an excerpt from a previous entry of mine:

The importance of balance [in a relationship] is shown in the following example. A couple has been married for ten years. The husband is generally a loving man, except that when he drinks he turns into a totally different person. He becomes verbally and physically abusive. The wife has stood by her man for those ten years, sometimes with happiness, and at other times with fear. The situation ends when one night while under the influence, he beats her to death. In this situation, the woman sacrificed her safety and welfare for her love, but was this reasonable? People take a vow to stay by their mates in sickness and in health, until death do they part, but is it always right to keep this vow?