Marriage

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages," said philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The texts in this collection depict happy and unhappy marriages—and those that fall somewhere in between.

Rock Paper Scissors

by Alice Feeney

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Revenge, Mothers, Fathers, Friendship, Love, Hate & Anger, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt, Good & Evil, Truth & Lies, Daughters & Sons, Fear, Loneliness, Apathy, Marriage

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction

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Roselily

by Alice Walker

Publication year 1973

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Race, Marriage

Tags Fairy Tale & Folklore, Race & Racism, African American Literature

“Roselily” is the opening story of Alice Walker’s debut collection, In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women. It was published in 1973, ten years before Walker became the first Black American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel The Color Purple. “Roselily” is a stream-of-consciousness narrative that intercuts incomplete, italicized phrases from marriage vows with the title character’s expansive reflections on her life, her impending marriage, and the sociopolitical tensions... Read Roselily Summary

Runaway: Stories

by Alice Munro

Publication year 2004

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Love, Loyalty & Betrayal, Nostalgia, Loneliness, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Masculinity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Fate, Good & Evil, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Canadian Literature, Literary Fiction, Relationships

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Samson Agonistes

by John Milton

Publication year 1671

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Conflict, Gender Identity, Disability, Marriage, War, Trust & Doubt, Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Narrative Poem, Dramatic Literature, British Literature, Restoration, Religion & Spirituality, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Famed 17th-century English poet and pamphleteer John Milton published Samson Agonistes (a Greek word that can mean “struggle”) in 1671. The work is a dramatic poem and a tragic drama—though Milton announces that it isn’t for the stage. Milton’s work is informed by one episode in a story from the Old Testament, in which the superhuman hero Samson is betrayed by his wife Dalila, loses his strength, and is imprisoned by his foes, the Philistines... Read Samson Agonistes Summary

Sanditon

by Jane Austen

Publication year 1925

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Colonialism, Social Class, Marriage, Gender Identity

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Regency Era, World History

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Sandwich

by Catherine Newman

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Marriage, Aging, Nostalgia, Memory, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Love, Femininity, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Beauty, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Literary Fiction, Humor, Modern Classic Fiction

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Say Yes

by Tobias Wolff

Publication year 1985

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Marriage, Race, Love

Tags Relationships, Race & Racism

One night, a husband and his wife are washing dishes in their kitchen. The couple talks about interracial relationships. The husband does not believe Black Americans and white Americans should marry. His wife, Ann, is upset by this and asks why he doesn’t support interracial marriage. He claims he doesn’t have anything against Black Americans, but he feels that white Americans can never understand Black people fully, claiming statistically most interracial marriages end in divorce... Read Say Yes Summary

She Stoops to Conquer

by Oliver Goldsmith

Publication year 1773

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Humor, Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, British Literature, World History, Dramatic Literature

She Stoops to Conquer is a play by British writer Oliver Goldsmith, first performed in 1773. The play is a comedy of manners and a romance set in 18th-century England. Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish poet and dramatist and this play is his most popular and well-known work, with performances still regularly occurring in the 21st century. In 1778, John O'Keeffe wrote a successful sequel to the play, entitled Tony Lumpkin in Town. She Stoops to... Read She Stoops to Conquer Summary

Silver Sparrow

by Tayari Jones

Publication year 2011

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Marriage

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

Silver Sparrow, written by Tayari Jones and published in 2011, is a family drama set in 1980s Atlanta. The novel was a Women’s National Book Association 2011 Great Group Read and was chosen as one of the top 10 books of the year by Library Journal. Other works by this author include Leaving Atlanta and An American Marriage. Plot Summary Silver Sparrow revolves around Dana Lynn Yarboro and Chaurisse Witherspoon, who are half-sisters, although only Dana knows... Read Silver Sparrow Summary

Slow Dance

by Rainbow Rowell

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Memory, Nostalgia, Coming of Age, Midlife, The Past, Place, Friendship, Marriage

Tags Coming of Age, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

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Small Pleasures

by Clare Chambers

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Love, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Midlife, Marriage, Mothers, Community, Beauty, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ+, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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So Big

by Edna Ferber

Publication year 1924

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Beauty, Perseverance, Loneliness, Love, Regret, Gender Identity, Food, Place, Family, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Art, Literature

Tags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, American Literature, Poverty

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