Getting Married · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Getting Married by George Bernard Shaw.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
Preface to Getting Married
The preface introduces the central debate surrounding marriage as an institution, critiquing its legal and social foundations, and setting the stage for the play's exploration of marriage as a flawed but necessary social contract.
Chapter 2
The Revolt Against Marriage
The chapter critiques the dangerous nonsense surrounding marriage, condemning both the inhumanity of marriage law and the anarchical tendency of rebellious spirits to form illicit unions. The author advises young women against compromising without the security of marriage, citing examples like George Eliot and Nietzsche, and notes that even those who marry often insist on a private treaty of freedom, which paradoxically tends to result in monogamy.
Chapter 3
Marriage Nevertheless Inevitable
The chapter argues that despite widespread revolt against marriage, it remains practically compulsory for normal people due to legal, social, and economic pressures. Open violation leads to ruin, and even illicit unions are often as tyrannical as legal ones. The only solution is to acknowledge marriage's inevitability and work to reform it.
Chapter 4
What Does the Word Marriage Mean?
This chapter examines the ambiguous and varied meanings of the word 'marriage,' arguing that it is not a fixed natural institution but a social construct with different forms across cultures and legal systems. Shaw critiques the hypocrisy of those who defend marriage without specifying which version they mean, and he dismisses the idea of abolishing marriage entirely, instead advocating for improving its conditions, particularly the terms of dissolution.
Chapter 5
Survivals of Sex Slavery
This chapter critiques the institution of marriage by exposing its foundations in property law and sex slavery, arguing that current marriage laws are based on the morality of the tenth commandment, which treats women as chattels. It contrasts romantic and child-rearing assumptions about marriage with the reality that neither grounds for divorce are recognized, revealing the underlying property-based morality. The chapter also discusses the revolt against marriage, the economic dependence of women, and the social hypocrisy that punishes attacks on marriage while winking at marital misconduct.

Free preview

50 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

50 more companions → free preview

Preface to Getting Married

The Revolt Against Marriage

Marriage Nevertheless Inevitable

What Does the Word Marriage Mean?

Survivals of Sex Slavery