Quote:
Originally Posted by anatess
That's not even really it. There is a completely different purpose to friendship than to marriage. It is not about your spouse, it is about YOU. Whether he reacts negatively or not is irrelevant.
|
It's my opinion that there is not a clear right or wrong way for a spouse to feel about this situation. Certainly extremes can be irrational, but within reason, I don't think you can tell someone something like, "You shouldn't feel that way about your wife having male friends." I believe we should all strive to be understanding, but the comfort levels are GOING to vary and that's ok.
I think that it's something that people should address in the dating process - what they are and aren't comfortable with in regard to having friends and interaction with members of the opposite sex, and they should try to find someone that understands and can live with both of their expectations. If those expectations are too different, it's probably not a wise choice of a marriage partner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foreverafter
It's not that you are not mature enough, it's that you are too wise to allow your husband to hang out with or have private conversations & friendships with other women.
|
I think it should be less about a wife "not allowing" her husband to do certain things and more about him understanding her feelings about it and choosing not to because he loves her. It's the same outcome, but a different approach to it when it comes to free will. After all - all of us are going to be more willing to do something when we know that it's our own choice. Saying that I wouldn't allow my husband to do something would most likely only build resentment over time. It implies that he'd want to do it if I wasn't standing there watching him.
Again, I think it has a lot to do with the people we choose to marry and things we identify in them BEFORE we actually make the choice to get married.