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b0e1f7d So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday. marriage Nicholas Sparks
aa1c4ed It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. marriage opening-lines wife Jane Austen
81a9dc7 Happiness [is] only real when shared marriage family happiness love inspirational Jon Krakauer
25ccfe3 To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous. marriage relationships love truth being-loved Elizabeth Gilbert
ad0f83f You know it's never fifty-fifty in a marriage. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Someone falls in love first. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride. marriage love Jodi Picoult
3648c3d Marriage can wait, education cannot. marriage Khaled Hosseini
a2c130f Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired, women, because they are curious: both are disappointed. marriage men relationships women dorian-gray Oscar Wilde
ca15221 And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need. marriage P.G. Wodehouse
c44c011 I know enough to know that no woman should ever marry a man who hated his mother. marriage men feminism hate relationships women love married-life mothers sons matrimony psychology Martha Gellhorn
a5dac73 "When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth...... But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself." But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully." marriage Kahlil Gibran
70acad2 People always fall in love with the most perfect aspects of each other's personalities. Who wouldn't? Anybody can love the most wonderful parts of another person. But that's not the clever trick. The really clever trick is this: Can you accept the flaws? Can you look at your partner's faults honestly and say, 'I can work around that. I can make something out of it.'? Because the good stuff is always going to be there, and it's always going to pretty and sparkly, but the crap underneath can ruin you. marriage love Elizabeth Gilbert
6cc1ba2 When in a relationship, a real man doesn't make his woman jealous of others, he makes others jealous of his woman. marriage men women relationship motivational life love inspirational jealous boyfriend girlfriend Steve Maraboli
f577747 Ye are Blood of my Blood, and Bone of my Bone, I give ye my Body, that we Two might be One. I give ye my Spirit, 'til our Life shall be Done. marriage romance Diana Gabaldon
9a027c9 An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do. marriage proposals parents husbands Jane Austen
8ad1e0f "He could totally be your boyfriend," [Angel] went on with annoying persistance. "You guys could get married. I could be like a junior bridesmaid. Total could be your flower dog." "I'm only a kid!" I shrieked. "I can't get married!" "You could in New Hampshire." My mouth dropped open. How does she know this stuff? "Forget it! No one's getting married!" I hissed. "Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! Now go to sleep, " marriage relationships humor love maxride fang max James Patterson
0668a53 When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part. marriage George Bernard Shaw
63ff326 You can measure the happiness of a marriage by the number of scars that each partner carries on their tongues, earned from years of biting back angry words. marriage relationships family Elizabeth Gilbert
33bdd99 I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me. marriage self-determination independence freedom empowerment happiness love courtship husbands singles wooing William Shakespeare
27ace61 "I am your Prince and you will marry me," Humperdinck said. Buttercup whispered, "I am your servant and I refuse." "I am you Prince and you cannot refuse." "I am your loyal servant and I just did." "Refusal means death." "Kill me then." marriage humor William Goldman
2531315 It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished. lovers marriage relationships christianity spirituality religion god happiness philosophy relationship-with-god unhappy-marriage church expectations Fulton J. Sheen
e86912a I feel good with my husband: I like his warmth and his bigness and his being-there and his making and his jokes and stories and what he reads and how he likes fishing and walks and pigs and foxes and little animals and is honest and not vain or fame-crazy and how he shows his gladness for what I cook him and joy for when I make him something, a poem or a cake, and how he is troubled when I am unhappy and wants to do anything so I can fight out my soul-battles and grow up with courage and a philosophical ease. I love his good smell and his body that fits with mine as if they were made in the same body-shop to do just that. What is only pieces, doled out here and there to this boy and that boy, that made me like pieces of them, is all jammed together in my husband. So I don't want to look around any more: I don't need to look around for anything. marriage romance Sylvia Plath
d2d92df Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather than marry without affection. integrity marriage feelings self-determination romance joy love matrimony duty Jane Austen
ccc3006 Nice people don't necessarily fall in love with nice people. marriage idealism co-dependence the-rules-of-attraction victims-of-narcissists sociopathology divorce idealists narcissism Jonathan Franzen
074f4f6 "Blood of my Blood," he whispered, "and bone of my bone. You carry me within ye, Claire, and ye canna leave me now, no matter what happens, You are mine, always, if ye will it or no, if ye want me or nay. Mine, and I wilna let ye go." marriage romance vows Diana Gabaldon
9630e0e "I think we ought to live happily ever after," and she thought he meant it. Sophie knew that living happily ever after with Howl would be a good deal more hair-raising than any storybook made it sound, though she was determined to try. "It should be hair-raising," added Howl. "And you'll exploit me," Sophie said. "And then you'll cut up all my suits to teach me." marriage Diana Wynne Jones
164a53c Each suburban wife struggles with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night- she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question-- 'Is this all? marriage feminism inspirational housekeeping existentialism purpose parenting Betty Friedan
c78a487 What greater thing is there for two human souls, than to feel that they are joined for life--to strengthen each other in all labor, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting? marriage sorrow relationship death sadness love fellowship memory George Eliot
