How To Keep A Good Marriage
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 11, 1989
PARIS, Friday: After 47 years of marriage, a Lyons couple have been awarded joint doctorates for a thesis on the subject they know best - love and fidelity.
Denise and Pierre Stagnara submitted a thesis of 1,000 pages in which they came up with the conclusion that lasting marriage has two key secrets - good sex and total fidelity. Apart from their own experience, they analysed interviews with psychologists, doctors and philosophers before falling back on endorsement of traditional values.
"Never banalise the sexual act," they said when outlining their thesis to social science professors at Lyons university. "Whether it is in the pursuit of pleasure or in the interests of research, be as ambitious as possible."
It took the better part of a decade to put together the thesis, whose full title was Amours fideles, Utopie et Realite, in which one of the dominant themes of their 36 conclusions was the irreversible nature of the vow to forsake all others.
Because it was such a solemn promise, the couple also recommended a proper wedding as long as it was a "real feast" and that the wedding night was treated as an "initiation ritual".
The couple also believed that good marriages were made in heaven, as they told their tutors that "even before we were introduced, everyone believed we would get married".
They were both born in 1917 and were members of the Scout and Guide movement before they wed in 1942. Mr Stagnara became a surgeon, specialising in bone problems, while his wife stayed at home to look after their 10 children before writing a book on children's sexual education.
In displaying their 1,000-page thesis, Mrs Stagnara pointed out that it weighed just about three kilograms.
"We treat it like our 11th child," she said.
© 1989 Sydney Morning Herald