Youareasking,"Isitpossibletobemarriedandtobefree?"
Ifyoutakemarriagenon-seriously,thenyoucanbefree.Ifyoutakeitseriously,thenfreedomisimpossible.Takemarriagejustasagame--itisagame.Havealittlesenseofhumor,thatitisaroleyouareplayingonthestageoflife;butitisnotsomethingthatbelongstoexistenceorhasanyreality--itisafiction.Butpeoplearesostupidthattheyevenstarttakingfictionforreality.Ihaveseenpeoplereadingfictionwithtearsintheireyes,becauseinthefictionthingsaregoingsotragically.Itisaverygooddeviceinthemoviesthattheyputthelightsoff,soeverybodycanenjoythemovie,laugh,cry,besad,behappy.
Iftherewaslightitwouldbealittledifficult--whatwillothersthink?Andtheyknowperfectlywellthatthescreenisempty--thereisnobody;itisjustaprojectedpicture.Buttheyforgetitcompletely.Andthesamehashappenedwithourlives.Manythingswhicharesimplytobetakenhumorously,wetakesoseriously--andfromthatseriousnessbeginsourproblem.Inthefirstplace,whyshouldyougetmarried?Youlovesomeone,livewithsomeone--itispartofyourbasicrights.Youcanlivewithsomeone,youcanlovesomeone.
Marriageisnotsomethingthathappensinheaven,ithappenshere,throughthecraftypriests.Butifyouwanttojointhegamewithsocietyanddon‘twanttostandaloneandaloof,youmakeitcleartoyourwifeortoyourhusbandthatthismarriageisjustagame:"Nevertakeitseriously.IwillremainasindependentasIwasbeforemarriage,andyouwillremainasindependentasyouwerebeforemarriage.NeitherIamgoingtointerfereinyourlife,norareyougoingtointerfereinmylife;wewillliveastwofriendstogether,sharingourjoys,sharingourfreedom--butnotbecomingaburdenoneachother.Andanymomentwefeelthatthespringhaspassed,thehoneymoonisover,wewillbesincereenoughnottogoonpretending,buttosaytoeachotherthatwelovedmuch--andwewillremaingratefultoeachotherforever,andthedaysoflovewillhauntusinourmemories,inourdreams,asgolden--butthespringisover.Ourpathshavecometoapoint,wherealthoughitissad,wehavetopart,becausenow,livingtogetherisnotasignoflove.IfIloveyou,IwillleaveyouthemomentIseemylovehasbecomeamiserytoyou.Ifyouloveme,youwillleavemethemomentyouseethatyourloveiscreatinganimprisonmentforme."
Loveisthehighestvalueinlife:Itshouldnotbereducedtostupidrituals.Andloveandfreedomgotogether--youcannotchooseoneandleavetheother.Amanwhoknowsfreedomisfulloflove,andamanwhoknowsloveisalwayswillingtogivefreedom.Ifyoucannotgivefreedomtothepersonyoulove,towhomcanyougivefreedom?Givingfreedomisnothingbuttrusting.Freedomisanexpressionoflove.Sowhetheryouaremarriedornot,remember,allmarriagesarefake--justsocialconveniences.Theirpurposeisnottoimprisonyouandbindyoutoeachother;theirpurposeistohelpyoutogrowwitheachother.Butgrowthneedsfreedom;andinthepast,allthecultureshaveforgottenthatwithoutfreedom,lovedies.Youseeabirdonthewinginthesun,inthesky,anditlookssobeautiful.Attractedbyitsbeauty,youcancatchthebirdandputitinagoldencage.Doyouthinkitisthesamebird?Superficially,yes,itisthesamebirdwhowasflyinginthesky;butdeepdownitisnotthesamebird--becausewhereisitssky,whereisitsfreedom?
Thisgoldencagemaybevaluabletoyou;itisnotvaluabletothebird.Forthebird,tobefreeintheskyistheonlyvaluablethinginlife.Andthesameistrueabouthumanbeings.
successfulmarriageisthemosteffectiveformofsocialsupport.itrelievestheeffectsofstress,andleadstobettermentalandphysicalhealth.husbandsseemtobenefitmuchmorefrommarriagethenwivesdo.
marriedwomenareinbetterphysicalandmentalhealth,andarehappierthansinglewomen,buttheseeffectsarenearlytwiceasgreatformen.variouseplanationshavebeenconsidered,butthemostplausibleisthatwivesprovidemoresocialsupportthanhusbands.perhapsmenneeditmore?
theyaremoreeposedtostressesatwork,andhaveworsehealthanddieearlierthenwomen.inaddition,whenwomengetmarried,theirwayoflifeissubjecttomuchgreaterchangeandthisoftenleadstoboringandisolatedworkinthehomeforwhichtheyareill-prepared.despitethebenefitsofmarriagewomenfinditstressfulandinbettershapeiftheyalsohavejobs,theirearningsandstatusincreasetheirpowerinthehome,andtheymayalsogetsocialsupportatwork.