443503f I had no illusions about you,' he said. 'I knew you were silly and frivolous and empty-headed. But I loved you. I knew that your aims and ideals were vulgar and commonplace. But I loved you. I knew that you were second-rate. But I loved you. It's comic when I think how hard I tried to be amused by the things that amused you and how anxious I was to hide from you that I wasn't ignorant and vulgar and scandal-mongering and stupid. I knew how frightened you were of intelligence and I did everything I could to make you think me as big a fool as the rest of the men you knew. I knew that you'd only married me for convenience. I loved you so much, I didn't care. Most people, as far as I can see, when they're in love with someone and the love isn't returned feel that they have a grievance. They grow angry and bitter. I wasn't like that. I never expected you to love me, I didn't see any reason that you should. I never thought myself very lovable. I was thankful to be allowed to love you and I was enraptured when now and then I thought you were pleased with me or when I noticed in your eyes a gleam of good-humored affection. I tried not to bore you with my love; I knew I couldn't afford to do that and I was always on the lookout for the first sign that you were impatient with my affection. What most husbands expect as a right I was prepared to receive as a favor. marriage love W. Somerset Maugham
fbc023a When you find somebody you love, all the way through, and she loves you--even with your weaknesses, your flaws, everything starts to click into place. And if you can talk to her, and she listens, if she makes you laugh, and makes you think, makes you want, makes you see who you really are, and who you are is better, just better with her, you'd be crazy not to want to spend the rest of your life with her. (Carter Maguire) marriage Nora Roberts
af381ba "I'm not married," he said softly, "because I can't stomach the idea of marrying a woman inferior to me in mind and spirit. It would mean the death of my soul." marriage Sarah J. Maas
0aefa5e So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about as numb as a slave in a totalitarian state. marriage children sylvia plath
139295b Women may fall when there's no strength in men. Act II marriage men women wisdom William Shakespeare
b2854c8 There is nothing more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends. marriage friendship home Homer
95e078f I really don't see anything romantic in proposing. It is very romantic to be in love. But there is nothing romantic about a definite proposal. Why, one may be accepted. One usually is, I believe. Then the excitement is all over. The very essence of romance is uncertainty. If ever I get married, I'll certainly try to forget the fact. marriage life love Oscar Wilde
06157b2 People go on marrying because they can't resist natural forces, although many of them may know perfectly well that they are possibly buying a month's pleasure with a life's discomfort. marriage nature force-of-nature matrimony self-deception pleasure Thomas Hardy
821b94f I wouldn't want to marry anybody who was wicked, but I think I'd like it if he could be wicked and wouldn't. marriage anne-of-the-island husband L.M. Montgomery
4c54326 I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest -- blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine. marriage love wife Charlotte Brontë
66b2ed6 There are guys who grow up thinking they'll settle down some distant time in the future, and there are guys who are ready for marriage as soon as they meet the right person. The former bore me, mainly because they're pathetic; and the latter, frankly are hard to find. marriage the-last-song nicholas-sparks Nicholas Sparks
0b2d193 I've no more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now so he shall never know how I love him and that not because he's handsome Nelly but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning or frost from fire. marriage love souls Emily Brontë
40f0310 Say you'll marry me when I come back or, before God, I won't go. I'll stay around here and play a guitar under your window every night and sing at the top of my voice and compromise you, so you'll have to marry me to save your reputation. marriage love proposals rhett-butler Margaret Mitchell
63674af "I've never been the one. Not for anybody." He closed the distance between them. "You'll get used to it." He tipped her face up to his, kissed her. "Why? Why am I the one?" "Because my life opened up, and it flooded with color when you walked back into it." marriage romance love sweet Nora Roberts
2fb38ae A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. marriage John Steinbeck
c6be5f6 Love without sacrifice is like theft marriage true-love relationships sacrifice love marriage-advice passive-aggressive passive-aggressiveness narcissists manipulation real-love narcissism Nassim Nicholas Taleb
cb2868f Catholics don't believe in divorce. We believe in murder. There's always Confession, after all. --Brianna Fraser to Roger MacKenzie marriage Diana Gabaldon
afe7195 I know you're still young but I want you to understand and learn this now. Marriage can wait, education cannot. You're a very very bright girl. Truly you are. You can be anything you want Laila. I know this about you. And I also know that when this war is over Afghanistan is going to need you as much as its men maybe even more. Because a society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated Laila. No chance. war marriage education young-women bright country smart Khaled Hosseini
a595c89 I think of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life. That this is the only way to grow together, instead of apart. marriage relationships Emily Giffin
cca958c It was finally becoming clear to her that love wasn't about finding someone perfect to marry. Love was about seeing through to the truth of a person, and accepting all their shades of light and dark. Love was an ability. marriage romance Lisa Kleypas
64a37c6 "Either you go to America with Mrs. Van Hopper or you come home to Manderley with me." "Do you mean you want a secretary or something?" "No, I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool." marriage relationships humor proposal Daphne du Maurier
f2c732c He didn't marry you to become king. He became king because he wanted to marry you. marriage love eugenides royalty Megan Whalen Turner
fdb1743 Marriage is not a process for prolonging the life of love, sir. It merely mummifies its corpse. marriage humor love lack-of-feeling lovelessness married-life matrimony sarcasm P.G. Wodehouse
f631a85 Love is giving up control. It's surrendering the desire to control the other person. The two--love and controlling power over the other person--are mutually exclusive. If we are serious about loving someone, we have to surrender all the desires within us to manipulate the relationship. sex marriage relationships romance submission Rob Bell
bbb0f84 The essential matrimonial facts: that to be happy you have to find variety in repetition; that to go forward you have to come back to where you begin. marriage Jeffrey Eugenides
