It does't sound like this man loves you. It doesn't sound like you love him. It sounds to me like he married you because he thought you would be submissive . . . and you are, to an extent. It sounds to me like being with him has been financially helpful to you. Well, you're not the first woman to enter into that kind of an arrangement. But you sure don't have to stay there. Leaving now might be inconvenient because of school, but school won't last forever.

It has happened that people who were not romantically head-over-heels in love have made marriages that endured and were beneficial to both partners. In some cultures, this is common place. Maybe that applies to your culture. But in those marriages, there had to be some bedrock of mutual respect. I don't see where you are getting even that.

I very seldom recommend therapy because I think people greatly overestimate what therapists can accomplish. But I am going to strongly recommend therapy for you. Your immediate problem is this very unhappy marriage. But a deeper problem is why you ever got into this marriage. I don't think you're ever going to be very happy with this man, but there's a good chance that, if you leave, you'll wind up with someone just as bad. You need to sit down with a good therapist and explore this whole submissive cast of mind that you go around with. That's what attracted your husband to you. And, if you get out of this marriage, you'll continue to attract men like that . . . maybe even worse. It's very odd for someone with your intelligence and education to be this passive. You need to look into why that is. There might be some short term counseling available to you through your school that wouldn't cost much. Also, it would do you good to attend support group meetings for women escaping domestic violence.

It would be a shame to have worked as hard as it takes to earn that master's degree and, then, go on to live in a completely dysfunctional home situation. But this does happen to smart women and to women with all kinds of education. The advantage education gives you is that you should be able to support yourself. You really need to spend some time living on your own and supporting yourself. My guess is that you come from a background where women tend to be dependent. You can outgrow that, if you want to. It would be good to achieve that before you start having children with someone. School is developing one part of your mind, while another part seems to be living in the dark. While you are still young, try and become all that you can be, as a person . . . become a person who runs her own show. Some things you need to learn can't learn from books, as I'm sure you already know.