What are the important aims of marriage?

The above mentioned definition of marriage clarifies its aim. The most important aims of marriage can be explained as follows:

1. Biological aim

The most important aim of marriage is biological or the satisfaction of biological needs. Sex is a natural biological need of males and females. The satisfaction of this need however, leads to child birth.

The human child is helpless when born and requires care for several years. Therefore some sort of permanent institution is required for care of the human children. Hence biological needs in human society do not function in a vacuum.

It cannot be left entirely to the personal whims of males and females. At least it involves one other person from the other sex whose welfare and satisfaction is equally important. Therefore the satisfaction of biological needs cannot be considered as the only aim of marriage.

However it cannot be denied that this is the most important aim. Young men and women enter into matrimony at least in part due to the biological needs. It is hence that lack of fulfillment or consummation of sexual function leads to dissolution of marriage in almost all human societies.

In spite of the availability of every other type of satisfaction and comforts, the impotence of the husband or the frigidity of the wife are generally considered as sufficient basis of divorce. Therefore, no one can deny that biological aim is the primary aim of society.

2. Social aim

Begetting and bringing up children is both a biological as well as social function of marriage. Men naturally want to multiply. Women naturally crave for children. Therefore the urge to beget children and to bring them up is partly a biological need.

At the same time it is also a social need since social status and communication very much depends upon the children. In India, for example, while in some tribes prestige is attached with the son, in other tribes the birth of a daughter is more welcome. In both the cases the craving for the birth of a son or a daughter is partly due to social needs.

The most important function of the progeny is the continuation of the family and the lineage. Another important social function is the extension of the bonds of kinship Yet another social function is the continuation of the cultural heritage of the society. Besides, there are some fringe social benefits to a married person, denied to a batchelor such as social respectability, easy communicability .social facilitation and more reliability in social relationship.

3. Economic aim

In primitive societies particularly, marriage has an economic aim. In societies where the main profession is agriculture, women are useful for light works such as sowing, etc. In such societies sometimes capable males marry several times to have several women as helping hands. In some hilly tribes polyandry is particularly due to the economic reason. Due to poverty one male cannot maintain a female and therefore several males together marry a female.

Due to the economic reason again, the female is also anxious to marry several males to avoid economic insecurity. Among Kadar people children are welcome as providing more hands to earn living.

In most of the primitive societies the women have to bear almost equal burden in economic activities. One finds division of labour in economic activities among males and females. The economic functions of the male and female “are not universally the same but both must share in economic functions.

Among the above mentioned aims of marriage different social anthropologists have given priority to different aims. George Peter Murdock studied aims of marriage in about 250 primitive societies and concluded that in human societies the marriage is generally performed due to three aims: firstly, satisfaction of sexual desires, secondly economic cooperation and thirdly bringing up children. According to Murdock the first aim is not the only aim anywhere.

In M.P.in Indian some tribes’ sexual intercourses between males and females are permitted till the establishment of pregnancy. In Kuki tribe the sexual intercourse is not a sufficient ground for marriage. In brief, in most of the primitive societies the aims of marriage are biological, social as well as economic.

This is equally true of the primitive societies in the West as well as in India. The most important reason for this state of affairs is the hard struggle of life, lower economic status and undeveloped natural environment. Therefore marriage is a union of the male and female not only to enjoy together but also to struggle together.