7253ccf The two of you, there's something uncanny about the way you two are with each other. I mean everything--the way you look at each other, the way she relaxes when you put your hand on her back, the way you both seem to know what the other is always thinking, it's always struck me as extraordinary. That's another reason I keep putting marriage off. I know I want something like what you two share, and I'm not sure I've found it yet. I'm not sure I ever will. And with love like that, they say anything's possible, right? marriage love inspirational Nicholas Sparks
441c662 What a man wants is a mate and what a woman wants is infinite security,' and, 'What a man is is an arrow into the future and a what a woman is is the place the arrow shoots off from. marriage men women Sylvia Plath
118d003 Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! marriage passion love Nathaniel Hawthorne
6050362 Marriage isn't a love affair. It isn't even a honeymoon. It's a job. A long hard job, at which both partners have to work, harder than they've worked at anything in their lives before. If it's a good marriage, it changes, it evolves, but it does on getting better. I've seen it with my own mother and father. But a bad marriage can dissolve in a welter of resentment and acrimony. I've seen that, too, in my own miserable and disastrous attempt at making another person happy. And it's never one person's fault. It's the sum total of a thousand little irritations, disagreements, idiotic details that in a sound alliance would simply be disregarded, or forgotten in the healing act of making love. Divorce isn't a cure, it's a surgical operation, even if there are no children to consider. sex marriage love Rosamunde Pilcher
5af6e15 I disapprove of matrimony as a matter of principle.... Why should any independent, intelligent female choose to subject herself to the whims and tyrannies of a husband? I assure you, I have yet to meet a man as sensible as myself! (Amelia Peabody) marriage women humor intelligence intelligent matrimony husbands Elizabeth Peters
925fdae love one another, but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. marriage relationships love quiver share Kahlil Gibran
6ad9594 In the vastness of space and the immensity of time, it is my joy to share a planet and an epoch with Annie. [Dedication to Sagan's wife, Ann Druyan, in Cosmos] time marriage true-love joy science love immensity vastness wife space Carl Sagan
99c40e6 Maybe you expected marriage to be perfect - I guess that's where you and I are different. See, I thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way. marriage mistakes Jodi Picoult
627966b "Your place is with me," Jem said. "It always will be." "What do you mean?" He flushed, the color dark against his pale skin. "I mean," he said, "Tessa Gray, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Tessa sat bolt upright. "Jem!" They stared at each other for a moment. At last he said, trying for lightness, though his voice cracked, "That was not a no, I suppose, though neither was it a yes." "You can't mean it." "I do mean it." "You can't--I'm not a Shadowhunter. They'll expel you from the Clave--" He took a step closer to her, his eyes eager. "You may not be precisely a Shadowhunter. But you are not a mundane either, nor provably a Downworlder. Your situation is unique, so I do not know what the Clave will do. But they cannot forbid something that is not forbidden by the Law. They will have to take your--our--individual case into consideration, and that could take months. In the meantime they cannot prevent our engagement." "You are serious." Her mouth was dry. "Jem, such a kindness on your part is indeed incredible. It does you credit. But I cannot let you sacrifice marriage love tessa-gray jem-carstairs Cassandra Clare
1642a05 There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose. unhappiness marriage mind suitability matches matrimony purpose Charles Dickens
21fc6bb Marriage is those two thousand indistinguishable conversations, chatted over two thousand indistuinguishable breakfasts, where intimacy turns like a slow wheel. How do you measure the worth of becoming that familiar to somebody--so utterly well known and so thoroughly ever-present that you become an almost invisible necessity, like air? marriage Elizabeth Gilbert
020e015 "Encouragement requires empathy and seeing the world from your spouse's perspective. We must first learn what is important to our spouse. Only then can we give encouragement. With verbal encouragement, we are trying to communicate, "I know. I care. I am with you. How can I help?" We are trying to show that we believe in him and in his abilities. We are giving credit and praise." marriage relationships love Gary Chapman
fc4822a every healthy marriage is composed of walls and windows. The windows are the aspects of your relationship that are open to the world--that is, the necessary gaps through which you interact with family and friends; the walls are the barriers of trust behind which you guard the most intimatesecrets of your marriage. marriage fidelity Elizabeth Gilbert
d15079c To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job. marriage entrapment wives matrimony husbands Simone de Beauvoir
9ee5e62 I must court her now,' said the Prince. 'Leave us alone for a minute.' He rode the white expertly down the hill. Buttercup had never seen such a giant beast. Or such a rider. 'I am your Prince and you will marry me,' Humperdinck said. Buttercup whispered, 'I am your servant and I refuse.' 'I am your Prince and you cannot refuse.' 'I am your loyal servant and I just did.' 'Refusal means death.' 'Kill me then.' 'I am your Prince and I'm not that bad -- how could you rather be dead than married to me?' 'Because,' Buttercup said, 'marriage involves love, and that is not a pastime at which I excel. I tried once, and it went badly, and I am sworn never to love another.' 'Love?' said Prince Humperdinck. 'Who mentioned love? Not me, I can tell you. Look: there must always be a male heir to the throne of Florin. That's me. Once my father dies, there won't be an heir, just a king. That's me again. When that happens, I'll marry and have children until there is a son. So you can either marry me and be the richest and most powerful woman in a thousand miles and give turkeys away at Christmas and provide me a son, or you can die in terrible pain in the very near future. Make up your own mind.' 'I'll never love you.' 'I wouldn't want it if I had it.' 'Then by all means let us marry. marriage love William Goldman
