Analysis Of The Article ' When Brothers Share A Wife ' By Melvyn C. Goldstein

The movie When a Man Loves a Woman is about a couple and how their lives and the lives of their two young girls change because of addiction. The article entitled Family Functioning in Families with Alcohol and Other Drug Addictions talks about four major themes that are present in families that suffer from addiction. This paper will look at the family dynamics of the Green family from When a Man Loves a Woman and also discuss how the research results from the article also relates to the family.

These ideas are an interpretation of what society views as concepts of marriage. One of the things I found to be interesting in the above list was the absence of the word love.

My Sister’s Marriage” by Cynthia Marshall Rich portraits  characters that have many family problems. The father Doctor Landis is a total control freak. He decides every little things in his two daughters, Olivia and Sarah Ann, life. The restrictions that the father puts upon on his two daughters have different consequence on both. Olivia, the oldest daughter, starts having rebellious feeling due to suffocated restrictions, while, Sarah Ann, the youngest daughter, starts to internalize the restrictions and value her limited opportunities. Everywhere in the story, we can see that, the daughters pass through  so many intestinal conflicts that result in either imprisonment or liberation. Since the father is so controlling, he has instructed his daughters to have a perverted view of love which emotionally demolished and imprisons one,

In her book Marriage a History Stephanie Coontz explains the male breadwinner family model and its dominance in family life during the 40’s, 50’s, and early 60’s. An illustration of the male breadwinner model is composed of a father, mother, and two children; typically a boy and girl close in age. Funded by their father’s well paying middle class salary, the wife and children live a comfortable life in suburbia and participate regularly in consumer trends. Perceived as the head of the household, the father was the sole financial provider. On the other hand the mother was the head of domestic life and was responsible for the children. The popular 1950’s TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet exemplified this family model. With regard to the male breadwinner family model, imagine having eight other brothers and sisters. Imagine growing up without a mother, and with a father who worked constantly. Then consider living this life alongside your peers who come from the “normal” male breadwinner families Coontz describes… How would your family differ from your peers? What would be your thoughts and feelings towards family life? More importantly, how would these unique circumstances change your perception of the nuclear family?

As a beginning of this film, a myth is told by the Nyinba people of Nepal: a story of fearsome spirits thought to kill children and the weak. Their crime was adulterous passionate love and it was this that had condemned them to live eternally between life and death. In this film, we learn about and explore marriages in tribal societies. We can clearly identify the differences that challenge both side’s ideas and sensibilities about marriage bonds.

Pollit expounds on the true meaning of marriage; by looking at the history of marriage. For a period of time, “polygyny was the rule;”

One of the best forms of family structures is polygyny which has been eroded through modernity and changes in culture. A unique culture, polygyny, particularly practiced in the Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Grey (2008), “Of the twenty-nine nations in the world classified as having high rates of polygyny, twenty-seven are located in sub-Saharan Africa, where the incidence of co-wives is ten times that found in other polygynous

Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. Although it is not as easily defined as some may make it. Every situation and the lessons we learn from those times, help to form what we believe love to be. For some it may be a physical attachment that others degrade to lust. For some it may be their reason for continuing on in life; but overall for most, love is what drives our lives. From childhood to adulthood we seek to find relationships that will fulfill our hearts and make our short time on Earth a little more enjoyable. However as well as any other activity we partake in, ways in which we perceive love and marriage have changed over time. Although there is slight variations, when most imagine the life of a married couple pure happiness is what is expected. As wonderful as that expectation may be, not every marriage fits into this ideal. The criteria of marriage used to be based off of what your partner can offer you. However as times have changed and gender roles have begun to disappear, marriage has now

In Millennium: Strange Relations, presented by David Maybury Lewis examines the concept of marriage by focusing on three different groups the Nyimba of Nepal, Wodaabe of Niger, finally a Canada (Western European viewpoint). Lewis also examines the concepts of monogamy, fraternal polyandry, and polygyny with the respective case studies.

“Our brothers and sisters are there with us from the dawn of our personal stories to the inevitable dusk” (Susan Scarf Merrell). Merrell, an American author and a creative writing and literature teacher at Stony Brook Southampton, states that since the early days of your youth to the end of our story our siblings are there throughout our whole journey. Life is similar to a play; parents pass away during the first half; while one’s children come in during the second half; but siblings are there throughout both acts. Tobias Wolff’s, The Rich Brother, portrays the relationship between two brothers that are complete opposites; yet they know each other’s strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else will ever be able. The Rich Brother describes a complex sibling relationship that is fairly common in today’s society; Tobias Wolff makes use of pathos by incorporating real life sibling abuse; and ethos in his own life and credentials.

Love makes us do crazy things. It makes us become people we never thought we were. Love gives us an ultimatum about our life. Love is a powerful bond and wicked curse. When we love, we love hard. We will do anything for love and to be loved. In “My Sister’s Marriage,” Cynthia Marshall Rich presents the different views of love upon similar yet different characters. Two sisters, who share a loving yet manipulative Father show the different ways love affects us. Sarah-Ann and Olive have many similar and different relationships with love, their dreams, and their traits.

Marriage is a ritual that marks a change in status for a man and a woman and the acceptance by society of the new family that is formed (Rosman & Rubel, 1981). Marriage, like other customs, is governed by rules (Rosman & Rubel, 1981). Anthropology has represented marriage as the definitive ritual and universally translatable regulative ideal of human societies (BORNEMAN, 1996). Marriage also the act of joining two persons of opposite sex together to become as husband and wife. Many people in the society have different opinions or outright misconception of the meaning of marriage. While some people see it as a union between a man and woman, others take it to mean an agreement made between a man

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse and is culturally accepted in many parts of the world, but is illegal in the United States. There are two well known forms of polygamy, both of which are still presently practiced in numerous cultures globally, polygyny and polyandry. These practices take place in societies where it is important to have either more men or more women in a families’ household based on the kind of environment they reside in. This paper is going to take a look at who practices polygamy, the history of polygamy in the United States, and how this kind of polygamous lifestyle affects the children that are the products of these family structures.

Four Brothers depicts a family of four adopted brothers that come to avenge their mother’s death in Detroit in what initially appears to be a random killing in a grocery store robbery. As a backdrop, the four brothers, Bobby, Jeremiah, Jack, and Angel, did not have a family support system, were left to fend for themselves, and were constantly involved in criminal activities. As a result of them not being accepted into any foster care outreach programs, Evelyn Mercer, a lady who had sincere intentions, took all four of them into her own home and adopted them. She became their mother. The brothers suspected their mother’s killing was not a random act and decided to take matters into their own hands. The boys’ investigation of the death reveals more reprehensible activities involving the one brother’s business dealing with a notorious local criminal and the acts of a corrupted cop. The negative social labels that the Mercer brothers experience are passed on from public officials to the citizens of the community. This labeling becomes the nemesis of the Mercer brothers.

In return for the ephemeral joys of change, I am sure you are motivated by love, a love that existed well before your marriage and that fate has not been able to satisfy.”