Once again, many thanks to Yvon Sicotte.
As movies have taught us, marriage serves the exclusive purpose of validating romantic love. If you're not out-of-control, head-over-heels stupid in love then you have no obligation to marry, stay married, or remain faithful, regardless of circumstances. In contrast, our ancestors married and respected marriage for a bunch of dull reasons like Religion, Morality, and Survival. BOR-ING! So to those of you of modern sensibilities, the story of how the Cicotte family established itself may cause you anything from distaste to horror, but I think there's a human, even tender story to be told here, so bear with me.
As movies have taught us, marriage serves the exclusive purpose of validating romantic love. If you're not out-of-control, head-over-heels stupid in love then you have no obligation to marry, stay married, or remain faithful, regardless of circumstances. In contrast, our ancestors married and respected marriage for a bunch of dull reasons like Religion, Morality, and Survival. BOR-ING! So to those of you of modern sensibilities, the story of how the Cicotte family established itself may cause you anything from distaste to horror, but I think there's a human, even tender story to be told here, so bear with me.