@OmSigDAVID,
You know, George and Martha could have divorced. Why didn't they? I'm sure Martha thought she controlled George but I thought it the other way around.
George was a rather bright guy, so why didn't he live his own life, write books, gads, just give her a reason to respect him.. Instead, he hangs around playing the really sad games with his wife. She picks and nags him until he gets angry enough to really hurt her the only way he could (the imaginary child). He actually thinks he loves her. Such love nobody wants. He could've encouraged her to move upward in her own life. Nah, he liked her like that.
Don't forget, few people got divorced during those times. Also, I think it had a negative effect on the two actor's own marriage. I remember watching Joan Rivers (probably Johnny Carson's show). He held up a picture of Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton. She was huge (fat) and they were involved in a sexy kiss. Rivers said, "See, Richard Burton is blowing her up." During their divorce, Burton reportedly told her she "looked like a dwarf with a big stomach.
After the divorce Elizabeth Taylor lost that weight, probably lots of plastic surgery, and spent the rest of her days in public raising money for AIDS.