proverb · Source-linked selection
Marriage halves our griefs, and doubles our joys.
Marriage halves our griefs, and doubles our joys.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
A supportive partnership can make difficulties easier to carry and pleasures richer to share. Halving and doubling give mutual support a memorable numerical image.
What the words are saying
The saying imagines two people dividing grief between them and multiplying joy through shared experience. Its value lies in a particular quality of a relationship: each person is willing to listen, help and celebrate with the other. The arithmetic is figurative, not a measured effect of marriage. Some partnerships are difficult or unsafe, and support can also come from friendships or other bonds. A careful use appreciates a mutually caring relationship without declaring that marriage automatically improves every life.
Everyday example
Partners discuss a disappointment together and later enjoy celebrating a small success that matters to both.
When to use it
Use it to appreciate mutual support and shared happiness in a caring partnership.
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What it does not mean
Marriage does not guarantee support, and meaningful companionship is not limited to marriage.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1035 · Marriage
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English