15b1fee "And your will shall decide your destiny," he said: "I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions." You play a farce, which I merely laugh at." I ask you to pass through life at my side--to be my second self, and best earthly companion." For that fate you have already made your choice, and must abide by it." Jane, be still a few moments: you are over-excited: I will be still too." A waft of wind came sweeping down the laurel-walk, and trembled through the boughs of the chestnut: it wandered away--away--to an indefinite distance--it died. The nightingale's song was then the only voice of the hour: in listening to it, I again wept. Mr. Rochester sat quiet, looking at me gently and seriously. Some time passed before he spoke; he at last said - Come to my side, Jane, and let us explain and understand one another." I will never again come to your side: I am torn away now, and cannot return." But, Jane, I summon you as my wife: it is you only I intend to marry." I was silent: I thought he mocked me. Come, Jane--come hither." Your bride stands between us." He rose, and with a stride reached me. My bride is here," he said, again drawing me to him, "because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?" marriage marriage-proposal Charlotte Brontë
17d61bf "There are certain phrases potent to make my blood boil -- improper influence! What old woman's cackle is that?" "Are you a young lady?" "I am a thousand times better: I am an honest woman, and as such I will be treated." integrity marriage influence self-determination independence women honesty love uprightness propriety matrimony respect gender self-respect expectations Charlotte Brontë
e452137 And everyone is always saying that marriage is really hard and takes a lot of work. But the thing is, when you know that you love someone, those things don't matter. You have to push all the everyday things and the outside world away, and just enjoy knowing that this is the man who has the chest your head is meant to lie on. marriage love Erin McCarthy
0074f7b The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church - read on - and give his life for her (Eph. V, 25). This headship, then, is most fully embodied not in the husband we should all wish to be but in him whose marriage is most like a crucifixion; whose wife receives most and gives least, is most unworthy of him, is - in her own mere nature - least lovable. For the Church has not beauty but what the Bride-groom gives her; he does not find, but makes her, lovely. The chrism of this terrible coronation is to be seen not in the joys of any man's marriage but in its sorrows, in the sickness and sufferings of a good wife or the faults of a bad one, in his unwearying (never paraded) care or his inexhaustible forgiveness: forgiveness, not acquiescence. As Christ sees in the flawed, proud, fanatical or lukewarm Church on earth that Bride who will one day be without spot or wrinkle, and labours to produce the latter, so the husband whose headship is Christ-like (and he is allowed no other sort) never despairs. He is a King Cophetua who after twenty years still hopes that the beggar-girl will one day learn to speak the truth and wash behind her ears. marriage love wife church husband eros C.S. Lewis
171026c Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take...If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation...It takes a lifetime to learn another person...When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected. marriage love Madeleine L'Engle
b2e7878 When a woman thinks her husband is a fool, her marriage is over. They may part in one year or ten; they may live together until death. But if she thinks he is a fool, she will not love him again. marriage wife Philippa Gregory
7049494 The heart is like a woman, and the head is like a man, and although man is the head of woman, woman is the heart of man, and she turns man's head because she turns his heart. man marriage woman relationships christianity spirituality heart love philosophy inspirational woman-s-charm jesus-shock woman-s-character woman-s-strength catholicism theology Peter Kreeft
bb8248c No measure of time with you will be long enough, but we'll start with forever. marriage Stephenie Meyer
11d9a2f Mara, that's the life I want to give you. That's what I'm offering you. I want to fill you life with color and warmth. I want to fill it with light. Give me a chance marriage happiness love Francine Rivers
b509d74 "Every fairy tale, it seems, concludes with the bland phrase "happily ever after." Yet every couple I have ever known would agree that nothing about marriage is forever happy. There are moments of bliss, to be sure, and lengthy spans of satisfied companionship. Yet these come at no small effort, and the girl who reads such fiction dreaming her troubles will end ere she departs the altar is well advised to seek at once a rational women to set her straight." marriage humor happily-ever-after Catherine Gilbert Murdock
a65296d It's the perfect solution. We argue all the time. We can't stand each other. It's like we're already married. marriage humor hathaways leo Lisa Kleypas
2f94e34 I imagine there must be only a very, very few men in the world, that I should like to marry; and of those few, it is ten to one I may never be acquainted with one; or if I should, it is twenty to one he may not happen to be single, or to take a fancy to me. marriage unrequited-love Anne Brontë
9f24755 When you have been with your partner for so many years, they become the glove compartment map that you've worn dog-eared and white-creased, the trail you recogonize so well you could draw it by heart and for this very reason keep it with you on journeys at all times. And yet, when you least expect it, one day you open your eyes and there is an unfamiliar turnoff, a vantage point taht wasn't there before, and you have to stop and wonder if maybe this landmark isn't new at all, but rather something you have missed all along. marriage love partner years Jodi Picoult
4137e12 The hardest lesson is Clare's solitude. Sometimes I come home and Clare seems kind of irritated; I've interrupted some train of thought, broken into the dreary silence of her day. Sometimes I see an expression on Clare's face that is like a closed door. She has gone inside the room of her mind and is sitting there knitting or something. I've discovered that Clare likes to be alone. But when I return from time traveling she is always relieved to see me. marriage Audrey Niffenegger
94b9d54 Make my happiness--I will make yours. marriage Charlotte Brontë
0488de3 Marriage becomes hard work once you have poured the entirety of your life's expectations for happiness into the hands of one mere person. Keeping that going is hard work. marriage Elizabeth Gilbert
