Association Quote by Edith Wharton
“With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together by ignorance on the one side and hypocrisy on the other.”
About This Quote
The narrator perceives his marriage as a superficial partnership driven by material concerns, mutual ignorance, and hypocrisy, lacking genuine emotional connection.
In simple terms: A marriage reduced to materialism and pretense.
Key Takeaway
Superficial unions breed emptiness.
Themes
materialism
hypocrisy
marriage
social expectations
illusion
Mood
melancholic
cynical
reflective
Type
literary
social commentary
When to use this quote
- arranged marriage
- career-focused partnership
- family pressure
- social climbing
- financial alliance
Key Concepts
social contract
personal fulfillment
cultural norms
Practical Applications
- counseling for couples
- literary analysis of social critique
Questions to Reflect On
- What does it mean to truly know one's partner?
- How do societal expectations shape personal relationships?
![“[T]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political society. And voluntarily, through the private interaction of individuals and associations - what we can call civil society. ... In a civil society, you…” quote by Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b8b/ed-crane-39299_affair_t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways_34431.jpg)
