Marriage, and specifically in Western cultures, is a topic that has changed a lot over time. From the 16th century to the present day, numerous aspects of marriage and the reasoning behind it have evolved. Historically, marriage was less about the compatibility of emotions and more about other socioeconomic benefits. These two-person unions were based on functions such as wealth control, sexual relationships, and network building. The division of labor is also something that has changed a lot over the last few centuries. At the beginning of the 17th century, single people of each sex were considered less people than if they were united by marriage. In addition to being part of the church, unmarried individuals had to live on the furthest fringes of society. In the 18th century, being a bachelor was considered the lowest form of manhood, and soon after, any unmarried man would have difficulty securing his credit. On the other hand, it was unmarried women who coined the term “spinsters.” This word was originally an honorific referring to textile production but soon became an offensive slur. Women soon felt that being married to someone was better than being called that word. Marriage has not only changed since the Middle Ages, but has also changed significantly in the last 3 decades. More focus has been placed on emotional compatibility and less on the financial aspect of marriage. There are also deeper bonds between child and parents, whereas in the past parents behaved more like "dictators" and less like friends. The rise of emotions in marriage has led to sex being used more for recreation than solely for conceiving... middle of paper... it's up to individuals to sort them out instead of just throwing them away. push the marriage away and cause further stress on oneself. I think the media has also ruined marriage for current and future generations. There is so much pressure to have a perfect wedding and instead of falling in love with your significant other, we often fall in love with the idea of ​​falling in love. It is not unreasonable to desire these certain aspects of life and love but it is only bad if we base our lives around them. However, individuals seem to want more and more, and I wonder if there will come a point where people will be truly happy. Kipnis seems to believe in the idea of ​​individualism and that we are not meant to be monogamous, but if this is true, I think at some point the human race will cease to exist, so there must be some sort of reasoning behind the idea of marriage.