Significance of Marriage as Social Institution in Indian English Writings

Marriage is an institution that admits man and woman to family life. It is a stable relationship in which a man and a woman are socially permitted to live together without losing their status in the community. Marriage is not merely concerned with the couple; rather it affects the whole society and future generations. The responsibilities it entrusts a couple with are thus both heavy and delicate. In Hindu view, marriage is not a concession to human weakness, but a means for spiritual growth. Man and woman are soul mates who, through the institution of marriage, can direct the energy associated with their individual instincts and passion into the progress of their souls. Chaucer, the father of English poetry, has beautifully established a very noteworthy feature of the blissful state of marriage and husbandwife relation in his essay The Merchant's Tale.