Love, Marriage And The Third Person

Love, Marriage And The Third Person

Almost every day, I hear instances of marriages falling apart. The main reason for this is infidelity. When people tie the knot, they make forever vows with each other – to be rock-solid constant companions, to never stop putting in their 100%, to promise each other that their hearts would beat for each other and each other alone, till death do them part. Vows that seemed so real at one point of time render little significance at another and these ‘forever’ commitments become just empty words. People fall out of love, find love in someone else’s eyes and end up being unfaithful to their spouses. The novelty of marriage is lost, the trust is broken and faith in love disappears forever, or so one thinks.

The evolving nature of marriage

All organic and man-made things evolve with time and marriage is no exception to this. Millions of years ago, men and women were free to have as many sexual partners as they wished to have. Perhaps the concept of infidelity was as outlandish as the concept of marriage back then. Sexual intercourse was a means of survival. In exchange for sexual favours, one could get food. Back then, a woman could collect her food and still take care of her offspring without any help from a man. She did not need a male counterpart to protect her and her child. An alliance like marriage made no sense and did not prove beneficial to anyone. As the face of the earth changed and the climate got warmer, people moved from one place of dwelling to the next in search of favourable and liveable conditions.