Medicine & Matrimony: 14 Quotes About Marriage

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”

—Mignon McLaughlin

My physician-dad was married 3 times. Two worked out fine, one didn’t. Not a bad marriage batting average.

His first marriage to my mother lasted over 30 years and ended when she died of cancer. His second marriage, the textbook example of a rebound union, didn’t last 30 months. His third marriage to an old friend was a solid one, lasting nearly 15 years before ending when she too died of cancer.

My parent’s marriage was by no means a perfect one. I saw them argue but seldom in front of us children. Despite some major bumps, brought on by terrible luck rather than incompatibility, there’s no question in my mind that they loved and respected each other. The true miracle to me was—even with all the pain and heartbreak from losing 2 young daughters—that they stayed together.

The lion’s share of credit for keeping coupled goes to my mom. She knew well the life and responsibilities of a doctor. Her dad was a busy physician as were 2 of her brothers and a brother-in-law. She had genuine admiration for the medical profession and dad’s success as a doctor certainly provided her with a lifestyle she enjoyed.

It’s understood that the healthcare profession brings with it lots of stress, loads of pressure, and long work hours. So, one might think that the obligations of being a good physician might adversely impact the obligations of being a good spouse. It appears not, generally speaking.

A new study published in the February 2015 issue of the British Medical Journal finds that physicians are less likely than other healthcare professionals to be divorced—just 24% of their marriages fail. (However, data show female physicians have a higher divorce rate.)

Among other healthcare professionals, pharmacists (23%) have the lowest rate of divorce, followed by dentists (25%), healthcare executives (31%), and nurses (33%). For those in non-healthcare occupations, 35% say they are divorced. The US Census data used in the study comprise responses from 200,000 healthcare professionals including 40,000 physicians.

With this bit of good new revealed, have a look at these 14 telling quotes about Holy Wedlock:

1. “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”

—Robert Quillen

2. “If you want your wife to listen to you, then talk to another woman; she will be all ears.”

—Sigmund Freud

3. “By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.”

—Socrates

4. “Marriage must constantly fight against a monster which devours everything: routine.”

—Honoré de Balzac

5. “A psychiatrist asks a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing.”

—Joey Adams

6. “I've been married to a Marxist and a Fascist, and neither one would take the garbage out.”

—Lee Grant

7. “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.”

—Friedrich Nietzsche

8. “Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up.”

—Joseph Barth

9. “There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends.”

—Homer

10. “Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation.”

—Oscar Wilde

11. “I first learned the concept of non-violence in my marriage.”

—Gandhi

12. “The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”

—Theodore Hesburgh

13. “Marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other never forgets them.”

—Ogden Nash

14. “The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing, and then marry him.”

—Cher