The Essence of Marriage: Part 1

             Here's my first attempt to write on the essence of marriage. I've decided to write little dialogues about the subject, but, like this one, they may not always be complete.
             Before this dialogue starts, however, I'd like to point out that I will focus a lot on what marriage is not--not what marriage is. If we are to find out the essence of marriage, we must know what it marriage is, but even so, we must disentangle it from other things first.

                                                   Characters of the Dialogue:
                                                   Socrates
                                                   X

X: Hi, Socrates.

Socrates: Why, hello, X. Is that your name?

X: No, just a pseudonym for today. I have a question or two that I want to put to you.

Socrates: Really? What is it?

X: What is marriage? I don't mean to sound dumb, but up till now I just took for granted that I knew what it was, and now I'm not sure exactly how to define it. What is it?

Socrates: Thank you for your honesty. Instead of telling you the answer, however, I will ask you some questions. Don't you think you would profit more from a discussion if you taught me the answer, and not vice-versa?

X: I guess I'll try.

Socrates: All right. Is marriage a contract?

X: ...I don't think so, but I'm not sure why.

Socrates: Think about it. Isn't a contract an agreement in which the two parties agree to exchange property or service on certain terms?

X: Yes.

Socrates: Now, is marriage an echange of property or service?

X: No.

Socrates: Then it follows that marriage is not a contract, does it not?

X: Yes.

Socrates: All right. Now that we've cleared away one possibility, let's try another. Is marriage a covenant?

X: I think it is... but what exactly is a covenant?

Socrates: You're the Catholic. You tell me.

X: Hmm... I think it's a sacred family bond, an exchange of persons that makes the two people or groups into a family. It makes them belong to eachother in some way.

Socrates: See, you know a lot more about marriage than you thought you did.

X: Thanks, Socrates. How did you like my definition of covenant?

Socrates: It was a good definition--for now. You'll find out over time whether it's technically the best one.