Till Death Do Us Part

11 Pages 2868 Words

How would you characterize Micah and Rachel’s marriage? What factors can you recognize that may contribute to the quality of their relationship in later adulthood?
Although it is quite difficult to characterize a marriage that spanned over 45yrs, based on a short synopsis, Micah and Rachel’s marriage could be characterized as a “Successful” one. In short, it showed qualities of Strength, Trust/Unity, Devotion and Communication. One can begin to make some assumptions about their relationship based on the Lifespan perspective “which analyzes the change within people from conception to death“ (Byrne, 2004, p3). One example of a normative event in life is the process of aging. If it weren’t for their age/stage, commonly termed later adulthood, Micah and Rachel would not be discussing death nor would they have been able to come to terms with the realities in dealing with death. The stroke has caused them to reevaluate the control they have over their lives. Abraham Maslow’s (1954) humanistic perspective explains that a person’s perception of self is in fact, their reality. (as cited in Byrne, 2004). Thus, Micah and Rachel’s goal to be well prepared for end of life issues motivated them to move forward and proceed with certain decisions. Rarely is this common amongst cohorts of younger generations. It is in dealing with Micah’s stroke, a non-normative event in their lives, are the qualities of their marriage made apparent Trust/Unity- With this, it can be assumed that the relationship has grown into a sort of team and is a prime example of their unity in their decision making. The fact that they were able to make decisions together rather than independently regarding the party, the funeral arrangements, and different ways of spending time together, shows the interdependence between the two. The use of the word ‘they’ boldly impacts the reader. Strength- the fact that they were able to make firm stands about their...