Marriage, in short, is a bargain, like buying a house or…
““Marriage, in short, is a bargain, like buying a house or entering a profession. One chooses it knowing that, by that very decision, one is abnegating other possibilities. In choosing companionship over passion, women like Beatrice Webb and Virginia Woolf made a bargain; their marriages worked because they did not regret their bargains, or blame their husbands for not being something else--dashing lovers, for example. But in writing biographies, or one's own life, it is both customary and misleading to present such marriages, to oneself or to one's reader, as sad compromises, the best of a bad bargain, or scarcely to speak of them at all. Virginia Woolf mentioned that she, who is reticent about nothing, had never spoken of her life with Leonard. but we know that she said of him that when he entered a room, she had no idea what he was going to say, a remarkable definition of a good marriage. Such marriages are not bad bargains, but the best of a good bargain, and we must learn the language to understand and describe them, particularly in writing the lives of accomplished women.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Marriage can be a pragmatic bargain, not a tragic compromise; women like Woolf found fulfillment without regret.
In simple terms: Marriage as pragmatic, fulfilling bargain.
Key Takeaway
View marriage as partnership, not sacrifice.
Themes
feminism
marriage
pragmatism
historical perspective
Mood
analytical
reflective
Type
Buying a house:0
Feminism:0
Good marriage:0
Marriage:0
Virginia Woolf:0
Bargain Marriages:0
Woolf Bargain:0
Woolf Mentioned:0
When to use this quote
- relationship counseling
- academic study
- personal decision-making
Key Concepts
gender studies
social contract
literary analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- How does viewing marriage as a bargain affect expectations?
- What can modern couples learn from historic examples?
A Different Perspective
May ignore emotional complexities.