“A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behavior of Married People” is an essay written by Charles Lamb, the English essayist and poet. In this essay, Lamb humorously explores the joys and frustrations of married life from the perspective of a bachelor.
The narrator of the essay, a bachelor, begins by airing his complaints and making observations about how married people behave. He presents himself as an observer of the joys and struggles experienced by married couples by playing the part of a grumpy bachelor.
Starting off, the narrator declares that he has always been single and that he “never changed his condition.” He jokingly asserts that, as a bachelor, he has a special insight into married life that enables him to observe married people’s behaviour with a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and envy.
The essay’s next section features the bachelor outlining the various distinctions between married and single behaviour. He observes that married people frequently exclude their single friends from their exclusive social circles. The narrator mockingly laments that, as a bachelor, he is excluded from married couples’ social gatherings, as if marriage were a secret society with its own customs and traditions.
The bachelor also makes fun of married couples who act overly affectionately in public. He makes the amusing remark that they frequently appear to forget the presence of others because they are so engrossed in each other’s company. He quips that bachelors like himself who aren’t married can find the public display of affection to be quite annoying.
The bachelor admits to feeling jealous at times when observing the happiness of married couples amid the jokes and lighthearted complaints. He acknowledges that although marriage may have its difficulties, it also brings great joy and companionship, which he has not yet known as a bachelor.
The bachelor ends the essay by jokingly advising married people to be more understanding and compassionate towards their single friends. He jokingly criticises married people for their propensity to give unsolicited advice on how to find a spouse, suggesting that they should assume that all single people are desperately trying to find a spouse.
Throughout the essay, Charles Lamb adopts a lighthearted and witty tone, using humor to explore the dynamics of married life from the perspective of a bachelor. He skillfully navigates the joys and challenges of marriage, presenting both sides with a mix of affection and satire. Ultimately, the essay serves as a playful and entertaining exploration of human relationships and the different perspectives on married life and bachelorhood.
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