The purpose of marriage is not and has ever been to be happy all the time. If you view love and marriage as about a transaction where the output must always be

The purpose of marriage is not and has ever been to be happy all the time. If you view love and marriage as about a transaction where the output must always be happiness, then you're setting an impossible standard. The author presupposed that marriage is about feeling really good all the time, well - most of us are going to hit hard times at some point. If you're so selfish as to believe your partner must always increase your own happiness - you're going to have a really bad time dealing with the realities in life. You might even be such a narcissist that you map your own failings onto the other person and decide they are 'wrong' when you're really a stubborn, selfish, unlovable hedonist.