On-campusMarriage
ThereisaheateddiscussionthesedayssinceChineseon-campusstudentsarelegallyallowedtogetmarriedbeforetheycompletetheircourses.Somepeopleapplaudthisnewdevelopmentwhileothershaveexpressedtheirconcernaboutthis.
Ontheonehand,collegestudentswillinevitablyhavelesstimeandenergyfortheiracademiclifebecausemarriedstudentshavemorerealisticproblemstodealwiththanthoseunmarriedones.Ontheotherhand,anumberofstudentsdohaveadesireforanidealmarriage.Theyareoldenoughtotaketheresponsibilityandiftheyhandleitwell,marriagecanbringthemhappinessandasenseofsecurity.
Inmyopinion,itisunnecessarytoforbidon-campusstudentstogetmarried;however,itshouldn'tbeadvocatedorencouraged,either.Thereasonisthat,foron-campusstudents,theirmaintaskistoacquireknowledge.Iftheygetmarried,thefamilychoresmightdistractthemfromstudying,thustheymaynotgraduatefavorablyormaynotbecapableoffutureworks.Ibelievealmostallon-campusstudentswoulddealwiththequestionreasonably.(180words)
Differentpeoplehavevariousviewpointstowardmarriagecausetheyhavedifferentrolesandstands.QianZhongshu,aneminentwriterwhoprefaceshisbookASurroundedCitywith‘Marriageisasurroundedcitywhichpeopleencircledwanttofleefromwhilethosewhostandoutthecityareeagertostepinto’.However,JaneAustenstartedherbookPrideandPrejudicewith‘Itisatruthuniversally
acknowledgedthatasinglemaninpossessionofagoodfortunemustbeinwantofawife’.
Inmypointofview,marriageisawarmharbourinwhichwecanseekshelter,itisalsoadestinationofourlifevoyageafterweleaveparents’homeorwearenolongerundertheprotectionofourparents.
Sowemustchoosemarriagecautiouslyandthentryourbesttomakeaperfectplacewherewecanlivehappilywithanotherperson.However,wecan’tmanageitonourownwithoutcooperatingwithhim.Inotherwords,choosingamarriagemeanschoosingapersontolivewith.Inconsequence,weshouldchoosethehusbandcautiously.
Asforme,first,myhusbandmustshowhisparentsfilialobedience.Parentsarethosewholoveusbest.HowdareweexpecthelovesusifapersoneventreatshisparentsillIbelievethereisloveexistingbetweenmanandwoman,whileIbelieveinthe
emotionwhichcanbedevelopedafterlivingtogetheralongtimeinmarriage.Amancanfallinlovewithhiswifemomentarily,butonlywhenheregardshiswifeasarealfamilymembercanhislovelastslonger.Seldomamancanendurethemarriagewithawomanwhenheisnotloveheranymoreorevenhateher.However,thereisenoughspaceformanoeuversifamantreathiswifeasanindispensablefamilymember.Second,ahusbandshouldhavestrongresponsibilities.Amanwithstrong
responsibilitiesisreliable.Ononehand,hewillworkhardtomakeushappy.Ontheotherhand,hemaydonotanythingthatwillhurthiswife.Maybe,mostofthemenarefondofthenewandtiredoftheold,butamanwhohasstrongresponsibilitieswillmakehismindratherhisemotioncontrolhisbehaviour.
Lastbutnotleast,ahusbandshouldhavesimilaroutlookonlifeandvaluewithhiswife.Becauseitisahorriblethingtoliveanentirelifewithapersonwhomwehavenothingtotalkwith.
NowlettalkabouttheprotagnistsintheNettle.Totellthetruth,Idon’tlikethewomaninit.Idon’tblameherforleavingapersonwhomshedoesn’twanttolivewith.Idoblameherforleavingherfamily.Shejustmovesoutandalmostkeepsnoconnectionwithherhusband.Theycangettogethertocopewiththeir
marriage.Thoughtheirmarriageistoofargone,theycanstillbegoodfriends.AndalsoIhatethatshehopeanaffairwithMike.MuchasshelovesMike,sheshouldn’tbreakawholefamilyatanotherpoorwoman’scost.ShecantakeMikeasaclosefriendorabrotherwhomcanexchangelifeandworkexperience.
Fortunately,theydon’tlosetheirmindanddosomethingthatwillhurtothers.Ofcourseitisapitythattheydon’tmeeteachotheranymore.