Two Classes. Divided by "I Do"

In the article " Two Classes, Divided by 'I Do' " by Jason DeParle, the idea of the American Dream is once again discussed. This time, it is focused around the idea of family structure having an affect on one's social class. The article mentions two women, Jessica Schairer and Chris Faulkner, who are both friends and have relatively similar pay. The big difference however, is the fact that Ms. Faulkner is married and has the income of two people to live on and to support her family, while Ms. Schairer is struggling to raise her family by herself. In comparison to The Glass Castle, I feel like this idea of being married means higher class standing is inaccurate. Rex and Rosemary walls are married and have been trying to support their family for most of their lives but they live in poverty. Yes, having two working parents could mean a solid income for the family, but because the Walls parents choose not to work, it makes life much harder in terms of trying to feed their children and make sure they have a decent place to live. The only thing that is stopping them from living comfortably is them choosing to live life how they are. Rosemary is a qualified teacher and it sounds like Rex is qualified in different fields of work so if they choose, they could be living in better conditions than they have for most of the book. Instead however, they choose not to work and believe that trying to scrape by to survive is the best option for their family.