Who is bound by the ties of Hymen? Phraseology "Hymen's Ties": meaning, origin and examples

When they say: "they are bound by the bonds of Hymen", what does this mean? We will understand the intricacies of phraseology.

Hymenyus is who?

In Greek mythology, the so-called god of marriage. Its related roots are very intricate. We will not consider them. More importantly, another: according to one of the legends, Hymeneus is a effeminate young man (as handsome as a girl), who dies on the day of marriage. Under the "bonds of Hymen" are meant the marriage ties. And in this case there is no negative meaning here, despite the death of the young man.

Interpretation of the death of Hymen

But the symbolic interpretation of the death of a beautiful young man is fascinating: for example, marriage can be regarded as a stage of the end of free life and the beginning of a family life. Some sources are even more radically interpreted: the death of a young man points to the death of beauty and youth in marriage. Perhaps, however, the latter interpretation is too gloomy. Although in some cases it is fair. Everything depends on marriage and relationships between people. In any case, if a person is entangled in the bonds of Hymen, then he must forever close the door to his past life. But practice shows, it does not always happen. Sometimes it also happens that the family does not die of beauty and youth, sometimes they just go into a more noble, moderate state.

Pre-revolutionary understanding of phraseology

However, let us digress from the roots of the expression and from today's jokes. In pre-revolutionary Russia, when they said "they are bound by the bonds of Hymen", they meant not only that people are married, but also that they have certain moral obligations to each other. And they relate not only to sexual relations.

Phraseology in Literature

Now, when the story is forgotten, from phraseology remained the very first and superficial significance - marriage ties. Nevertheless, the expression is quite literary, it was used by AS Pushkin in Eugene Onegin and O. Henry. The master of short stories has a wonderful work called the "Handbook of Hymen". The plot of the work of the American classic, as always, is unexpected and funny. The main character finds happiness and love of his life with the help of a collection of various facts and recipes.

The tone of expression

These two examples say that the phraseology "the bonds of Hymen" can not only be pronounced in a decent society, but it is also necessary. True, for political debates it is hardly suitable, but only because the deputies recently do not touch the topic of family and marriage, and so the young god would have come to the court and in the Duma.

The tone can vary depending on the context. If this stable phrase is written in a sublime poem or a high-flown congratulatory speech, then it will not cause a smile. But if in the everyday speech of modern man we intertwine the expression "the bonds of Hymen" (the meaning of phraseology is considered above), then often there is a comic effect. It is appropriate to use it when the speaker wants to joke. Usually the theme of such witticisms is the conclusion of conjugal unions.