Solitude in a relationship in equal amounts is an important factor in making a good marriage. Any good relationship must have a certain degree of independence on both sides. If one person believes that the other person must be around for a decision to be made or if one person believes life could not go on without the other person, that person could begin to take the other person for granted. When people do this the relationship begins to be somewhat fake because the person is not living in reality believing that that person will be around forever.

A good marriage must have communication to work properly. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote "A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other the guardian of his solitude." This means that for a good relationship to work both people must have good enough communication with another to show each other nicely that people must be independent to a certain point.

In a good relationship the time spent together must be regulated wisely. Like Rainer Rilke's quotation says, each person basically says how much time alone the other person receives. This amount of time must be large enough to let t

A good marriage is complicated because the couple must be close to each other but also maintain the solitude that keeps the relationship healthy. Also, the couple must be close enough to each other to tell the person that they do not feel like they have enough independence. Barbara Whitehead writes in her essay, "Americans have a 'best friends' ideal for marriage...." (101) This kind of relationship is good because it allows people to be close enough to share problems, like not having enough independence, and prevent a problem before it starts. After a problem starts, the couple may feel overwhelmed because the problem may have gone on for some amount of time and assume that it may not stop or be able to be fixed. However, if the couple has a good relationship that has that "best friends" feel, then the problem should be resolved with a small amount of effort.

Communication problems are often the cause of breakups and divorces. Countless problems can be blamed on communication problems. Like Deborah Tannen says in her essay, "...[Communication problems].... require a new conceptual framework about the role of talk in human relationships." (79) Communication is vital in all relationships, especially marriage. The couple must be c

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 854
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)