Why Do People Marry?

Marriage is not a casual arrangement for living under the same roof and sharing household expenses. It is a formal relationship established in full public view in which the interests of the partners are protected by the law. Marriage has always been considered a sacred institution that is governed by social and cultural customs and traditions.

Getting married has strong religious and cultural sanction too. In many spiritual traditions, it is considered a sin to have sex without getting married to a person. Indeed, unmarried people well past their marriageable age are considered somewhat an abnormality in most societies.

Marriage remains so popular and essential for many reasons. It is a relationship with many facets. It has legal, social, sexual and financial aspects that few other relationships offer. Marriage by itself offers a broad enough scope to offer contentment and fulfilment to husband and wife in their day-to-day lives.

One of the main reasons why people marry is due to the emotional and financial security it offers. After getting married, you always have your life partner next to you to share your problems and challenges. He or she offers a shoulder to lean on and provides encouragement and motivation. In those moments when you are feeling down and out, few soothing words from your spouse can do wonders. Permanent companionship offers you great benefits.

Getting married provides tremendous financial security, particularly if both the partners are working. The income of husband and wife merges to create a pool of money that can buy many family assets, meet daily expenses and maintain a good standard of living compared to what the partners would have enjoyed as bachelors. Financial security translates into emotional security as the partners rest reassured that they have sufficient finances to take care of health emergencies and urgent needs.

Another important reason for people choosing to marry rather than live alone is fulfilment of sexual needs and building a loving and caring atmosphere for starting a family. Sex is something that each adult human is programmed to have at regular intervals. Marriage is the best way to indulge in regular sexual activity safely and guiltlessly. Because the spouses are expected to be loyal to each other, the relationship restricts a person from having too many sexual partners.

Marriage offers an ideal nest in which young children can get a healthy upbringing and grow into useful members of society. The kids are emotionally and physically very vulnerable. Their personalities are still developing and they get easily insecure. They need the presence of both the parents – the tenderness and affection of the mother and guidance and discipline of the father – to develop a well-rounded personality. Without marriage of their parents, it is impossible for children to get an ideal growing-up atmosphere.

It has been seen that children coming from broken homes are often unsuccessful later on in their personal lives as well as they lose their faith in human relationships. Children of divorce who are neglected by parents also get involved in cases of petty theft and crime, street brawls, drug abuse and other deviant behaviour. Among girls, parental divorce may result in a lifestyle centred around rampant sex and alcohol. The main reason why children from divorced families behave like this is due to a lack of emotional fulfilment and physical and financial insecurity.

Parental pressure sometimes also plays an important role in getting a person married. Parents want to see their children settled in professional and personal life. They want them to get married and start their own families so that they can play with their grand children. Some people may get married due to social status. A married person with children is seen with respect by everyone. It is considered something of an achievement in one’s personal life that other people envy.

Marriage is not only a bond between two people but indirectly it has implications for the whole society. A happy marriage results in a happy family. And a society full of happy families results in happy nations. Children who have grown up in loving and affectionate families become confident and emotionally strong when they grow up. Thus, happy marriages result in contented nations and a confident new generation.