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 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2022

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Disability, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Grief / Death, Health / Medicine, Biography


Publication year 1972

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Marriage

Tags Children's Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman


Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Identity: Race, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict

Tags Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, American Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction

Jazz by Toni Morrison is the second installment of the Beloved trilogy. Morrison outlines the entirety of the plot in the first paragraph of the novel, allowing the rest of the text to explore the histories and emotional landscapes of the characters. Set in Harlem in the 1920s, Joe Trace has an affair with a young woman named Dorcas. When Dorcas later rejects Joe, he relentlessly searches for her. Joe sees Dorcas dancing with another... Read Jazz Summary


Publication year 1996

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Masculinity

Tags Magical Realism, Relationships, Fantasy

Robert Olen Butler’s 1995 short story “Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot” has been widely reprinted and anthologized. Its themes, which typify Butler's work, include alienation, desire, and the challenges of communicating with others. Butler is a best-selling American author and won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his short story collection A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, which explores the experiences of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States. “Jealous Husband,” however... Read Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot Summary


Publication year 1895

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Education, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Victorian Period, Classic Fiction, Class, Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, History: World, Victorian Literature / Period

English author Thomas Hardy published his final novel, Jude the Obscure, in 1895. Critics deemed it “immoral” and “indecent,” and it became a target of book burnings because of its critique of marriage, religion, education, and class structure. The narrative follows the tragic journey of Jude Fawley, a working-class man striving for education and love, whose aspirations are consistently thwarted by societal barriers, personal setbacks, and internal struggles.This guide refers to the e-book version of... Read Jude the Obscure Summary


Publication year 1981

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Equality, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Race / Racism, Military / War, African Literature

July’s People, a 1981 dystopian novel by South African author Nadine Gordimer, imagines the aftermath of a bloody uprising that topples South Africa’s notorious, white-ruled apartheid regime. Her novel, which follows a white family’s desperate flight from Johannesburg, traces the complex interdependencies of white and Black South Africans, revealing the insidiousness of the regime’s racial disparities and mindsets, even among liberal, well-meaning white people. Through the lens of this hypothetical future, Gordimer’s novel explores racial... Read July's People Summary


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Relationships: Mothers

Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction


Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government

Tags Fantasy, Romance


Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Romance, New Adult


Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Identity: Race, Relationships: Family

Tags Romance, New Adult


Publication year 1920

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction, Scandinavian Literature

Kristin Lavransdatter is a trilogy of historical novels by Norwegian author and Nobel Prize winner Sigrid Undset. Published between 1920 and 1922, the trilogy consists of The Wreath (see the comprehensive SuperSummary guide to The Wreath here), The Wife, and The Cross. The novels chronicle Scandinavian life during the Middle Ages. They follow the eponymous protagonist, Kristin Lavransdatter, a woman living in 1300s Norway. The trilogy is generally considered Undset’s magnum opus. This guide is... Read Kristin Lavransdatter Summary


Publication year 1928

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Femininity

Tags Classic Fiction, Romance, Love / Sexuality, British Literature, Modernism, History: World, Historical Fiction

Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a Modernist novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It was written between 1926 and 1928, while Lawrence was living in Italy, and first published privately in 1928. Since it was considered scandalous and obscene, the novel was not widely available in America or the United Kingdom until the 1960s. The novel was controversial because of its explicit sexual content, as well as its depiction of an adulterous affair between... Read Lady Chatterley's Lover Summary


Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Society: Politics & Government, Identity: Gender, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags Historical Fiction, WWI / World War I, WWII / World War II, British Literature, Military / War


Publication year 1871

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Love

Tags Romance, Classic Fiction, British Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction

The narrative follows the exploits of Lady Susan, a beautiful and charming widow whose husband has recently died. Lady Susan is an excellent conversationalist who manipulates men into falling in love with her; they forget her socially unacceptable behavior and incorrigible flirtations after merely speaking with her. At the outset of the novella, Lady Susan has sold off her late husband’s family estate instead of giving it to his younger brother, Charles Vernon, as is... Read Lady Susan Summary


Publication year 1953

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal

Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Post-War Era, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, Classic Fiction

First published in Harper’s Magazine in 1953, “Lamb to the Slaughter” is Roald Dahl’s best-known short story for adults. Dahl (1916-1990) was a British novelist, screenwriter, short story author and, arguably, one of the greatest children’s storytellers of the 20th century. Many of his popular children’s books have been adapted for stage and screen, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, and Fantastic Mr. Fox.Dahl published four collections... Read Lamb To The Slaughter Summary


Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Masculinity, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Natural World: Place, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Relationships: Mothers, Relationships: Siblings, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Literature, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology, Military / War, Italian Literature, History: World, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Marriage, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Art, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Romance, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction