It is human nature to want to be loved and to feel needed in life. We tend to be attracted to the positive aspects of all issues in life and thus when one thinks of the word marriage, one undoubtedly gets a picture of a harmonious union between two individuals who choose to live out the rest of their lives as one. The two individuals agree to love each other as equals and to appreciate the love and affection they offer each other. Basically, they try and make the marriage work. This is has not always been the case. Marriages, especially in today’s world, do indeed fail because of differing reasons and will continue failing unless people approach the issue by identifying the causes of divorce and coming up with the solutions for making the marriage work.

In Kate Chopin’s story, “The Story of an Hour”, the main character Mrs. Mallard is confronted with the news that her husband has been killed in an accident, thus in effect separating their marriage. In such a situation people would expect her to feel a deep sense of sadness and loss having lost a person who is supposed to be her lifelong partner, her soul mate. Instead she feels liberated. This is a case of a marriage that was not working, at least not for Mrs. Mallard.

The reason why she felt the death was some form of blessing is because she no longer had that “powerful will bending hers” (608). Mr. Mallard apparently was not treating her as an equal, and she could thus not love him and in essence there marriage was a failure. Gone are the days when women were considered subservient to their husbands. We live in an age where women expect, and rightly so, to be treated as equals. This is one reason as to why marriages break-up.

Another reason why marriages end up failing is because of lack of trust in the marriage. Trust should be the foundation of any marriage. Without trust, communication between spouses becomes negative and eventually breaks down bringing an end to the relationship.

According to Leslie Baxter, for a marriage or any romantic relationship to work, some rules must be followed. Some of the rules include acknowledging each other’s individual identities and lives beyond the relationship and enhancing each other’s self-worth and self esteem.

Having identified some of the reasons marriages fail, it is then possible to come up with solutions to create healthier marriages, such as cultivating trust, treating each other equally and obeying the rules of a romantic relationship.