FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN - RECAPTURING THE MEANING OF MARRIAGE

Though American divorce law was never intended in principle to be as u nusual as it has turned out in fact, it nevertheless carries a powerfu l ideology, sending out distinctive messages about commitment, respons ibility, and dependency.... The American story about marriage, as told in the law and in much popular literature, goes something like this: marriage is a relationship that exists primarily for the fulfillment o f the individual spouses. If it ceases to perform this function, no on e is to blame and either spouse may terminate it at will.(1).