In Praise of Marriage, Commitment, and Other Follies, Christiane Singer

"Between the profound desire to bond, to commit body and soul, and the equally profound desire to preserve one's freedom, to escape all ties, what a commotion! Yet, to live these contradictory and equally dignified demands without being torn apart, there is no help to be expected from philosophy, nor from morality, nor from any established knowledge. It is probable that the only suitable models to allow us to move forward are high-wire acts and the art of the tightrope walker. A marriage is not contracted. It is danced. At our own risk and peril."