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There is an extensive amount of writings by both Charles and Emma Darwin that give a glimpse of their 43 years together as a married couple. Here are a few quotes about the Darwin marriage.
Charles Darwin: "I marvel at my good fortune that she, so infinitely my superior in every single moral quality, consented to be my wife. She has been my wise adviser and cheerful comforter throughout life, which without her would have been during a very long period a miserable one from ill-health. She has earned the love and admiration of every soul near her."
Source: Charles Darwin. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. page 97.
Emma Darwin: "I think prayer is an instance to the contrary, in one case it is a positive duty and perhaps not in the other. But I daresay you meant in actions which concern others and then I agree with you almost if not quite. I do not wish for any answer to all this—it is a satisfaction to me to write it, and when I talk to you about it I cannot say exactly what I wish to say, and I know you will have patience with your own dear wife. Don't think that it is not my affair and that it does not much signify to me. Everything that concerns you concerns me and I should be most unhappy if I thought we did not belong to each other for ever."
Source: Charles Darwin. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. page 237.
Deborah Heiligman: "She [Emma] prized his [Charles'] candor, and she knew he was a good and moral man. But in a letter she sent him soon after their engagement, she told him that she was sad that "our opinions on the most important subject should differ widely ... Although they never were able to see eye-to-eye on the question of religion and God, they were able to reach their hands across the gulf. In the end, each of them accepted and, it seems, truly understood what the other believed."
Source: Deborah Heiligman. "The Darwins' marriage of science and religion." LATimes.com. 1/29/2009.
Sarah O'Meara: "According to Darwin's notes, she [Emma] was very practical but didn't think that being clean and tidy was all that important. When he married her he had to give up on the idea of being really tidy -- so that they wouldn't have any disagreements."
Source: Sarah O'Meara. "Diary sheds light on Darwin couple's lives." Evening News. 3/16/2007.
Deborah Heiligman: "So the dance of a married couple had begun. She [Emma] played the piano for him [Charles], and though he had a tin ear, he listened with enjoyment and love. He put up with her sloppiness; she understood his need for long hours at work. She agreed to go to fewer parties and dinners since he did not like them. He went to the theater with her, and to church."
Source: Deborah Heiligman. Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith. 2009. pg. 94.
Jim Moore: "In particular, they [Emma's diaries] provide agonizing insights on Charles's poor health ... The detailed documentation of his symptoms is testimony to her unwavering support for him, he says, and show just how dependent he was on her. "It's as close as we can get to the sacred interiors of their relationship."
Source: "Diaries of Darwin's wife revealed." NewScientist.com. 3/17/2007.
