relationships between people that implies the people’s initial satisfaction with their lives and personal achievements, which allows them to choose a partner and build a family together freely. Those who decide to be together in cohabitors also experience a happy and deep bond but less material stability and more focus on the outer world. However, marriage is not the key to happy, stable family life because the state and development of the alliance depend on different factors such as location, wealth, and education.