f861532 "A man worth being with is one... That never lies to you Is kind to people that have hurt him A person that respects another's life That has manners and shows people respect That goes out of his way to help people That feels every person, no matter how difficult, deserves compassion Who believes you are the most beautiful person he has ever met Who brags about your accomplishments with pride Who talks to you about anything and everything because no bad news will make him love you less That is a peacemaker That will see you through illness Who keeps his promises Who doesn't blame others, but finds the good in them That raises you up and motivates you to reach for the stars That doesn't need fame, money or anything materialistic to be happy That is gentle and patient with children Who won't let you lie to yourself; he tells you what you need to hear, in order to help you grow Who lives what he says he believes in Who doesn't hold a grudge or hold onto the past Who doesn't ask his family members to deliberately hurt people that have hurt him Who will run with your dreams That makes you laugh at the world and yourself Who forgives and is quick to apologize Who doesn't betray you by having inappropriate conversations with other women Who doesn't react when he is angry, decides when he is sad or keep promises he doesn't plan to keep Who takes his children's spiritual life very seriously and teaches by example Who never seeks revenge or would ever put another person down Who communicates to solve problems Who doesn't play games or passive aggressively ignores people to hurt them Who is real and doesn't pretend to be something he is not Who has the power to free you from yourself through his positive outlook Who has a deep respect for women and treats them like a daughter of God Who doesn't have an ego or believes he is better than anyone Who is labeled constantly by people as the nicest person they have ever met Who works hard to provide for the family Who doesn't feel the need to drink alcohol to have a good time, smoke or do drugs Who doesn't have to hang out a bar with his friends, but would rather spend his time with his family Who is morally free from sin Who sees your potential to be great Who doesn't think a woman's place has to be in the home; he supports your life mission, where ever that takes you Who is a gentleman Who is honest and lives with integrity Who never discusses your private business with anyone Who will protect his family marriage gratitude freedom joy friendship happiness blessed grateful christ-like best-choice best-friend god-s-plan honorable-man jealous-women jim-alder joyful king-of-the-kingdom life-partner life-partners lucky-girl lucky-me mate my-husband positive-outlook qualities revelations righteous-man spiritual-man staying-positive tests the-man winning partner the-best selection husband dating father Shannon L. Alder
1d486ec Marriage and its entourage of possession and jealousy enslave the spirit. jealousy marriage possession Irvin D. Yalom
1492c3e "Christopher heard a pair of women gossiping nearby, whispering in disapproving undertones. "... Ramsey was found flirting in a corner with a woman. They had to drag him away from her." "Who was it?" "His own wife." "Oh, dear." -- marriage love love-in-the-afternoon hathaways Lisa Kleypas
c90a652 "I've missed you, Sebastian." "Have you, love?" He unfastened the buttons of her robe, the light eyes glittering with heat as her skin was revealed. "What part did you miss the most?" "Your mind," she said, and smiled at his expression. "I was hoping for a far more depraved answer than that." "Your mind is depraved," she told him solemnly. He gave a husky laugh. "True." sex marriage humor sebastian Lisa Kleypas
c3e962f "Why are we bringing him along, again?" Will inquired, of the world in general as well as his sister. Cecily put her hands on her hips. "Why are you bringing Tessa?" "Because Tessa and I are going to be married," Will said, and Tessa smiled; the way that Will's little sister could ruffle his feathers like no one else was still amusing to her. "Well, Gabriel and I might well be married," Cecily said. "Someday." Gabriel made a choking noise, and turned an alarming shade of purple. Will threw up his hands. "You can't be married Cecily! You're only fifteen! When I get married, I'll be eighteen! An adult!" Cecily did not look impressed. "We may have a long engagement," she said. "But I cannot see why you are counseling me to marry a man my parents have never met." marriage humor p-541 gabriel-lightwood william-herondale tessa-gray Cassandra Clare
b26260d I have a theory about marriage, Monsieur Boustouler. And it's that nearly always you will know within two weeks if it's going to work. It's astonishing how many people remain shackled for years, decades even, in a protracted and mutual state of self-delusion and false hope when in fact they had their answer in those first two weeks. marriage Khaled Hosseini
dcc4274 For [erotically intelligent couples], love is a vessel that contains both security and adventure, and commitment offers one of the great luxuries of life: time. Marriage is not the end of romance, it is the beginning. They know that they have years in which to deepen their connection, to experiment, to regress, and even to fail. They see their relationship as something alive and ongoing, not a fait accompli. It's a story that they are writing together, one with many chapters, and neither partner knows how it will end. There's always a place they haven't gone yet, always something about the other still to be discovered. time love-story marriage relationships romance love marriage-advice Esther Perel
d110bd1 Marriage is about compromise; it's about doing something for the other person, even when you don't want to. marriage love the-wedding nicholas-sparks Nicholas Sparks
4b160fa When over the years someone has seen you at your worst, and knows you with all your strengths and flaws, yet commits him- or herself to you wholly, it is a consummate experience. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. marriage Timothy Keller
6b990d6 Marriage is a partnership, not a democracy. marriage romance nicholas-sparks wedding novels Nicholas Sparks
36051ee "Are you her boyfriend?" ... No, I'm her fiance." Nate said. We've been promised to each other since birth," Summer added. Our wedding isn't until March." marriage humor boyfriends Brandon Mull
11f61e1 [Marriage] happens as with cages: the birds without despair to get in, and those within despair of getting out. marriage relationships freedom captivity married-life single matrimony Michel de Montaigne
b81ec34 Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance; commits his body To painful labor, both by sea and land; To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou li'st warm at home, secure and safe; And craves no other tribute at thy hands But love, fair looks, and true obedience- Too little payment for so great a debt. Such duty as the subject owes the prince, Even such a woman oweth to her husband; And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour, And no obedient to his honest will, What is she but a foul contending rebel, And graceless traitor to her loving lord? I asham'd that women are so simple 'To offer war where they should kneel for peace, Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway, When they are bound to serve, love, and obey. Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth, Unapt to toil and trouble in the world, But that our soft conditions, and our hearts, Should well agree with our external parts? shakespeare marriage poem William Shakespeare
