Marriage

"It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages," said philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The texts in this collection depict happy and unhappy marriages—and those that fall somewhere in between.

Publication year 1962

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Lyric Poem, Post Modernism, Love / Sexuality


Publication year 1940

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Relationships: Marriage, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags American Literature, Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Military / War, History: World

For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) is a novel by the Modernist American author Ernest Hemingway. The novel tells the story of Robert Jordan, an American volunteer working as a demolition specialist for the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. Robert, sent to blow up a bridge to aid a Republican offensive, enlists the aid of a band of guerrilla fighters in the mountains. Robert falls in love with a woman in their care... Read For Whom the Bell Tolls Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology

Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ, Modern Classic Fiction

Frankissstein is a novel by Jeanette Winterson that combines speculative and historical fiction in revisiting Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, Frankenstein. Winterson is a prolific author, known for her explorations of physical reality, gender, sexuality, and identity. Her first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, won the 1985 Whitbread Prize for First Novel, and Frankissstein was longlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize. Winterson is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, and... Read Frankissstein Summary


Publication year 2013

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage

Tags Mythology, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Gender / Feminism, Relationships, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, History: World


Publication year 1564

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Education, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, Fantasy, Humor, French Literature

The Life of Gargantua and Pantagruel is a series of five novels written in French by François Rabelais in the 16th century. The novel-cycle relates the adventures of two giants in hyperbolic, satirical prose. Using humor ranging from slapstick to irony, Rabelais explores serious themes such as the development of education and religious reformation. The books are noted for their colorful, rich literary style, bursting with puns, allusions, and social commentary. An early example of... Read Gargantua And Pantagruel Summary


Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Identity: Mental Health, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

Tags Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Survival Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence


Publication year 1979

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Environment, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Teams, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Religion / Spirituality


Publication year 1955

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Life/Time: Midlife, Identity: Femininity

Tags Inspirational, Philosophy, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Gender / Feminism, Philosophy, Biography, Self Help, Classic Fiction, Religion / Spirituality

Gift from the Sea is a 1955 work of inspirational nonfiction literature by American author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. While vacationing on Captiva Island, Florida, Lindbergh explores the questions of how to find a new, more natural rhythm of life and how to gain a deeper relationship with herself and others. To gain inspiration for this, she discusses various shells that she finds on the beach. The first two shells she finds symbolize the importance of... Read Gift From The Sea Summary


Publication year 1953

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies


Publication year 1986

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage

Tags History: European, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, Italian Literature, Medieval Literature / Middle Ages, History: World

In Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence, published in 2004, historian Gene Brucker describes the events of a single relationship in fifteenth-century Florence. This “microhistory” of a romance and subsequent court trial demonstrates how Florentine society treated love, marriage, and social class.In Chapter 1, Brucker reveals that he learned of the relationship between Giovanni di Ser Lodovico della Casa and Lusanna di Girolamo through the records of the notary Ser Filippo Mazzei... Read Giovanni and Lusanna Summary


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice


Publication year 1934

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Historical Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Education, British Literature

Goodbye, Mr. Chips, James Hilton’s novella about a mild-mannered teacher at a fictional British boys’ school, originally appeared in 1933 as a supplement to the British Weekly, an evangelical newspaper. Its popularity, however, led to its reprinting in the April 1934 issue of the American magazine Atlantic Monthly and later, its publication as a book by Little, Brown and Company in the US and by Hodder & Stoughton in the United Kingdom. An instant bestseller... Read Goodbye, Mr. Chips Summary


Publication year 2019

Genre Graphic Memoir , Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Race, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Friendship, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Fathers, Society: Community, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Future, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness

Tags Race / Racism, Politics / Government, September 11 Attacks, Relationships, LGBTQ, Grief / Death, Parenting, Social Justice, Immigration / Refugee, Biography


Publication year 2004

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Gratitude, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: War

Tags Historical Fiction


Publication year 2006

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Relationships, Love / Sexuality, Psychology, American Literature


Publication year -600

Genre Scripture, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos

Tags Religion / Spirituality, Philosophy, Jewish Literature

The Hebrew Bible is the standard canon of Jewish sacred texts, composed in a period that falls across the second and first millennia BCE. It is also referred to as the Tanakh, an acrostic portmanteau of the three major sections of the Hebrew Bible: the Torah (“teaching”), the Nevi’im (“prophets”), and the Ketuvim (“writings”). The Hebrew Bible is a collection of 24 major texts, in which there are 39 books. These 39 books correspond to... Read Hebrew Bible Summary


Publication year 1890

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Femininity

Tags Play: Drama, Scandinavian Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

Hedda Gabler is an 1891 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It is widely considered one of the most accomplished plays of the 19th century. Ibsen was a prolific and highly acclaimed writer who penned over two dozen plays. Many of his most famous works focus on the challenging relationships between family members and the quiet tragedies of ordinary life. Hedda Gabler is one of the most complex, challenging, and sought-after roles in theater. Many... Read Hedda Gabler Summary


Publication year 1558

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Classic Fiction, French Literature

The Heptameron is a collection of 72 short stories written in French by Marguerite de Navarre, sister of François I, and published posthumously in 1558, almost a decade after her death. It was originally designed to be a collection of 100 tales told over 10 days in the tradition of Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron. However, at the time of the author’s death, she had only completed the first seven days and two stories of the eighth... Read Heptameron Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Family, Self Discovery

Tags Romance, Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 1914

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Blank verse, Grief / Death