I was surprised, in all of the readings, how separate the ideas of “matrimony” and the “spouse” were. This is perhaps most clear in Katherine Philips’s “A Married State.” She writes, “Thus you are freed from all the cares that do Attend on matrimony and a husband too” (Line 11). Both the marriage and the spouse each carry different challenges, and all of the authors are very clear to make this distinction. This is reinforced by all of the different purposes of marriage that are listed in “The Book of Common Prayer.” Marriage is not simply for the purpose of being with the one you love, and this is probably what leads to this great separation.