--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whoever invented marriage was an…" description: "\"Whoever invented marriage was an ingenious tormentor. It is an institution committed to the dulling of the feelings. The whole point of marriage is rep..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/susan-sontag-332_aim_whoever-invented-marriage-was-an-ingenio_2152417.jpg" --- # Whoever invented marriage was an ingenious tormentor. It… ![“Whoever invented marriage was an ingenious tormentor. It is an institution committed to the dulling of the feelings. The whole point of marriage is repetition. The best it aims for is the creation of strong, mutual dependencies.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/susan-sontag-332_aim_whoever-invented-marriage-was-an-ingenio_2152417.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/susan-sontag-332_aim_whoever-invented-marriage-was-an-ingenio_2152417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/213/susan-sontag-332_aim_whoever-invented-marriage-was-an-ingenio_2152417.jpg) > “Whoever invented marriage was an ingenious tormentor. It is an institution committed to the dulling of the feelings. The whole point of marriage is repetition. The best it aims for is the creation of strong, mutual dependencies.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Marriage is portrayed as a socially constructed system that dulls individuality, creating repetitive, dependent relationships. **In simple terms:** Marriage can dull feelings through routine. Key Takeaway Seek authentic connection beyond routine. Themes marriage institution dependency repetition individuality Mood critical analytical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - long‑term partnership - family planning - social expectations Key Concepts social constructs psychological dependency relationship dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does routine affect intimacy? - What balance between dependence and autonomy is healthy? A Different Perspective The view may overlook positive aspects of partnership. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) ## Related quotes > [“It is not we as individuals, then, who must bend uncomfortably around the institution of marriage; rather it is the institution of marriage that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/it-is-not-we-as-individuals-then-who-must-bend-uncomfortably-around-2/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Sometimes I really wonder if the dangerous intricacies of marriage are ever considered by who ever invented marriage institution. I honestly believe that instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola-http-wwwamoreloveforlifecom/sometimes-i-really-wonder-if-the-dangerous-intricacies-of-marriage/) Kemmy Nola Http://wwwamoreloveforlifecom > [The gods gave man fire and he invented fire engines. They gave him love and he invented marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-quant/the-gods-gave-man-fire-and-he-invented-fire-engines-they-gave-him/) [Mary Quant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-quant/) > [We invented marriage. Couples invented marriage. We also invented divorce,mind you. And we invented infidelity,too, as well as romantic misery. In fact we invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/we-invented-marriage-couples-invented-marriage-we-also-invented/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“At my age one's seldom amazed," he said, smiling. "Marriage is too absurd in any case. It begins and continues for such very slight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/at-my-age-one-s-seldom-amazed-he-said-smiling-marriage-is-too-absurd/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“And He was the one who invented marriage so that the blazing fire of romantic love could become something even more beautiful - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/and-he-was-the-one-who-invented-marriage-so-that-the-blazing-fire-of/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [The whole point of marriage is to stop you getting anywhere near real life. You think it's a great struggle with the mystery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-bradbury/the-whole-point-of-marriage-is-to-stop-you-getting-anywhere-near-real/) [Malcolm Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-bradbury/) > [Maybe the point is that any marriage is work, but you may as well pick work that you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/maybe-the-point-is-that-any-marriage-is-work-but-you-may-as-well-pick/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [“For many, the point of marriage isn't so much to be in love as to stop having to think of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/for-many-the-point-of-marriage-isn-t-so-much-to-be-in-love-as-to-stop/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I don't see the point of marriage. 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The point is that marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/the-point-is-that-getting-married-for-lust-or-money-or-social-status/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [The idea of wearing a white dress is very romantic, but the real point of marriage is a contract and that is not romantic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/the-idea-of-wearing-a-white-dress-is-very-romantic-but-the-real-point/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [The whole point of marriage is to encourage your partner's development and have them encourage yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-s-dweck/the-whole-point-of-marriage-is-to-encourage-your-partner-s/) [Carol S. Dweck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-s-dweck/) > [“The point of marriage is not to create a quick commonality by tearing down all boundaries; on the contrary, a good marriage is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-point-of-marriage-is-not-to-create-a-quick-commonality-by-tearing/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? 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The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Aim quotes > [If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/if-you-aim-at-nothing-you-will-hit-it-every-time/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/a-good-aim-surveys-the-present-state-of-experience-of-pupils-and/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [ He \[an earnest young reporter\] seemed to share the view of many intelligent, well-educated, well-meaning people that, while adult literature may aim to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/he-an-earnest-young-reporter-seemed-to-share-the-view-of-many/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [My aim was to make money for the bank. You lose track of the amounts involved when you are engaged in this kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-kerviel/my-aim-was-to-make-money-for-the-bank-you-lose-track-of-the-amounts/) [Jerome Kerviel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-kerviel/) > [My only aim is to clock a time that everyone remembers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hima-das/my-only-aim-is-to-clock-a-time-that-everyone-remembers/) [Hima Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hima-das/) > [My main aim has always been to do good quality films with roles that have some substance. With Power and Beauty there were loads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-henstridge/my-main-aim-has-always-been-to-do-good-quality-films-with-roles-that/) [Natasha Henstridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-henstridge/) > [ I really enjoyed it - being involved in watching rushes and playback \[in "The Invisible Woman"\]. Ralph \[Fiennes\] was very open to my input,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-really-enjoyed-it-being-involved-in-watching-rushes-and-playback-in/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [My aim is to be counted among the top players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-azam/my-aim-is-to-be-counted-among-the-top-players/) [Babar Azam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babar-azam/) > [The single aim of my life is that every child is: free to be a child, free to grow and develop, free to eat,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-satyarthi/the-single-aim-of-my-life-is-that-every-child-is-free-to-be-a-child/) [Kailash Satyarthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-satyarthi/) > [The aim of good prose words is to mean what they say. The aim of good poetical words is to mean what they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-aim-of-good-prose-words-is-to-mean-what-they-say-the-aim-of-good/) [Gilbert K. 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