Single Is Better

Single is Better

Society may be well on its way to moving away from the old form of marriage. Single life is becoming more and more prominent, as Keith O'Brien states in his article, "...after years of believing that single people must want to be married, Americans should now consider the possibility that this simply isn't true, Morgan says. 'The single life, once a way station, is becoming a movement.'" If the single life is becoming more accepted, one must also consider that there are reasons for this shift. There are many benefits in marriage, however, being single makes life much easier. Women may not have to make the choice between children and a career, there are unnecessary relationship issues, and peoples idea of traditional marriages is not as traditional as people believe.

The age of women in the workforce has come in. More women now work in jobs that 100 years ago would have been considered "men's" jobs. As a society, America is moving away from their idea of a "traditional" marriage. The general idea of a traditional marriage is in which a woman stays at home and rears the kids, while the husband makes the money and provides for the family.

"During the 1950s, millions of Americans came to accept an image of the family as a middle-class institution consisting of a wise father who worked outside the home; a mother whose major responsibility was to take care of her husband, children, and home; and children who were well behaved and obedient."

More people no longer believe that a woman's place is only in the home. Over the years, women being educated and having careers is becoming more widely accepted. However, within relationships, some women find that having both a full-time career and children is difficult. In a survey of 138 female students at Yale, many of them stated that they want to work for ten years then quit and have children. Some stated that they would like to go back once their kids are in school. None of them chose to be nursing babies while also trying to have a full-time job. In addition to the difficulty of attempting to juggle children and a career, quitting their jobs at that ten year mark may be very hard for most of them. People get accustomed to living in a certain lifestyle. Without that source of income, unless their husbands are very rich, they will either have to cut back, or not have children (Story).

If these women simply chose to stay single, they would not be required to make this decision based on what their partner may or may not desire. The single life leaves this decision completely up to them, and thus easier.

Eric Bartels tells of all the relationship issues he has with his wife. He states, "If this is my castle, it is under siege. From within." What is this siege? This siege is the result of all the unnecessary relationship issues that come with marriage. As advice to young people Bartels says:

"My wife and I need to fix this anger thing. We knew, or should have known, what we were getting into. We signed the contract. Shook on it. Kissed, actually. But I think we missed some of the small print. We wanted kids and had a vague idea that it would involve some work. Well, I have a news flash: it can be really, really hard."

Marriage invokes new levels of anger in people that was rarely seen before the couple "tied the knot".

"These are the things men do that quietly annoy the living shit out of a woman. Until she becomes a mother. Then they inspire a level of fury unlike anything she has ever experienced. And that fury won't be kept secret. On the receiving end, the husband will be left to wonder why the punishment is so wildly out of line with the crime. This is the kind of vitriol that should be reserved for lying politicians, corporate greed and hitters who don't take a pitch when their team trails in the late innings--not a dedicated marriage partner with garden-variety human foibles."

Why, then, should any member of society be asked to enter into such an arrangement that seems so disagreeable? Granted, this situation is not present in every marriage, at least not to this extreme that Bartels relationship exhibited. However, the percent of society that has opted for the single life have saved themselves from this possible