ABSTRACT
Marriage formalizes a relationship in which a couple usually promises to provide exclusivity, love, and emotional, physical, and economic support for each other. In addition, there is generally an understanding that the possibility of having and rearing children will be considered. The context of this relationship, which includes each partners family of origin, peer group, community, and culture, can either support or destabilize the marriage, but the couple itself must build its own matrix of trust through continuous negotiation of boundaries, rights, and responsibilities. In this era of unsettled values, fluid social groups, and disrupted extended families, marriage receives little enough contextual support, and is a formidable undertaking for any couple to entertain.