9dfae9a "The chef turned back to the housekeeper. "Why is there doubt about the relations between Monsieur and Madame Rutledge?" The sheets," she said succinctly. Jake nearly choked on his pastry. "You have the housemaids spying on them?" he asked around a mouthful of custard and cream. Not at all," the housekeeper said defensively. "It's only that we have vigilant maids who tell me everything. And even if they didn't, one hardly needs great powers of observation to see that they do not behave like a married couple." The chef looked deeply concerned. "You think there's a problem with his carrot?" Watercress, carrot--is everything food to you?" Jake demanded. The chef shrugged. "Oui." Well," Jake said testily, "there is a string of Rutledge's past mistresses who would undoubtedly testify there is nothing wrong with his carrot." Alors, he is a virile man . . . she is a beautiful woman . . . why are they not making salad together?" marriage vegetables Lisa Kleypas
c48514b [O]ur honeymoon will shine our life long: its beams will only fade over your grave or mine. marriage death life edward-fairfax-rochester honeymoon jane-eyre matrimony Charlotte Brontë
d6b8f43 LEONATO Well, niece, I hope to see you one day fitted with a husband. BEATRICE Not till God make men of some other metal than earth. Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a pierce of valiant dust? to make an account of her life to a clod of wayward marl? No, uncle, I'll none: Adam's sons are my brethren; and, truly, I hold it a sin to match in my kindred. marriage men equality self-determination independence freedom empowerment happiness matrimony husbands singles William Shakespeare
bc31f58 Like most girls, her imagination carried her just as far as the altar and no further. marriage imagination wedding Margaret Mitchell
883dd9f My mother is convinced that yellow is a happy color and that a happy girl would get a husband. -Penelope Featherington marriage julia-quinn Julia Quinn
4b9d4c3 "After a universal silence, Leo was the first to speak. "Did anyone else notice--" "Yes," Catherine said. "What do you make of it?" "I haven't decided yet." Leo frowned and took a sip of port. "He's not someone I would pair Bea with." "Whom would you pair her with?" "Hanged if I know," Leo said. "Someone with similar interests. The local veterinarian, perhaps?" "He's eighty-three years old and deaf," Catherine said. "They would never argue," Leo pointed out." marriage humor Lisa Kleypas
4f7141c "In other words, it's one of those books you thrust on your partner with an incredulous cry of "This is me!" -- marriage reading Nick Hornby
27b28fe Love, he realized, was like the daggers he made in his forge: When you first got one it was shiny and new and the blade glinted bright in the light. Holding it against your palm, you were full of optimism for what it would be like in the field, and you couldn't wait to try it out. Except those first couple of nights out were usually awkward as you got used to it and it got used to you. Over time, the steel lost its brand-new gleam, and the hilt became stained, and maybe you nicked the shit out of the thing a couple of times. What you got in return, however, saved your life: Once the pair of you were well acquainted, it became such a part of you that it was an extension of your own arm. It protected you and gave you a means to protect your brothers; it provided you with the confidnece and the power to face whatever came out of the night; and wherever you went, it stayed with you, right over your heart, always there when you needed it. You had to keep the blade up, however. And rewrap the hilt from time to time. And double-check the weight. Funny...all of that was when it came to weapons. Why hadn't it dawned on him that matings were the same? (From the thoughts of Vishous) marriage relationships romance love J.R. Ward
73e5ef1 Only with time do we really learn who the other person is and come to love the person for him- or herself and not just for the feelings and experiences they give us. time marriage Timothy Keller
b51688e "What kind of wedding would you like?" he asked, and stole another kiss before she could reply. "The kind that turns you into my husband." She touched the firm line of his mouth with her fingers. "What kind would you like?" He smiled ruefully. "A fast one." marriage husband Lisa Kleypas
1b7aca7 There is something revolting about the way girls' minds so often jump to marriage long before they jump to love. marriage Dodie Smith
c05e8c8 "This is a wonderful day," Anthony was muttering to himself. "A wonderful day." He looked up sharply at Gareth. "You don't have sisters, do you?" "None," Gareth confirmed. "I am in possession of four," Anthony said, tossing back at least a third of the contents of his glass. "Four. And now they're all off my hands. I'm done," he said, looking as if he might break into a jig at any moment. "I'm free." "You've daughters, don't you?" Gareth could not resist reminding him. "Just one, and she's only three. I have years before I have to go through this again. If I'm lucky, she'll convert to Catholicism and become a nun. Gareth choked on his drink. "It's good, isn't it?" Anthony said, looking at the bottle. "Aged twenty-four years." "I don't believe I've ever ingested anything quite so ancient," Gareth murmured." marriage humor celebration Julia Quinn
04a1ab8 She wanted to be herself again, to recover all that she had been obliged to give up in half a century of servitude that had doubtless made her happy but which, once her husband was dead, did not leave her even the vestiges of her identity. marriage women identity Gabriel García Márquez
02362ee The problem is simply finding the right person. Ask Plato. Just make sure she finishes your thoughts and you finish hers. That's all you need. marriage Elizabeth Kostova
38332da Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. marriage truth sentimentality tim-keller Timothy Keller
25f05b2 "I'm not the marrying kind -" St. Vincent snorted. "No man is. Marriage is a female invention." marriage Lisa Kleypas
c53af7d "Of all the Hathaway sisters," Cam said equably, "Beatrix is the one most suited to choose her own husband. I trust her judgment." Beatrix gave him a brilliant smile. "Thank you, Cam." "What are you thinking?" Leo demanded of his brother-in-law. "You can't trust Beatrix's judgment." "Why not?" "She's too young," Leo said. "I'm twenty-three," Beatrix protested. "In dog years I'd be dead." marriage humor hathaways Lisa Kleypas
