Marriage Can Be ... Murder!

An important part of the marriage vows is the promise that the couple will be bound together, "until death do us part". This seemingly impossible promise provides family stability, and the stability of the family is an important foundation for our entire society.

Of course, staying together no matter what just because someone in authority says a few words over you at your wedding is a pretty tall order. Every couple will face some difficulty over the course of their marriage. It takes extraordinary commitment and hard work to get through the day to day challenges of living together as a couple, let alone managing a crisis.

There has been a good deal of press focused on the rise in divorce rates. The sad fact is that for some couples, staying together is an unhealthy mistake. However, the mandate of "until death do us part" brings up an especially chilling solution if divorce is not an option.

The rates of spousal violence and murder have declined since the 1970s (interestingly, about the time divorce began to lose its social stigma) but the rates of uxoricide (killing one's wife) still far exceed mariticide (killing the husband, not to be confused with matricide, killing one's mother). 

OTRCAT does not advocate knocking off your mate as an alternative to divorce. Remember, a loving marriage will always be a 'work in progress'. It is important to be understanding and to find time to spend together, perhaps enjoying a common interest.

We would like to suggest arranging a quiet evening at home, with the lights down low, a warm fire crackling in the hearth, some chilled wine, and selections from our Marriage Can Be Murder collection. If your relationship does not improve immediately, at least you can explore options.

See also: Marriages in Disaster, Divorce Collection, and Tim DeForest's article on Marriage Can Be ... Murder.