Marriage as a social institution

Marriage is a social institution is an essay that examines how people ideas towards marriage function as a social institution in modern society though they have been deviated. The objectives of the essay are to strengthen the marital relation, lowered the divorce rate, and minimize the unwed lock birth. It examines the definition of marriage, its strength and weakness and valorises the institutional function of marriage in modern society though people perception regarding marriage has been changed.

The essayist defines marriage is not only a sum total of two spouses. It is a relation defined by legal, moral and conventional assumptions. It is a close personal affiliation uniting two adults. It is an institution culturally patterned and integrated. It establishes the self-boundaries around the relationship that allows the limits of behaviours and differentiates with other relations.

A married couple has some peculiar things that other lacks.  A married couple can have an heir to vast system of understood principles. They can organize and sustain their lives. Marriage provides structure to life and organizes the desires and ambitions.

Emily Durkheim, a French sociologist, has discussed marriage as protective role that prevents suicide. He argues that basic human necessities are more or less available in advance society. Modern people think on well-being, comfort, luxury and prestige. It establishes legitimate boundaries. Marriage benefits as an organ of society that restrains people, uncontrollable impulses. He further views marriage assigns a strictly definite object to the needs for love and closes the horizon. It forms the state of moral equilibrium from which human befits.

Despite having such peculiarity of marriage, American people are deviated as they believe unmarried relation offers something more than marriage. They view cohabitation as a freedom from rules of marriage. It frees them from arrangement of relationship and maintenance of parental relationship. However, the essayist critiques them and views the thing they lack are is that they exempt from vast range of marriage norms and laws in our society.

Criticizing cohabitation, the essayist emphasizes marriage and opines that a marriage couple is certain about maintaining relationship. They tie up to maintain their commitment and responsibility to their children whereas unmarried couple are not sure about it.

He further analyses the marriage and points out the reason behind of its being as social institution. He views marriage as a form of capital. It helps to create intangible social capital that maintains relationship. It creates a type of trust and trustworthiness that form social capital for productivity. Marriage creates a type of kinship that has a lot of effort to make something successful. It helps to bind the relatives strongly. Social capital firmly joins individuals in a network channel of knowledge. These networks function by social norms and sanctions. It cannot be separated from configuration of institution and communities. The boundaries of marriage distinguish from other form of relation. He further examines the American society which has advocated for six dimensions of normative marriage system that has paved the way for establishing marriage as a social institution. They are:

It indicates the entry of voluntary maturity

Heterosexuality where males are supposed to be principle earners

Sexual faithfulness

Married couple will be parents

It is a form of social control where behaviours and aspirations are channelled properly

It is a force greater than individuals as it represents the collective sentiments of others. 

The essayist has critical examination of marriage systems that prevails in different society and comes up with it as a social institution.