The Evolution of Marriage and of the Family

"The Evolution of Marriage and of the Family" by Ch. Letourneau is a late 19th-century work that uses a scientific lens to examine how marriage and family have changed over time. The book begins by setting out a plan to study marriage and family from a scientific point of view, arguing that these ideas came from simpler social structures seen in animals. It speaks about the biological reasons behind marriage, explaining that human sexual behavior comes from basic biology seen in other species. By claiming that marriage is a social answer to biological needs, Letourneau suggests that we can understand human relationships by looking at them through the science of evolution, which leads to a larger discussion of marriage and family in different cultures and time periods.