In severe circumstances, one spouse will refuse to communicate with the other. This might be a significant issue if you want to salvage your marriage. Often, one spouse will try to persuade, coerce, or encourage the reluctant partner to speak up more. Communication is key in any relationship, but it becomes even more important in marriages where happiness and stability are concerned. If one spouse is refusing to communicate, it's important for the other to understand what's going on inside this person's mind and heart. Spouses may refrain from speaking out of fear. They might believe that if they complain about their husband or wife, there will be no end to it. So they keep their mouths shut for peace' sake. Or perhaps they don't want to cause trouble by arguing with each other every time they have an opinion about something. Whatever the case may be, failing to communicate changes a marriage from one based on love to one based on coercion. In such cases, none of the choices available to the spouses are good ones. They can either stay together and suffer, or go through with divorce. However, if they are willing to work at their marriage, they can still have a happy ending. Marriages need communication between partners for them to function properly.