Unit 6. Marriage and Divorce

Study and learn the topical focus vocabulary list. Provide Russian equivalents to the vocabulary items.

Focus Vocabulary List

1. to divorce from smb; to sue/file for a divorce; to get/obtain a divorce from smb; a divorce (divorcee); a divorcement

2. a “no-fault” divorce; a contested case/an uncontested case

3. the divorce binge/epidemic of divorce/the divorce explosion/a flood tide of divorce

4. marriage failure (a failed marriage)/dysfunctional marriage

5. throwaway marriages/serial marriages (divorce + remarriage; to remarry; a high rate of remarriage by divorced people)/serial monogamy

6. to call it quits; to split; to break up (n breakup); to separate; to die on the vine

7. (marriages) dissolved by divorce; to end in dissolution; a chronic dissatisfaction that is not being attended to; disequilibrium; chronic strife and antagonisms

8. broken homes (syn. split households); children with multiple parents

9. to diminish smth ( ~ parental guidance and discipline)*

10. alimony and child-support payments

11. to be saddled with smth ( ~ the legal blame)*

12. social constraints/strains; to cause friction*

13. to curb smth; an inhibiting force*

14. to enter marriage in more skeptical frames of mind

15. the issuance of a wedding license; to spell out smth (contracts spelling out the terms of one’s marriage)

16. to take course on smth ( ~ marriage and family matters)

17. the women rights drive/the women’s liberation movement; to assert a new independence in marriage

18. experiments in smth ( ~ communal living)*

19. a renewed commitment to the present marriage; a renewal of commitment

20. to meet each other’s needs; a lasting and adaptive marriage; to enhance continuity and growth

21. to depend (up)on smb for smth*

22. to be incorporated into smth*

23. to occur over smth ( ~ an immediate issue)*

Study the texts, identify the active vocabulary items and discuss the questions following the texts.

Text A

“Throwaway Marriages” – Threat to the American Society

At a record rate, US couples are calling it quits – and more will do so in years ahead as home life feels the stress of social change.

Divorce and remarriage – what some family experts call “serial marriages” and others describe as “throwaway marriages” have become part of the fabric of American society and are spreading fast. Today, 21 per cent of all US married couples have divorce somewhere in the background of one partner or another or both.

Divorces are becoming so common that the senior demographer of the Census Bureau’s population division has estimated that among today’s 30-year-old wives, 1 out of every 3 marriages has been or will be dissolved by divorce. In fact, unless something is done to curb the causes of divorce, more than 40 per cent of all marriages may end in dissolution. At present it is estimated that 1 marriage out of 4 ends in divorce. And in 80 per cent of the cases, both partners will remarry.

The divorce binge¹ right after the Second World War pushed the rate only to 17.9 divorces per 1,000 married women, a record that stood unchallenged for more than a quarter of a century. After the postwar period, divorces reached their lowest rate in 1958, with 8.9 divorces per 1,000 married women.

One factor in the sudden rise in the divorce rate during the past few years is a lag in marriages.

This epidemic of divorce is bringing enormous economic and social change to the United States. Lawyers by the thousands across the US are finding the divorce court an ever more profitable place of business.

Such lawyers charge anywhere from $350 for representing both partners in an uncontested case¹ to $5,000 or more for each partner in a contested case. Years may be needed to pay off the resulting debt.

When a divorce is granted, the former partners become two households. And, according to one estimate, the two can look forward to a 25 per cent reduction in the standard of living they maintained as a couple. For the man, divorce can mean months, even years, of alimony and child-support payments – though most men eventually fall behind in these payments. For the woman, divorce may mean finding a job for a pay which often averages only three fifths of that of a man. More than 10 million children are now living with only one parent and 2 out of 3 of these are the product of divorce or separation.

Broken homes, where diminished parental guidance and discipline are a strong possibility, are often cited as a factor in the nation’s rising juvenile delinquency.

Family counselors acknowledge, however, that divorce is only one factor contributing to juvenile delinquency and that most delinquents come from homes with both parents still living together.

Even sharper questions are being raised about the impact of rising divorce rates on the family as a basic institution of society. Traditional-minded Americans view the divorce phenomenon as bleakly as they do the tendency of many people to live together without marriage vows. To traditionalists – including many young Americans – marriage is still monogamy, binding together husband and wife “till death do us part”. But others take a more tolerant view of divorce as an inevitable by-product of many external factors – including the women’s rights drive, the so-called sexual revolution, the strains of urban living and the decline of religion as an inhibiting force. Furthermore, it is pointed out, the high rate of remarriage after divorce might be a sign of the continuing strength of marriage and family.

However much moral judgments differ, it is broadly conceded that divorce is moving toward the status of “normal” in the thinking of Americans. In a poll conducted recently 60 per cent of the women interviewed said they regard divorce as an acceptable solution for marriage failure, while only 20 per cent said they did not. Shirley W., who directed the poll, noted: “Marriage may march on, but many marriages do not, and divorce is now accepted by a 3-to-l margin as a solution for an unsuccessful marriage.”

Can the divorce explosion be curbed? Because the incidence of divorce is especially high among persons in their teens, some sociologists see hope in the fact that a growing proportion of first-time marriages are occurring at later ages.

Yet increased maturity at marriage so far has not curbed the divorce explosion as hoped. Instead, counselors find that today’s brides and grooms enter marriage in more skeptical frames of mind than their predecessors did, and are more willing to call it quits. Young wives who are contributing to the family income are asserting a new independence in marriage, which causes friction in many instances.

Many States are making divorce easier. Already, 23 States have adopted some form of “no-fault divorce,” making it possible for couples to split without the necessity for one partner to be saddled with the legal blame. To avoid breakups, more and more couples are seeking the help of ministers, physicians, marriage counselors and sex therapists. Often, however, couples delay seeking help until it is too late to save the marriage.

Some authorities say the best way to curb the rising divorce rate is to do a better job of preparing young people for marriage before the ceremony. Some educators feel that high schools should require students to take courses on marriage and family matters. The Oregon State legislature considered a bill to require premarital counseling before the issuance of a wedding license. And the Massachusetts legislature recently debated a proposal allowing couples to sign contracts spelling out the terms of their marriage.

At the same time, some counselors take the position that not all marriages are worth saving and that more attention needs to be paid to helping the couples in failed marriages to part with minimum complications. Along that line, the University of Wisconsin at its extension social-services center is offering a course on the emotional, financial and legal problems during and after divorce. But it will be a longtime, say social scientists, before Americans find a way to reduce divorce rates – or to cope satisfactorily with the strains that divorce represents in family life.

Text B