2b38ece Your god, sir, is the World. In my eyes, you, too, if not an infidel, are an idolater. I conceive that you ignorantly worship: in all things you appear to me too superstitious. Sir, your god, your great Bel, your fish-tailed Dagon, rises before me as a demon. You, and such as you, have raised him to a throne, put on him a crown, given him a sceptre. Behold how hideously he governs! See him busied at the work he likes best -- making marriages. He binds the young to the old, the strong to the imbecile. He stretches out the arm of Mezentius and fetters the dead to the living. In his realm there is hatred -- secret hatred: there is disgust -- unspoken disgust: there is treachery -- family treachery: there is vice -- deep, deadly, domestic vice. In his dominions, children grow unloving between parents who have never loved: infants are nursed on deception from their very birth: they are reared in an atmosphere corrupt with lies ... All that surrounds him hastens to decay: all declines and degenerates under his sceptre. god is a masked Death. family-relationships hatred unhappiness injustice marriage women death disparity domestic-life false-belief lovelessness scorn unfreedom disharmony families preconceptions discord married-life worldliness idolatry decay demons matrimony force social-norms society hypocrisy disgust contempt vice expectations Charlotte Brontë
2117d3b "With all due respect," Christopher muttered, "this conversation is leading nowhere. At least one of you should point out that Beatrix deserves a better man." "That's what I said about my wife," Leo remarked. "Which is why I married her before she could find one." marriage wife Lisa Kleypas
c383efa LEONATO Well, then, go you into hell? BEATRICE No, but to the gate; and there will the devil meet me, like an old cuckold, with horns on his head, and say 'Get you to heaven, Beatrice, get you to heaven; here's no place for you maids:' so deliver I up my apes, and away to Saint Peter for the heavens; he shows me where the bachelors sit, and there live we as merry as the day is long. marriage heaven self-determination independence freedom empowerment happiness matrimony husbands singles William Shakespeare
d7dc4ce But some characters in books are really real--Jane Austen's are; and I know those five Bennets at the opening of Pride and Prejudice, simply waiting to raven the young men at Netherfield Park, are not giving one thought to the real facts of marriage. jane-austen marriage Dodie Smith
c51b401 I want a husband to warm my bed, and my bed alone. marriage throne-of-glass husband Sarah J. Maas
3b5cdcb I am anchored on a resolve you cannot shake. My heart, my conscience shall dispose of my hand -- . Know this at last. integrity marriage feminism self-determination independence women empowerment love matrimony dignity social-norms conscience gender courtship wooing Charlotte Brontë
aa732b2 She was in a terrible marriage and she couldn't talk to anyone. He used to hit her, and in the beginning she told him that if it ever happened again, she would leave him. He swore that it wouldn't and she believed him. But it only got worse after that, like when his dinner was cold, or when she mentioned that she'd visited with one of the neighbors who was walking by with his dog. She just chatted with him, but that night, her husband threw her into a mirror. marriage love Nicholas Sparks
47e616d Compromise, communicate, and never go to bed angry - the three pieces of advice gifted and regifted to all newlyweds. marriage loss heartbreak love communicate newlyweds marriage-advice divorce compromise anger communication Gillian Flynn
e6ad6c3 When he thought of her, it rather amazed him, that he had let that girl with her violin go. Now, of course, he saw that her self-effacing proposal was quite irrelevant. All she had needed was the certainty of his love, and his reassurance that there was no hurry when a lifetime lay ahead of them. Love and patience- if only he had had them both at once- would surely have seen them both through. marriage Ian McEwan
fc851ed When you've found the right one - when you see him, when you're with him - you'll feel like you're coming home. marriage true-love the-one Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
9f31fd2 Insecurity is the worst sense that lovers feel: sometimes the most humdrum desireless marriage seems better. Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. marriage love Graham Greene
0b6f200 Marriage: a hopeful, generous, infinitely kind gamble taken by two people who don't know yet who they are or who the other might be, binding themselves to a future they cannot conceive of and have carefully omitted to investigate. self-knowledge marriage relationships love truth Alain de Botton
469d405 This good fellowship - camaraderie - usually occurring through the similarity of pursuits is unfortunately seldom super-added to love between the sexes, because men and women associate, not in their labors but in their pleasures merely. Where, however, happy circumstances permit its development, the compounded feeling proves itself to be the only love which is strong as death - that love which many waters cannot quench, nor the floods drown, besides which the passion usually called by the name is as evanescent as steam. marriage feelings passion love Thomas Hardy
07082f9 "Before her marriage she had thought that she had love within her grasp; but since the happiness which she had expected this love to bring her hadn't come, she supposed she must have been mistaken. And Emma tried to imagine just what was meant, in life, by the words "bliss," "passion," and "rapture" - words that had seemed so beautiful to her in books." marriage relationships Gustave Flaubert
3d96c6b What was our life like? I almost don't remember now. Though I remember , the space of time it occupied. And I remember it fondly. marriage memories memory nostalgia Richard Ford
b517863 "He shook his head in wonder. "You are magnificent." "I keep telling everyone that," she said with a nonchalant shrug, "But you seem to be the only one to believe me." marriage love Julia Quinn
0857c10 Committing to Nick, feeling safe with Nick, being happy with Nick, made me realize that there was a Real Amy in there, and she was so much better, more interesting and complicated and challenging, than Cool Amy. Nick wanted Cool Amy anyway. Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you? So that's how the hating first began. I've thought about this a lot, and that's where it started, I think. marriage committment Gillian Flynn
