2.

The stability of marriage lies in the interdependence of the family and in their inner unity,
affection and mutual trust that strengthens their primary relationship. Modern marriage now
becomes a joint, democratic endeavor. It is no longer authoritarian and patriarchal in nature,
but is based on companionship and comradeship instead.

The newly married couple of today has to start at the very beginning and, what is more,
it must start alone, or rather as two people alone. The objective social situation into which the
married couple was previously introduced, no longer exists.
This decline of objective social situation has led to a greater freedom and scope in the
personal and subjective aspect of married life. There is only one function left to marriage and
the family -that of being married and being a family. All the other functional aspects of marriage
and family life have been assumed by the various specialized departments of modern society.
Marriage as a place of security. This security is no longer given to them when they
marry. They have to do it themselves. The home is no longer the place of work. Work does not
serve to unite the family, instead it tends to divide the father and the mother. At the end of the
day, both fall back on marriage and on their family life together.
Change of structure led to internal change, the greatest emphasis is now placed upon
the so-called primary relationships, that is the relationship between the married partners
themselves and between the parents and their children. Married stability and faithfulness are
now supported from within, by the marriage itself -by the mutual dependence of the married
couple upon each other. This does not mean that society is indifferent to marriage, or that it no
longer exercises any form of control over them. The standards that society judges, however,
have changed considerably, and are now in tune with the primary relationships with the family
referred to above.
They find themselves in an isolated position in which they have only each other to
depend on. The personal relationship between the partners has now become the mainstay of
married and family life. The patriarchal and authoritarian pattern of family relationships has
gone, and a more friendly relationship of companionship and comradeship has taken its place in
marriage. More importance is placed upon the existence -between the husband and the wife,
and between the parents and the children -of an inner unity and affection, a mutual trust and a
close interdependence.
The onset of industrialism brought forth structural changes that entailed a functional
loss that meant the only function of marriage and the family is that of being married and a
family. All that is left for them to do is to fulfill the personal and subjective aspect of marriage,
as opposed to the older views which automatically entered them to a prearranged social entity
(the working community of the extended family). This functional loss forced couples to realize
that they are now tasked to build their marriage from scratch and to a place of security. They
are not afforded the The extended familys line of work no longer applies because of the various
specialized departments of modern society. Work no longer serves to unite the family and
rather divides the parents time. At the end of the working day, the family becomes a
refuge/retreat for its members to foster primary relationships with one another.