问答题
Convenience, policy, friendship, position, influence, money—all these are given as motives for matrimony. Typically treating such matters as property settlements, maintenance payments and child support, the prenuptial contracts function both as cultural manifestos and as alternative settlements to courtrooms. On the one hand, New York matrimonial lawyer Doris Joana Freed says, the documents encode the recognition of many couples that "maybe it’s better to settle things now than in the heat and bitterness of an ugly divorce proceeding." On the other hand, the new compacts also stand as artifacts reflecting a loaded complex of cultural ideas, advancing agendas, new visions of what might be. "What’s good is a contract in marriage contributes to honesty; what’s unfortunate is the idea that any contract can govern your emotions," observers MIT philosopher Irving Singer, author of the trilogy, The Nature of Love.