63f3d22 "It was all Mrs. Bumble. She do it," urged Mr. Bumble; first looking round, to ascertain that his partner had left the room. That is no excuse," returned Mr. Brownlow. "You were present on the occasion of the destruction of these trinkets, and, indeed, are the more guilty of the two, in the eye of the law; for the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction." If the law supposes that," said Mr. Bumble, squeezing his hat emphatically in both hands, "the law is a ass -- a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is, that his eye may be opened by experience -- by experience." -- marriage woman responsibility funny wives law matrimony husbands Charles Dickens
e08600c Love is a vessel that contains both security and adventure, and commitment offers one of the great luxuries of life: time. Marriage is not the end of romance, it is the beginning. time marriage romance love marriage-advice Esther Perel
960b6f2 Soul mates. They really call themselves that, which makes sense, because I guess they are ... They have no harsh edges with each other, no spiny conflicts, they ride though life like conjoined jellyfish - expanding and contracting instinctively, filling each other's spaces liquidly. Making it look easy. perfection marriage true-love relationships happiness love ideal-love ideal-lover jellyfish unconditional-love soul-mate other-half soul-mates peace Gillian Flynn
f2311a4 LADY BRACKNELL To speak frankly, I am not in favour of long engagements. They give people the opportunity of finding out each other's character before marriage, which I think is never advisable. marriage relationships humor engagement Oscar Wilde
b0179b0 I would not wish to marry someone who had already been married. It would be,' she opined, 'like having someone else break in one's own pony. marriage immaturity Neil Gaiman
e8e55e4 This principle - that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend - is a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that they are not durable. Physical attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A woman 'lets herself go' or a man loses his job, and the compatibility foundation falls apart. marriage romance love Timothy Keller
063fe9a A sacrament--like marriage--means living a life better than your natural instincts, so that you're modeling God. And God never gives up. marriage god Jodi Picoult
310277a She says it's really not very flattering to her that the women who fall in love with her husband are so uncommonly second-rate. marriage women love W. Somerset Maugham
4b20334 "George, who is out somewhere there in the dark, who is good to me - whom I revile, who can keep learning the games we play as quickly as I can change them. Who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. And yes, I do wish to be happy. George and Martha: Sad, sad, sad. Whom I will not forgive for having come to rest; for having seen me and having said: "Yes, this will do". Who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving... me, and must be punished for it. George and Martha... Sad, sad, sad." -- marriage Edward Albee
85e0f98 "George, who is out somewhere there in the dark, who is good to me - whom I revile, who can keep learning the games we play as quickly as I can change them. Who can make me happy and I do not wish to be happy. And yes, I do wish to be happy. George and Martha: Sad, sad, sad. Whom I will not forgive for having come to rest; for having seen me and having said: "Yes, this will do". Who has made the hideous, the hurting, the insulting mistake of loving... me, and must be punished for it. George and Martha... Sad, sad, sad." marriage Edward Albee
de89612 "His heart cracked, and he fell in love. He wondered if she would marry him. "Tu sei pazzo," she told him with a pleasant laugh. "Why am I crazy?" he asked. "Perche non posso sposare." "Why can't you get married?" "Because I am not a virgin," she answered. "What has that got to do with it?" "Who will marry me? No one wants a girl who is not a virgin." "I will. I'll marry you." "Ma non posso sposarti." "Why can't you marry me?" "Perche sei pazzo." "Why am I crazy?" "Perche vuoi sposarmi." Yossarian wrinkled his forehead with quizzical amusement. "You won't marry me because I'm crazy, and you say I'm crazy because I want to marry you? Is that right?" "Si." "Tu sei pazz'!" he told her loudly. "Perche?" she shouted back at him indignantly, her unavoidable round breasts rising and falling in a saucy huff beneath the pink chemise as she sat up in bed indignantly. "Why am I crazy?" "Because you won't marry me." "Stupido!" she shouted back at him, and smacked him loudly and flamboyantly on the chest with the back of her hand. "Non posso sposarti! Non capisci? Non posso sposarti." "Oh, sure, I understand. And why can't you marry me?" "Perche sei pazzo!" "And why am I crazy?" "Perche vuoi sposarmi." "Because I want to marry you. Carina, ti amo," he explained, and he drew her gently back down to the pillow. "Ti amo molto." "Tu sei pazzo," she murmured in reply, flattered. "Perche?" "Because you say you love me. How can you love a girl who is not a virgin?" "Because I can't marry you." She bolted right up again in a threatening rage. "Why can't you marry me?" she demanded, ready to clout him again if he gave an uncomplimentary reply. "Just because I am not a virgin?" "No, no, darling. Because you're crazy." marriage women Joseph Heller
7e7b644 Our culture says that feelings of love are the basis for actions of love. And of course that can be true. But it is truer to say that actions of love can lead consistently to feelings of love. marriage Timothy Keller
108a015 The old Amy, the girl of the big laugh and the easy ways, literally shed herself, a pile of skin and soul on the floor, and stepped this new, brittle, bitter Amy ... a razor-wire knot daring me to unloop her, and I was not up to the job with my thick, numb, nervous fingers. Country fingers. Flyover fingers untrained in the intricate, dangerous work of 'solving Amy'. When I'd hold up the bloody stumps, she'd sigh and turn to her secret mental notebooks on which she tallied all my deficiencies, forever noting disappointments, frailties, shortcomings. hatred marriage criticism loss relationships change heartbreak love change-for-worse emotional-turmoil hurtful i-miss-who-you-were missing-who-someone-was puppeteer heartless nothing strangers turmoil bullying scary failure flaws Gillian Flynn
2428b8f "No: I shall not marry Samuel Fawthrop Wynne." "I ask why? I must have a reason. In all respects he is more than worthy of you." She stood on the hearth; she was pale as the white marble slab and cornice behind her; her eyes flashed large, dilated, unsmiling. "And ask in what sense that young man is worthy of ?" integrity marriage men equality feminism self-determination independence women self-awareness empowerment suitability worthiness marriage-proposal matrimony dignity social-norms inferiority gender courtship wooing Charlotte Brontë
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