Marriage

It confuses me as to why we still practice marriage. Marriage for as long as time can tell has been a means of obtaining status or gaining wealth- not for love. Napoleon married to gain communications with his bride's father... King of a country he sought after. Women often searched for men of higher status so that they could be well taken care of for the remainders of their days etc. ( I am really in no mood to research historical examples-- just please take the college girl's word for it...). Anyway, I am just confused as to why we are trying to adapt this practice, that was so clearly meant for something else, and trying to make it fit into the societal codes of today. Why is it that we commit ourselves to one person and attempt to be happy "forever"? It's just something I was thinking about today... while I was COMPLETELY paying attention in class.