The Murphy's start out this chapter by posing an intriguing problem. While there are some advantages to the institution of marriage, Yolanda notes that one could argue that the disadvantages of marriage outweigh them. It is true that marriage serves to shape the division of labor, to help divide up the tasks of work by dividing labor by gender, and to join in complementary fashion the efforts of both men and women.
Marriage provides a point of reference for the family and for the raising of children.
In some societies marriage may allow the establishment of an economic unit. Marriage does not form an economic unit, does not establish a nuclear family within which children are raised, is not required in establishing a functional division of labor. It does not establish a loving and committed relationship between two people. It seems, on the surface, to be superfluous. It is the most important social institution.