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.

The Rain God

by Arturo Islas

Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Memory, Shame & Pride, Disability, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Language, Masculinity, Mental Health, Race, Sexual Identity, Death, The Past, Environment, Place, Marriage, Self Discovery, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Immigration, Religion & Spirituality

Tags LGBTQ+, Arts & Culture, Race & Racism

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The Reckoning

by John Grisham

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Guilt, Grief, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Shame & Pride, War, Social Class, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Equality, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies, Trust & Doubt, Race, Gender Identity, Mental Health, Femininity, Masculinity, Daughters & Sons, Family, Fathers, Marriage, Mothers, Siblings, Death, Coming of Age, The Past, Nation

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Race & Racism, Military & War, World History

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The Recognition of Sakuntala

by Kalidasa

Publication year 400

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Love, Marriage, Community, Fate, Trust & Doubt

Tags Classic Fiction, Drama, Romance, Indian Literature, Asian Literature, Dramatic Literature

AbhijnanaSakuntala or The Recognition of Sakuntala is a Sanskrit play written by the playwright Kalidasa in the fifth century CE. The play follows the love story between forest-dwelling Sakuntala and the valorous king Dusyanta. When Dusyanta stumbles into a grove while on a hunt for deer, he meets the beautiful Sakuntala. Sakuntala and Dusyanta fall in love, marry in secret, and conceive a child. Called away for court business, Dusyanta promises to send for Sakuntala... Read The Recognition of Sakuntala Summary

There Is No Antimemetics Division

by qntm

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Hope, Loneliness, Memory, Language, Mental Health, Death, Future, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Marriage, Teamwork, Politics & Government, War, Equality, Justice, Literature, Loyalty & Betrayal, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger, Science & Technology, Truth & Lies, Wins & Losses

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Fantasy

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The Rest of Our Lives

by Ben Markovits

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family, Apathy, Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Guilt, Loneliness, Love, Memory, Shame & Pride, Gender Identity, Race, Aging, Midlife, Death, The Past, Daughters & Sons, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Fate, Order & Chaos, Truth & Lies

Tags Domestic Fiction, Relationships

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The Return of Martin Guerre

by Natalie Zemon Davis

Publication year 1983

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Marriage, Truth & Lies

Tags Crime & Law, Education, Education, Medieval, World History, French Literature, European History, Biography

In The Return of Martin Guerre, Natalie Zemon Davis, historian and professor at Princeton University, reconstructs the sixteenth century legend of Martin Guerre, a man with a wooden leg who arrived to a courthouse in Toulouse just in time to denounce an imposter who had stolen his wife, his family, and his inheritance. Arnaud du Tilh, a clever and persuasive peasant with a somewhat sordid past, had indeed taken Martin’s identity, and he nearly escaped... Read The Return of Martin Guerre Summary

The Return of the Native

by Thomas Hardy

Publication year 1878

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Love, Fate, Appearance & Reality

Tags Classic Fiction, British Literature, Victorian Period, Historical Fiction, Romance, World History, Victorian Era

Thomas Hardy’s novel The Return of the Native was published serially in Belgravia magazine in 1878. Its setting, the formidable and unforgiving Egdon Heath, is based on the Wessex region of England where Hardy was born. Hardy provides a map that gives the locations that his love- and grief-driven characters visit as the story unfolds. The novel explores the themes of class, chance, fate, superstition, and social upheaval. This guide references the 2008 Oxford World’s... Read The Return of the Native Summary

The Rover

by Aphra Behn

Publication year 1677

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Marriage, Social Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Comedy & Satire, Restoration, British Literature, Education, Education, World History, Dramatic Literature, Romance

Aphra Behn’s play The Rover, or The Banished Cavaliers, debuted in London in 1677 with King Charles II in attendance; The Rover was reportedly one of his favorite plays. In Restoration England, theatre was a political act, particularly when a play was written by a woman and openly defied Puritan conservatism. Beginning in 1642, the Puritan-run Parliament had banned theatre, partially because they viewed it as sinful and financially excessive, and partially because the theatre... Read The Rover Summary

The Scarlet Pimpernel

by Emma Orczy

Publication year 1905

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Social Class, Marriage, Revenge, Hate & Anger, Fear, Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Action & Adventure, Romance, Social Class, Mystery & Crime Fiction, French Literature, World History

Published in 1905, The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emma Orczy, is a historical romance adventure novel about a wealthy English baronet with a secret life as a hero who rescues the innocent from the French Reign of Terror. Told mainly from the viewpoint of his wife, the book—based on the successful London play of the same name—birthed a series of Scarlet Pimpernel novels, movies, and TV productions. It ushered in the secret-identity genre of adventure... Read The Scarlet Pimpernel Summary

The Screwtape Letters

by C. S. Lewis

Publication year 1942

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Marriage

Tags Satirical Literature, Christian, Fantasy, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

The Screwtape Letters, first published in serial format in The Guardian and then as a single volume in 1942, is an epistolary novel by British author C. S. Lewis; its epilogue, “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” was published in 1959. Like much of Lewis’s work, the novel is a work of Christian apologetics, using letters penned by a senior devil named Screwtape to expound on different elements of Christian theology and morality, exploring themes of Human... Read The Screwtape Letters Summary

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by James Thurber

Publication year 1939

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Literature, Masculinity, Marriage

Tags American Literature, Humor, Classic Fiction, Satirical Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action & Adventure

First published in the New Yorker in 1939, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” is James Thurber’s short story about the flamboyant fantasy life of a timid suburban Everyman. A gentle satire of the human imagination (among other things), the story struck an immediate and lasting chord in the midcentury American imagination and is widely regarded as a comic masterpiece. Its distinctive mixture of pathos and parody made it one of the most anthologized short... Read The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Summary

The Seven Rings

by Nora Roberts

Publication year 2025

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Memory, Death, The Past, Place, Family, Friendship, Marriage, Self Discovery, Community, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Gothic Literature, Romance

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The Sheltering Sky

by Paul Bowles

Publication year 1949

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Colonialism, Marriage, Death

Tags Historical Fiction, Post-War Era, Trauma & Abuse, Psychological Fiction, Love & Sexuality, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, American Literature, Travel Literature, Classic Fiction

An American writer and composer who lived in Morocco for most of his life, Paul Bowles was a peripheral member of the post-World War II counter-cultural group of writers known as the Beat generation. The Sheltering Sky (1949), his first novel, is his best-known work, although he wrote other novels, numerous short stories, and works of nonfiction, most notably travel narratives. He also translated several works by Moroccan writers. The Sheltering Sky was adapted into... Read The Sheltering Sky Summary