proverb · Words worth keeping
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.
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