Summary
This chapter checks the claim that happiness harms social bonds, marriage in
particular. It is shown that happiness rather benefits marriage. Married people appear
typically happier than singles, and the difference seems partly due to a positive effect
of happines on marriage chances. Unhappiness is a handicap in love, both because it is
mostly a disadvantage in intimate encounters and because it is detrimental to the
development of psychological characteristics that are crucial in modern marriage.