---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marriage is a fight to the death. Before…"
description: "\"Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it, the two parties concerned implore the benediction of Heaven because to promise to love each ot..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png"
---

#  Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it…

![“Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it, the two parties concerned implore the benediction of Heaven because to promise to love each other forever is the rashest of enterprises.” quote by Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png)

> “Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it, the two parties concerned implore the benediction of Heaven because to promise to love each other forever is the rashest of enterprises.”

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Marriage is portrayed as a high‑stakes battle, entered with solemn vows that often prove overly optimistic and risky.

**In simple terms:** Marriage is a risky, solemn commitment.

Key Takeaway

Enter marriage with realistic expectations.

Themes

marriage commitment risk

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- family planning
- legal unions
- relationship counseling

Key Concepts

philosophy social contract

Questions to Reflect On

- What expectations do you bring into marriage?
- How can couples prepare for inevitable conflicts?

A Different Perspective

Idealistic vows may ignore practical challenges.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Benediction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benediction/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Concerned Implore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned-implore-5541852/) [Contracting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contracting/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprise/) [Fight Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-death/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-promise-2335037/) [Love each other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-each-other/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Marriage Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage-fight-828310/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Promise Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise-love/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/)

## Related quotes

> [Marriage is a fight to the death, before which the wedded couple ask a blessing from heaven, because it is the rashest of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before-which-the-wedded-couple-ask-a/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [“We'll see Heaven together. I promise with all my heart I'll never leave you alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-t-hunt/we-ll-see-heaven-together-i-promise-with-all-my-heart-i-ll-never/)

[Stacey T. Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-t-hunt/)

> [Marriage must fight constantly against a monster which devours everything: routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-must-fight-constantly-against-a-monster-which-devours/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Our souls possess the unknown power of extending as well as contracting space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/our-souls-possess-the-unknown-power-of-extending-as-well-as/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Our brothers and sisters in the trans community, they showed up to every one of our marriage marches when it wasn't necessarily what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-lance-black/our-brothers-and-sisters-in-the-trans-community-they-showed-up-to/)

[Dustin Lance Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-lance-black/)

> [I tend to believe, when you're in a relationship, if you don't fight, it's not a real relationship. You have to have arguments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lagravenese/i-tend-to-believe-when-you-re-in-a-relationship-if-you-don-t-fight-it/)

[Richard LaGravenese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lagravenese/)

> [In marriage, sometimes you have to fight, just so you can learn more from each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/in-marriage-sometimes-you-have-to-fight-just-so-you-can-learn-more/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [I have known many happy marriages, but never a compatible one. The whole aim of marriage is to fight through and survive the instant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gk-chesterton/i-have-known-many-happy-marriages-but-never-a-compatible-one-the/)

[GK Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gk-chesterton/)

> [“Also, I was living in the middle of my parents' marriage. No one ever says this about families, and maybe people who aren't only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/also-i-was-living-in-the-middle-of-my-parents-marriage-no-one-ever/)

[E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/)

> [As men are not able to fight against death, misery, ignorance, they have taken it into their heads, in order to be happy, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/as-men-are-not-able-to-fight-against-death-misery-ignorance-they-have/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [“It is strange how love is a source for power––can spur the desire to fight to the death, or to fight back from something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-fantaskey/it-is-strange-how-love-is-a-source-for-power-can-spur-the-desire-to/)

[Beth Fantaskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-fantaskey/)

> [“…Love is physiologically a legal battle that lovers fight until death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farooq-a-shiekh/love-is-physiologically-a-legal-battle-that-lovers-fight-until-death/)

[Farooq A. Shiekh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farooq-a-shiekh/)

> [Fight on, brave knights! Man dies, but glory lives! Fight on; death is better than defeat! Fight on brave knights! for bright eyes behold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/fight-on-brave-knights-man-dies-but-glory-lives-fight-on-death-is/)

[Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/)

> [“It had been a long night already, and now here I was, locked in another fight to the death. Sometimes it just didn't pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-estep/it-had-been-a-long-night-already-and-now-here-i-was-locked-in-another/)

[Jennifer Estep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-estep/)

> [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/)

[Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/)

## More by Honore de Balzac

> [“Oh, my friend, when you love, love a woman whom you are sure that you can love always. Never forsake a woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/oh-my-friend-when-you-love-love-a-woman-whom-you-are-sure-that-you/)

[Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [“You have broken the ice, though you have not even scratched its glossy surface: you have placed your hand upon the croup of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/you-have-broken-the-ice-though-you-have-not-even-scratched-its-glossy/)

