Sometimes marriage is described as a chronological series of stages that most couples go through. A life-cycle approach uses this type of description.

(For example, the engagement, the wedding, the honeymoon period, the childbearing years, the "empty nest," retirement, death of a partner.) A different type of approach could be called a qualitative approach.

This type of description looks at the quality of a relationship rather than the timeline in which things happen.

Which type of approach does Chapman take and why does he take that approach? Do you find his way of describing marriages helpful? Why or why not?