A new essay from one of Britain's most celebrated state-of-the-nation novelists. Marriage has been around for over 4,300 years and while it remains a union that establishes the rights and obligations of two people, it has – for the most part – changed out of all recognition. In this discerning essay, novelist Amanda Craig asks what it means to be married in the twenty-first century. How has female economic independence, gay marriage, divorce, increasing longevity and equality changed the institution? Why do people still want it? Is it outdated, as many claim, or still the key to happiness? And can it be disentangled from the patriarchal model, or is the latter integral?