Marriage has many special unconscious meanings to the individual. These meanings are distinct from the significance of adult heterosexual relationships in general.

Because of its ceremonial and legal character, the marriage bond is readily represented in special instances by fantasies of anatomical attachment. These primitive fantasies serve as defenses against fear of separation and annihilation. The evidence presented here does not, however, demonstrate that the fantasies constitute the historical source of the social institution of marriage. This is a question for anthropological research.