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Marriage meanings: The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised)
marriage
→ noun
1. the formal union of a man and a woman, typically as recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife: she has three children from a previous marriage.
? [mass noun] the state of being married: women want equality in marriage.
2. a combination or mixture of elements: her music is a marriage of funk, jazz, and hip hop.
- PHRASES by marriage as a result of a marriage. in marriage as husband or wife: he asked my father for my hand in marriage.
- ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French mariage, from marier ?marry?.
marriage Marriage is traditionally conceived to be a legally recognized relationship, between an adult male and female, that carries certain rights and obligations. However, in contemporary societies, marriage is sometimes interpreted more liberally and the phrase ?living as married? indicates that for many purposes it makes no sense to exclude cohabitation. It should be noted, however, that even this more liberal definition usually excludes homosexual couples. Although cohabitation is increasingly accepted, and is now the normal prelude to marriage, people continue to make a distinction between living together and a ?proper? wedding and marriage.
Much recent sociological research, both in Britain and America, has been concerned with the growing fears that marriage as an institution is in decline. These fears stem from two roots, the first being concern for increasing marital breakdown and subsequent divorce, and the second the fact that marriage is going out of fashion, with more people cohabiting and even rearing children outside matrimony. Certainly, divorce is on the increase, and if current divorce-rates in Britain continue then one in three marriages is likely to end in divorce. In recent years, the median age at first marriage has increased and teenage marriages have declined significantly, with a growing proportion, albeit still a small minority, never getting married. At the same time, rates of cohabitation are increasing, with it now being virtually the norm to cohabit before marrying. Moreover, an increasing number of children are conceived and born outside marriage. Looking at these statistics, one might reasonably conclude that the future of marriage looks bleak, but marriage still remains the preferred way of life for the vast majority of the adult population. Even among those whose first marriage fails, a majority are sufficiently optimistic to marry a second time.
Why do people marry? In Western societies, the emotional aspects of marriage are stressed, and what Lawrence Stone calls affective individualism prevails (see The Family, Sex and Marriage in England, 1500?1800, 1977). Choice of a mate is influenced primarily by the desire for a relationship offering affection and love?although, as Peter Berger observes, the ?lightning shaft of Cupid seems to be guided rather strongly within very definite channels of class, income, education, racial and religious background? (see Invitation to Sociology, 1963). The tendency for people of similar backgrounds to marry (marital homogamy) is strong, but there is no clear understanding of why it occurs, or whether the degree of rigidity in mate selection differs among different social groups. Surprisingly, some recent American research suggests that the higher the class position, the less the homogamy (M. Whyte, Dating, Mating, and Marriage, 1990). The same study also indicates that homogamy is a poor predictor of marital success.
Concern with marital success and marital adjustment has played an increasingly prominent part in recent research. As David Morgan (The Family, 1985) suggests, marriage has become ?medicalized?, with therapists and marriage-guidance counsellors at the ready to tackle marital problems and enhance marital quality. This raises the question of how marital success should be measured. Clearly, stability is not a sufficient indicator, as some couples stay together even though they are totally miserable, whereas others divorce, despite having a relationship that some would envy. A variety of marital quality inventories have been developed and recently it has been recognized that marital quality and marital problems are in fact independent. For example, conflict and arguments may be signs of caring and engagement in some marriages.
Marriages clearly face different problems at different times of the life-cycle, and raising a family, especially for parents of younger children, is associated with high marital strain. Remarriages appear to be at greater risk of breaking up than first marriages, especially when step-children are involved. This may be in part because remarriage is an incomplete institution, in the sense that societal expectations and norms still reflect the traditional expectation that marriages will last a lifetime. As Anthony Giddens has pointed out, terms like ?broken marriages? and ?broken homes? embody the traditional ideal and have unfortunate negative connotations, especially regarding children whose parents are separated or divorced.
Increasingly, research is focusing on the interrelationship of employment and family life, including marriage. The primary focus has been on how women's employment has affected the marital relationship. Using longitudinal surveys, American researchers have found that women who contribute a higher share of the household income are more likely to divorce than women who contribute a lower share, or housewives. It may be that wives who become less dependent upon their husbands financially are no longer willing to tolerate a subservient position?and have the resources that enable them to leave. Another important question is whether the employment of women has led to greater egalitarianism within marriage. Some family researchers have painted a rosy picture of how families are becoming more symmetrical, whereas others continue to exercise scepticism, asserting that the traditional division of labour within the home persists, even when women also hold full-time employment.
Jessie Bernard (The Future of Marriage, 1972) has claimed that there is not one marriage but two?the wife's marriage and that of the husband. Studies have consistently shown that marriage tends to be more beneficial for men than for women, with married men being in better psychological health, and showing fewer symptoms of stress than married women. Some feminists who see marriage as an oppressive institution have urged women not to marry. The inequalities of marriage, however, are reflections of the inequalities of the sexes in society. As Chris Harris states, ?it is to be expected that however great the formal equality between the spouses, wives? sense of inequality in marriage will persist as long as they cannot, for whatever reason, participate on equal terms with men in the labour-market' (Family and Industrial Society, 1983). Bernard goes further, suggesting that the metamorphosis of housewife to bread-winner sends tremors through every relationship. Dual-earning marriages are sowing the seeds of change. However, despite the dire statistics, marriage seems to be a rather resilient institution; perhaps, very gradually, the benefits for both husband and wife will become more balanced. See also ROLE, CONJUGAL; DOMESTIC DIVISION OF LABOUR; DUAL-CAREER MARRIAGE; FAMILY, SYMMETRICAL; HOUSEHOLD ALLOCATIVE SYSTEM.
