In –the selection these two excerpts are taken from, the author’s topic is marriage ,divorce, and family .She discusses other people’s perceptions of divorce and how her own perceptions changed when she divorced .She say that people assume that divorce is entered into lightly, that blame must always be placed, and that the divorce could have been prevented if those involved has just tried harder or done things differently.
A non-functioning marriage is slow asphyxiation …..It is sharing your airless house with the threat of suicide or other kinds of violence, while the ghost that whispers, “leave here and destroy your children ,” has passed over every door and nailed it shut. Disassembling a marriage under these circumstances is as much fun as amputating your own gangrenous leg. You do it ,if you can, to save a life or two ,or more.
____________ 5. The meaning of the metaphor “ a non-functioning marriage is slow asphyxiation” is :
a. Each person in the marriage needs to be given “room to breathe.”
b. A bed marriage could be “resuscitated” if both people worked hard at it.
c. The deterioration of marriage occurs over a long period of time.
d. A bad marriage gradually “destroys” those who are involved.