Major changes are taking place in the nature of modern marriage. This work analyzes these changes in the context of both research and intervention. The emphasis is upon connecting marriage as an institution with marriage as a relationship, experienced and understood in different ways by individuals and society. The book considers how marriages are formed, how and why some continue and others are ended and the ways in which the satisfactions, tensions and ambivalences in intimate relationships are resolved. Drawing upon the work of sociologists, psychologists and psychotherapists, the book aims to present a new approach to research and intervention in marriage.