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Importance of marriage to society |
| James Walsh |
No other emotional and social bond comes close to this institution in its depth and scope.
There are many reasons why marriage has endured for so long. Humans are essentially social animals. They are scared of loneliness and cannot live or grow to their full potential in isolation. They have a genetically driven need to reach out to other people and form a close bond with them so that they can live in a close-knit group.
Lacking in any kind of natural offensive capability such as claws or sharp teeth, we are also basically insecure and fearful if left alone. We know subconsciously that if we remain at the tender mercies of the natural world, we will not be able to survive for long. The best way to eliminate this insecurity and loneliness is to establish and form a bond with an individual of opposite gender and vow to spend our lives together until "death do us apart."
Marriage is the only institution that allows two people to establish a very strong and enduring relationship that is fully backed by the law and society as a whole. This is the main reason why the institution of marriage has been around for so long.
Marriage offers many benefits to a couple.
Living Together
In a marriage, two individuals who tie the knot come together to set up a home of their own. They live under the same roof and sleep on the same bed. This ensures that the two partners feel lonely no more and get each other's close company round the clock. They can speak to each other anytime they want and generally benefit from each other's physical presence.
Functional Division of Labour
There are many advantages of living together. With marriage, there is a functional division of labour in all of the life's activities. The wife usually takes care of household work such as laundry and cooking food while the husband goes out to work everyday to bring home the bacon. This makes things easier for both and they develop a specialisation in their area of work, concentrating fully on their individual responsibilities. The home and family functions are much smoother this way.
Financial Security
When two people get married, their lives intertwine in more ways than one. Both of them bring to the table all the savings and assets they have accumulated over the years gone past. This combined wealth increases the purchasing power of them both and they can afford to collect many luxuries for the home to make their life comfortable. If both the spouses have a job, then their salaries jointly add up to a tidy sum and they can now afford many assets, both movable and immovable, that they couldn't earlier.
Emotional Support
Perhaps the biggest benefit marriage offers to the partners is emotional support. The two of them stay together and lead a very close-knit life. They share their personal secrets with each other and do not hide anything. They discuss all of life's big and small events and go to social functions together as one unit. When a partner is depressed or life takes a sudden turn for the worse, he or she is provided support by way of soothing words and encouragement by the spouse. Marriage is clearly a win-win situation for both. According to one survey, due to the emotional support they get, married people tend to live substantially longer and fall ill less often compared to individuals who never marry in their lives.
Rearing Children
To have children and begin a family, there really is no better option than getting married. This is because it is easy for the married partners to establish a safe and secure nest in which the children can be reared to grow up into healthy adults. The kids too grow up in the full-time presence of parents and bask in the deep emotional support that they require from adults for their psychologically healthy development. While the father ensures discipline, general guidance and physical security for the children, the mother offers them soft emotions such as tenderness, intimacy and affection.
Social and Legal Recognition
Marriage, unlike live-in relationships, is an institution that has the full backing of the society and law. Duly married man and wife have a certain social status and respect that is denied to people past marriageable age who have never married.
Marriage is also recognised by the law and has legal validity. The rights and duties of the married couple are well defined and enforceable in a court of law. If the partners want to split, there is a particular procedure that has to be followed with respect to not only untying the relationship but also for matters related to division of assets and liabilities, child custody and maintenance to be payable to wife.
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| About the Author |
©2006 All rights reserved
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
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