Independence may be found in comparative as well as in absolute abundance; I mean where a person contracts his desires within the limits of his fortune.
While you don't need a formal written contract before you get married, I think it's important for both partners to spell out what they expect from each other.... There are always plenty of surprises-and lots of give and take-once you're married.
Hark! that's the nightingale, Telling the self-same tale Her song told when this ancient earth was young: So echoes answered when her song was sung In the first wooded vale.