Marriage as a Mere Contract

Life has a way of bringing people to situations which are usually deemed unthinkable. Take for example a wife who has been cheated on repeatedly by an unrepentant husband who stays on with the marriage because of financial consideration. In short, the cheated wife is "paid" by the husband to prevent her from leaving, thereby reducing the marriage into a mere contract of convenience.

Two people who agree to this arrangement stand to mutually benefit from it which explains their acceptance of an unusual situation. Their personal reasons may be entirely different but they have a common ground in seeing the advantage of staying together as a married couple in spite of the farcical relationship. This "contract" need not be written since most couples in this kind of situation come up with the basic do's and dont's that define their arrangement on their own based on what they both can live with.

Many cheated wives agree to the situation because of economic dependence on their partners. Women without their own careers to speak of who stand to lose the security of financial support for herself and her children may not be as eager to leave the marriage in spite of tremendous emotional strain brought on by spousal infidelity. Having no source of income of her own , the cheated wife may be left with no choice but to consider. Of course, aggrieved women can place themselves in a much better situation by striving for economic independence.

Cheating husbands who stand to lose something of importance such as reputation or stature in society would be eager to keep their legal partners by their side even if their sexual adventures often lead them elsewhere. They may be forced to offer their partners the "price" asked for to "buy" their acceptance. A contract is defined as an agreement wherein a consideration or compensation is essential. For couples who are staying together based on a premise of a consideration or compensation, marriage has become akin to a commercial contract.