“Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes”

— John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Letter to Michael Tolkien (March 1941)
Context: Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes: in the sense that almost certainly (in a more perfect world, or even with a little more care in this very imperfect one) both partners might be found more suitable mates. But the real soul-mate is the one you are actually married to.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 27, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Nearly all marriages, even happy ones, are mistakes" by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien78

British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy … 1892–1973

Related quotes

“The only happy marriages I know are arranged ones.”

Leo Tolstoy book Anna Karenina

Source: Anna Karenina

“Divorce is probably of nearly the same age as marriage. I believe, however, that marriage is some weeks the more ancient.”

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher

Le divorce est probablement de la même date à peu près que le mariage. Je crois pourtant que le mariage est de quelques semaines plus ancien.
"Divorce" (1771)
Citas, Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (1770–1774)

“All marriage is such a lottery -- the happiness is always an exchange -- though it may be a very happy one -- still the poor woman is bodily and morally the husband's slave. That always sticks in my throat. When I think of a merry, happy, and free young girl -- and look at the ailing aching state a young wife is generally doomed to -- which you can't deny is the penalty of marriage.”

Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901) British monarch who reigned 1837–1901

Source: Letter (16 May 1860), published in Dearest Child: Letters Between Queen Victoria and the Princess Royal Previously Unpublished edited by Roger Fulfold (1964), p. 254. Also quoted in the article "Queen Victoria's Not So Victorian Writings" http://www.victoriana.com/doors/queenvictoria.htm by Heather Palmer (1997).