When they say: “they are bound by the bonds of Hymen,” what does this mean? We will understand the intricacies of phraseology.
Who is hymen?
In Greek mythology, the so-called god of marriage. Its related roots are very confused. We will not consider them. More important is another: according to one of the legends, Hymen is a effeminate young man (handsome as a girl) who dies on the day of marriage. Under the "bonds of Hymen" refers to the marriage bond. Moreover, in this case there is no negative meaning, despite the death of the young man.
Interpretation of the death of Hymen
But the symbolic interpretation of the death of a handsome young man is exciting: for example, marriage can be considered as a stage in the end of a free life and the beginning of a family life. Some sources even more radically interpret: the death of a young man indicates the death of beauty and youth in marriage. Perhaps the latter interpretation is all too gloomy. Although in some cases it is fair. It all 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 this is not always the case. Sometimes it happens that in a family beauty and youth do not die, sometimes they simply turn into a more noble, moderate state.
Pre-revolutionary understanding of phraseology
However, we digress from the roots of expression and from today's jokes. In pre-revolutionary Russia, when they said “they are tied by the bonds of Hymen”, they had in mind not only that people are married, but also that they have certain moral obligations to each other. Moreover, they relate not only to sexual relations.
Phraseologism in the literature
Now that history has been forgotten, phraseology is left with the very first and most superficial meaning - marriage ties. Nevertheless, the expression is quite literary; it was used by A. S. Pushkin in Eugene Onegin and O. Henry. The short story master has a wonderful essay called The Hymen Handbook. The plot of the American classic is, as always, unexpected and funny. The main character gains happiness and love of his whole life with the help of a collection of various facts and recipes.
Tonality of expression
These two examples say that the phraseology “Hymen's bonds” can not only be pronounced in a decent society, but also necessary. True, it is unlikely to be suitable for political debate, but only because deputies have not recently touched on the topic of family and marriage, and so the young god would have come to court and in the Duma.
The tone may vary depending on the context. If this stable phrase is written in a sublime poem or a grandiloquent congratulatory speech, then it will not cause a smile. But if the expression “Hymen's bonds” is interwoven into the everyday speech of a modern person (the meaning of phraseological units is discussed above), then a comic effect often arises. It is appropriate to use it when the speaker wants to joke. Usually the theme of such witticisms is precisely the conclusion of marriage unions.