--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The models of adulthood are disappearing…" description: "\"The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?\" — Robert Bly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png" --- # The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two… ![“The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?” quote by Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png) > “The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?” [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Traditional adult roles are eroding, making marriage between immature individuals more common. **In simple terms:** Adult roles are fading, affecting marriage. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal maturity before partnership. Themes maturity marriage societal change relationships Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dating - cohabitation - marriage counseling Key Concepts developmental psychology cultural shift identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What defines adulthood today? - How can couples grow together? A Different Perspective Maturity is a personal journey, not guaranteed by age. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Adults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adults/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“By marrying to soon, many individuals sacrifice their chance to struggle through this purgatory of solitude and search toward a greater sense of self-confidence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-marrying-to-soon-many-individuals-sacrifice-their-chance-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The day she wed Khal Drogo, the arakhs had flashed at her wedding feast, and men had died whilst others drank and mated. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/the-day-she-wed-khal-drogo-the-arakhs-had-flashed-at-her-wedding/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [If you've experienced cheating in a new marriage, the real work is not obsessively combing through all the details of what happened, but rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-v-gordon/if-you-ve-experienced-cheating-in-a-new-marriage-the-real-work-is-not/) [Emily V. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-v-gordon/) > [“They throw rice at a new marriage, then give him beans in a divorcement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/they-throw-rice-at-a-new-marriage-then-give-him-beans-in-a-divorcement/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Rooney was like marrying a high school sweetheart. And then you're like, 'I think we need some time to see other people,' and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coppola-schwartzman/rooney-was-like-marrying-a-high-school-sweetheart-and-then-you-re/) [Robert Coppola Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coppola-schwartzman/) > [Divorces are getting so common that a woman I know doesn't bother getting a new marriage license. They just punch her old one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nipsey-russell/divorces-are-getting-so-common-that-a-woman-i-know-doesn-t-bother/) [Nipsey Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nipsey-russell/) > [New Marriage vows For richer or poorer , sickness & health , better or worse , 'til I can't take your shit any longer . Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-h/new-marriage-vows-for-richer-or-poorer-sickness-health-better-or/) [Miranda H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-h/) > [I got about half the time I wanted to write poetry. I got about half the time I needed to be a father. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-got-about-half-the-time-i-wanted-to-write-poetry-i-got-about-half/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [To me, the hope lies in adults forgetting about their retirement and turning toward the adolescents and helping pull the adolescents over that mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/to-me-the-hope-lies-in-adults-forgetting-about-their-retirement-and/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) Guy Code > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) ## More by Robert Bly > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [All of Japan once a year will get up on their rooftops, because that's the night that the shepherd boy from one side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/all-of-japan-once-a-year-will-get-up-on-their-rooftops-because-that-s/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I got about half the time I wanted to write poetry. I got about half the time I needed to be a father. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-got-about-half-the-time-i-wanted-to-write-poetry-i-got-about-half/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every noon as the clock hands arrive at twelve, I want to tie the two arms together, And walk out of the bank carrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-noon-as-the-clock-hands-arrive-at-twelve-i-want-to-tie-the-two/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Rumi is astounding, fertile, abundant, almost more an excitable library of poetry than a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/rumi-is-astounding-fertile-abundant-almost-more-an-excitable-library/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One could say the higher the spirit goes, the more deeply the soul sinks down into the waters of melancholy and tragedy. Drowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-could-say-the-higher-the-spirit-goes-the-more-deeply-the-soul/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Don't go outside your house to see flowers. My friend, don't bother with that excursion. Inside your body there are flowers. One flower has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/don-t-go-outside-your-house-to-see-flowers-my-friend-don-t-bother/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [I have spent many years trying to recover a common language, one that can cross the distance between people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-have-spent-many-years-trying-to-recover-a-common-language-one-that/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [One out of three black men are in the criminal justice system in some form. Their despair is beginning to resonate through the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/one-out-of-three-black-men-are-in-the-criminal-justice-system-in-some/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Sociological prose is generally written without images in an exact form for an academic audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/sociological-prose-is-generally-written-without-images-in-an-exact/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [We spend our life until we’re twenty deciding what parts of ourself to put into the bag, and we spend the rest of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/we-spend-our-life-until-we-re-twenty-deciding-what-parts-of-ourself/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [Every modern male has, lying at the bottom of his psyche, a large, primitive being covered with hair down to his feet. Making contact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/every-modern-male-has-lying-at-the-bottom-of-his-psyche-a-large/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [My feeling is that poetry is also a healing process, and then when a person tries to write poetry with depth or beauty, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/my-feeling-is-that-poetry-is-also-a-healing-process-and-then-when-a/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [The ancestors are very much invested in the children, because the children are the ones who are going to continue the world that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-ancestors-are-very-much-invested-in-the-children-because-the/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“When a man says to a woman, "You are my anima," she should quickly scream and run out of the room. The word anima…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/when-a-man-says-to-a-woman-you-are-my-anima-she-should-quickly-scream/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) [Explore all 135 Robert Bly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Two things suck about becoming an adult male - paying taxes and getting a finger in your butt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-code/two-things-suck-about-becoming-an-adult-male-paying-taxes-and-getting/) Guy Code > [You can only pretend for so long before reality hits and you realize he/she is not who you thought or what you truly want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/you-can-only-pretend-for-so-long-before-reality-hits-and-you-realize/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“English: "Being an adult doesn't mean killing the child we once were; it means being able to protect him." Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/no-one-it-has-been-said-will-ever-look-at-the-moon-in-the-same-way/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Being an adult is the ability to postpone a want for the sake of a family need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hogan/being-an-adult-is-the-ability-to-postpone-a-want-for-the-sake-of-a/) [Chris Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hogan/) > [“one Secret of Adulthood is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘No offense’”? “And”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-secret-of-adulthood-is-never-start-a-sentence-with-the-words-no/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [In their youth, mortals behave more like nymphs. Adulthood seems impossibly distant, let alone the enfeeblement of old age. But ponderously, inevitably, it overtakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/in-their-youth-mortals-behave-more-like-nymphs-adulthood-seems/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Public schools were designed as the great equalizers of our society - the place where all children could have access to educational opportunities to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-napolitano/public-schools-were-designed-as-the-great-equalizers-of-our-society/) [Janet Napolitano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-napolitano/) > [“Yet GenX'er teens didn't slow down--they were just as likely to drive, drink alcohol, and date as their Boomer peers and more likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-m-twenge/yet-genx-er-teens-didn-t-slow-down-they-were-just-as-likely-to-drive/) [Jean M. Twenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-m-twenge/) > [“The entrepreneurs are only about my age, probably younger, but they don't seem so. Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is an adult?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Bly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adulthood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/robert-bly-3269_adulthood_the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing_304997.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The models of adulthood are disappearing fast. How can two people have a new marriage if neither of them is…” — Robert Bly", "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": "Robert Bly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The models of adulthood are disappearing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/the-models-of-adulthood-are-disappearing-fast-how-can-two-people-have/#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 } } ] } ```