[Honoré de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [In a world of hunchbacks, a fine figure becomes a monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/in-a-world-of-hunchbacks-a-fine-figure-becomes-a-monstrosity/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [My writing table has seen all my wretchedness, knows all my plans, has overheard all my thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/my-writing-table-has-seen-all-my-wretchedness-knows-all-my-plans-has/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Foppery, being the chronic condition of women, is not so much noticed as it is when it breaks out on the person of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/foppery-being-the-chronic-condition-of-women-is-not-so-much-noticed/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [A married woman is a slave you must know how to seat upon a throne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-married-woman-is-a-slave-you-must-know-how-to-seat-upon-a-throne/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [I am a galley slave to pen and ink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/i-am-a-galley-slave-to-pen-and-ink/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [One can imagine the look the two lovers exchanged; it was like a flame, for virtuous lovers have not a shred of hypocrisy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/one-can-imagine-the-look-the-two-lovers-exchanged-it-was-like-a-flame/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [White and shining virgin of all human virtues, ark of the covenant between earth and heaven, tender and strong companion partaking of the lion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/white-and-shining-virgin-of-all-human-virtues-ark-of-the-covenant/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [All men can bear a familiar, definite misfortune better than the cruel alternations of a fate which, from one moment to another, brings excessive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-men-can-bear-a-familiar-definite-misfortune-better-than-the-cruel/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [The mind, too, has its regimen. It needs gymnastics, just like the body does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-mind-too-has-its-regimen-it-needs-gymnastics-just-like-the-body/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [Hatred like love feeds on the merest trifles. Everything adds to it. Just as the being we love can do no wrong, so the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/hatred-like-love-feeds-on-the-merest-trifles-everything-adds-to-it/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

> [All human power is a compound of time and patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/all-human-power-is-a-compound-of-time-and-patience/)

[Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

[Explore all 793 Honore de Balzac quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/)

## More Benediction quotes

> [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/)

[Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/)

> [“It is no sign of benediction to have been obsessed with the lives of saints, for it is an obsession intertwined with a taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/it-is-no-sign-of-benediction-to-have-been-obsessed-with-the-lives-of/)

[Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/)

> [With stillness comes the benediction of peace”. “Thinking isolates a situation or event and calls it good or bad, as if it had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/with-stillness-comes-the-benediction-of-peace-thinking-isolates-a/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [He raised his hands, not to strike, but in benediction. Lincoln was the grandest figure of the fiercest civil war. He is the gentlest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/he-raised-his-hands-not-to-strike-but-in-benediction-lincoln-was-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Every moment brings us some benediction. Even the rough hand of trial holds in its clasp for us some treasure of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/every-moment-brings-us-some-benediction-even-the-rough-hand-of-trial/)

[J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/)

> [Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America's heart, her benedictions and her prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/wherever-the-standard-of-freedom-and-independence-has-been-or-shall/)

[John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/)

> [My fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe; who presides in the councils of nations; and whose providential aid can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-fervent-supplications-to-that-almighty-being-who-rules-over-the/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [If upon this earth we ever have a glimpse of heaven,it is when we pass a home in winter, at night,and through the windows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-upon-this-earth-we-ever-have-a-glimpse-of-heaven-it-is-when-we/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [For the past eighty years I have started each day in the same manner... I go to the piano, and I play preludes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/for-the-past-eighty-years-i-have-started-each-day-in-the-same-manner/)

[Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/)

> [The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-majority-of-people-will-go-on-observing-forms-that-cannot/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [No matter where the skeptical thought originates, or how it gets access to our minds, we see at once that it flattens the level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-salter-storrs/no-matter-where-the-skeptical-thought-originates-or-how-it-gets/)

[Richard Salter Storrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-salter-storrs/)

> [I would injure no man, and should provoke no resentment. I would relieve every distress, and should enjoy the benedictions of gratitude. I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/i-would-injure-no-man-and-should-provoke-no-resentment-i-would/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [And off in the far distance, the gold on the wings of the angel atop the bell tower of San Marco flashed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/and-off-in-the-far-distance-the-gold-on-the-wings-of-the-angel-atop/)

[Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/)

> [The thought of our past years in me doth breed perpetual benedictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-thought-of-our-past-years-in-me-doth-breed-perpetual-benedictions/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [Kind words are benedictions. The are not only instruments of power, but of benevolence and courtesy; blessings both to the speaker and hearer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-frederick-saunders/kind-words-are-benedictions-the-are-not-only-instruments-of-power-but/)

[Arthur Frederick Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-frederick-saunders/)

[Browse all 76 Benediction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benediction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it, the two parties concerned implore the benediction of Heaven because to promise to love each other forever is the rashest of enterprises.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Honore de Balzac"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before-contracting-it-the-two/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Benediction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before-contracting-it-the-two/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16e/honor-de-balzac-197_benediction_marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before_1507407.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Marriage is a fight to the death. Before contracting it, the two parties concerned implore the benediction…” — Honore de Balzac",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Honore de Balzac",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Marriage is a fight to the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before-contracting-it-the-two/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/marriage-is-a-fight-to-the-death-before-contracting-it-the-two/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