Know about different kind of marriages: (Encyclop?dia Britannica)
Marriage is a legally sanctioned union usually between one man and one woman. At the beginning of the 21st century, marriage between people of the same sex was legally recognized in two countries, The Netherlands (2001) and Belgium (2003), and some Canadian provinces. Civil unions or domestic partnerships between persons of the same sex, which entailed many of the rights and obligations assumed by married couples, were recognized in numerous other jurisdictions, including several European countries and some U.S. states. Other U.S. jurisdictions, while not recognizing civil unions or domestic partnerships, granted a range of legal rights to same-sex couples.
Because marriage is viewed as a contractual agreement subject to legal processes, a newly married couple undergoes a radical change in their legal status. This change involves their assumption of certain rights and obligations to each other. In many societies, these obligations include living together in the same or nearby dwellings, the provision of domestic services such as child rearing, cooking, and housekeeping, and the provision of food, shelter, clothing, and other means of support. The rights of marriage include the shared ownership and inheritance of each other's property to varying degrees and, in monogamous marriages, the exclusive right to sexual intercourse with each other (see monogamy).
These generalizations notwithstanding, every past or present society has had its own concept of marriage, and many have created marriage laws that reflect their particular cultural standards and expectations concerning the institution. Ancient Roman law recognized three forms of marriage. Confarreatio was marked by a highly solemnized ceremony involving numerous witnesses and animal sacrifice. It was usually reserved for patrician families. Coemptio, used by many plebeians, was effectively marriage by purchase, while usus, the most informal variety, was marriage simply by mutual consent and evidence of extended cohabitation. Roman law generally placed the woman under the control of her husband and on the same footing as children. Under Roman law no slave could contract marriage with either another slave or a free person, but the union of male and female slaves was recognized for various purposes.
The canon law of the Roman Catholic church was the only law governing matrimonial relations between Christians in western Europe until the Reformation and still has considerable authority in some Roman Catholic countries. The church historically regarded marriage as a lifelong and sacred union that could be dissolved only by the death of one of the spouses. This exalted view of marriage envisaged the husband and wife as made of ?one flesh? by the act of God, and marriage was thus transformed from a terminable civil contract under Roman law to a sacrament and a mystic union of souls and bodies never to be divided. In canon law the free and mutual consent of the parties was regarded as essential to marriage. Marriage was regarded as completed between baptized persons by consent and then consummation. Canon law held a marriage to be null and void in cases in which the parties were within prohibited degrees of close blood relationship (consanguinity and affinity).
Marriage law as it developed in England specified the requisites of marriage as being the following: each party shall have attained a certain age; each shall be sexually competent and mentally capable; each shall be free to marry; each shall give his or her consent to marry; the parties shall be outside the prohibited degrees of blood relationship to each other (consanguinity and affinity); and the marriage ceremony shall conform with the statutory formalities.
The marriage law of most western European nations and that of the United States (which is itself based on English marriage law) is the product of canon law that has been greatly modified by the changed cultural and social conditions of modern industrialized and urbanized life. Modern marriage law regards marriage as a civil transaction and allows only monogamous unions. In general, the legal capacity of a person to marry is the same in most of the Western world and is subject only to impediments such as consanguinity and affinity, age limitations (which have been revised upward in most countries from a minimum of 12 years old or younger to between 15 and 21 years old), and restraints due to mental incapacity. In the United States the federal Defense of Marriage Act (1996) defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman only and allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. In response to court rulings in some states favouring the legalization of same-sex marriage, more than 30 states have passed laws similar to the Defense of Marriage Act or have amended their constitutions to the same effect.
Divorce is almost universally allowed, with restrictions on divorce undergoing gradual relaxation in Catholic countries. In Russia only registered civil marriage is recognized. Monogamy is strictly enforced there, and marriage must be completely voluntary between the parties, who must be over 18 years of age. Caste and social standing continue to influence the incidence of divorce in areas of South Asia.
In Muslim countries of the Middle East, Asia, and North Africa, the prevailing Islamic law regards marriage as a contract between the two spouses for the ?legalization of intercourse and the procreation of children,? though it is always seen nonetheless as a gift from God or a kind of service to God. The terms of the marriage depend on the will of the consenting parties, and it may be constituted without any ceremonial. The essential requirement of marriage is offer and acceptance, expressed at one meeting. Islamic law has historically permitted the practice of polygamy, but its practice was always limited and was waning in virtually all Muslim countries by the late 20th century.
Polygamous marriages are still permitted under customary laws in many African nations, but there is a growing tendency toward monogamy. Many developing nations in Africa and elsewhere are markedly different from Western nations in that there is no uniform marriage law. The regulation of marital relations is based either on religion or on the customary laws of the territory. This leads to a diversity of laws within one territorial unit and often gives rise to complex problems in the case of tribal, ethnic, or religious intermarriage.
In Japan polygamous marriage is prohibited, and age limits of 18 years for men and 16 years for women are specified before marriage can take place. Consanguinity to a close degree is prohibited, and all marriages must be registered in accordance with law. Polygamy is also forbidden in China. Formality in the marriage celebration has been abandoned, but the civil marriage must be duly registered to be valid.
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