Midlife development on Marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midlife development on Marriage - Research Paper Example This paper aims to identify the challenges that couples go through during the empty nest years or midlife marriage. From a review of the current literature, the paper reveals some of the proposed solutions offered by psychologists and marriage counselors to resolve the problems that couples may encounter. The metaphor of the empty nest has been commonly used to refer to the time when couples are left alone again, after the children have grown up and left their home to build their own lives. The empty nest, as some authors identify, brings challenges to the married couple (Arp & Arp, 1996; Waldron & Kelly, 2009). Some may find these years to be challenging while others may struggle with the new setup. The problems dealt with in midlife marriage are different from those that occur in the early stages of marriage when the couples are young, children are little, and opportunities abound to offer excitement. The current literature suggests that the challenges in midlife marriage are often related to midlife crisis (Jones, 2008; Courter & Gaudettte, 2003). The sad part is, even though both the husband and wife are experiencing the crisis stage, women find it more difficult to deal with their husband’s crisis. ... In many stories, the midlife marriage was ruined by the crisis, as the husband demonstrated incapability to understand and face their crisis. In the same way, unaware of what their husbands are going through, the wives were caught unprepared for the crumbling marriage. The stories of women imply the tendency of the husband to find a new partner despite many years of peaceful marriage, and in spite of the women’s effort to build a perfect home. One of the common characteristics of unhappy midlife marriage implied in the narratives (Courter & Gaudette, 2003; Waldron & Kelly, 2009) is the man’s infidelity alongside with the woman’s financial dependency. Some women confessed doing what they thought would please their husband such as making the house tidy before the man arrives and taking care of the children. Despite these, however, they found out one day the shocking proof that their marriage has fallen as their husband found another woman. Thus, the core of the pro blem could be traced in the way the man deals with his crisis. As Courter and Gaudette note, it is the inability of the man to identify the ambiguities of his experiences and his inability to express his feelings that could lead to a further marital problem. In contrast with the men, women deal with their midlife crisis differently. In Thurnher’s (1976) study, which investigates the differences in midlife marriage perceptions between the two genders, the author notes that women more than men in the middle life express a more displeased evaluation of marriage. Comparing the result of this study to the observation from the Courter and Gaudette (2008) stories, one may verify the inability of men to express their true feelings.

Life of Marcel Duchamp Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Life of Marcel Duchamp - Essay Example The paper "Rrose Sà ©lavy, Marcel Duchamp" focuses on the important figure of dada and surrealism, Marcel Duchamp. As a child Duchamp was really close to his sister Suzanne (his older brothers had left home to go to school), who was his accomplice in games and activities. She was also the object of his first serious attempts at drawing and painting, which showed her in a variety of poses. Also a painter, she moved to Paris after her divorce to be closer to her brother Marcel and as an attempt to further her career, since at that time it was extremely difficult for a female painter to obtain recognition. Indeed, it was her relationship with her brothers, three of them eminent artists, which facilitated her acceptance in the art world. The famous photographer Man Ray became Duchamp’s friend and collaborator. Not only he helped Duchamp photograph and â€Å"create† Rrose, he also was instrumental in the development of many other works. It was in collaboration with him and Marc Allà ©gret in the period 1925–1926 that Duchamp filmed early versions of Rotoreliefs, a film that later became known as Anà ©mic Cinà ©ma. It is worth mentioning an earlier collaboration in 1920, as it almost finished with the decapitation of Man Ray. Duchamp had built the Rotative plaque de verre, a piece which involved the use of a motor to spin squares of glass on which segments of a circle were painted. The optical effect achieved is incredible: when the apparatus spins, the circle segments appear to be closed concentric circles. After a first successful attempt, Man Ray set up to photograph the experiment (Duchamp did not consider it art but it is held as one of the first examples of kinetic art) and, when the machine was turned on, a belt broke, caught a piece of the glass which flew off and hit Man Ray in the head. Readymades Marcel Duchamp coined the term "readymades", which was used to refer to ordinary manufactured objects that he selected, modified and signed. He maintained that by attributing a title to an object and signing it, the object becomes a work of art [smARThistory]. The term was commonly used in the United States to distinguish manufactured from handmade items. Marcel Duchamp conceived the readymades as an antidote to what he called "retinal art", this is, art that has only visual value. Duchamp selected his work according to their conceptual value and on the basis of visual indifference. In this manner, a common object would be elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of the artist. In his lifetime, Duchamp-Selavy produced no more than 20 readymades. This decision arises from his awareness of the fact that, by limiting the production he could avoid the influence of his own taste (according to his words, "the enemy of art") in his work. Rrose Slavy From 1920, Marcel Duchamp decided to present some of his work using the pseudonym of Rrose Slavy. The choice of name is extravagant to say the least. Two potential explanations have been elaborated: the first one is that it reads as "Eros, c'est la vie", which can be translated as "Eros, that's life"; or, a second interpretation suggests that it really reads as "arroser la vie", i.e. to make a toast to life. Both meanings are equally