I think the most bothersome part of what you've said such friends, is the implication that a victim of emotional abuse(which is what it sounds like Gail has been going through) has the entire burden of sustaining a marriage, and if they don't just stay they aren't trying hard enough? There is a lot to be said for realizing your limits on a psychological level, and that at some point walking away is less damaging and more courageous for everyone involved, than staying to face a wall of arrows evermore... Simply because you're "married". A promise is a beautiful thing, but the fear of breaking the sanctity of marriage because of pride, a higher power, or an embodiment of and display of strength, is still, a fear. Why plough on for years to prove a point that you can, when life's pleasures, relationships, and loves are about so much more. You may weather the longest storm but at what cost?
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