Commentary The existentialist Soren Kierkegaard pondered many things—life, death, happiness, sadness, even the importance of birds and lilies. He also pondered the question of marriage. Kierkegaard, a man who was engaged for a year before deciding against tying the knot, once wrote the following: “If you marry, you will regret it; if you do not marry, you will also regret it; if you marry or if you do not marry, you will regret both; whether you marry or you do not marry, you will regret both.” What does this mean? In truth, I don’t know. Does anyone? But Kierkegaard, by all accounts, wasn’t a fan of marriage. Fast forward 200 years, and tens of millions of people around the world—from Shanghai to San Francisco—appear to share the Danish philosopher’s reservations. The question, though, is why? To wed, or not to wed: that is the question. To that very question, an …