GROUP MARRIAGE: A Study of Contemporary Multilateral Marriage

by Larry L. & Joan M. Constantine ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1973

Group marriage isn't quite so radical as some might think -- the ties that bind are simply extended to the second or third power -- but the monogamous majority will still be left wondering what in the heck the conjugal world is coming to: four or six or eight or more men and women living and sleeping together in unholy matrimony? how does it work out? who goes to bed with whom and who keeps score? what about the children? what's the point? The Constantines, a young couple who spent three years tracking down and quantifying those engaged in comarital arrangements, are enthusiastic advocates (they've tried it), predicting that ""conventional, sexually exclusive relationships"" are on the way out, to be replaced by the ""cultural pluralism"" of multilateral marriage. ""We do not forecast the demise of the family"" -- rather ""The family is alive, and well, and growing!"" Their researches -- inspired by Rimmer's novel The Harrad Experiment -- reveal that comarriage reduces boredom, increases self-awareness, improves economic security, promotes better child-rearing practices, and has the ""signal and unique"" advantage of offering ""sexual variety for both men and women within a stable marital configuration"" -- monogamy no, fidelity yes. Pounds of sophisticated data are appended, as if to offset ""our lack of formal qualification for research of the subtlety demanded by this project"" and the acknowledgment that ""Our scientific objectivity will be questioned, and rightfully so. . . ."" Such failings aside, this won't do nearly as well as, say, the O'Neills' Open Marriage, but it should tap the same audience.

Pub Date: April 1, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION