He who takes a wife takes trouble — marriage brings inevitable complications, obligations, and difficulties alongside its joys. This is not a misogynistic dismissal of women but a rueful acknowledgement that any deep human bond transforms your life in ways both beautiful and burdensome.
The proverb is always spoken with a particular Sicilian tone — not bitterness, but the wry humour of a people who have made peace with life's contradictions. In a culture where marriage was the most significant economic and social transaction a family undertook, where dowries were negotiated like treaties, where a wife brought her family's alliances and obligations along with her linens and pots, the 'guai' were real and specific. There was the mother-in-law problem, the brother-in-law problem, the question of property, of inheritance, of whose family's needs came first. The proverb was also spoken with a wink — by men who complained loudly about their wives and showed them fierce loyalty in all other contexts. It belongs to the tradition of Sicilian self-deprecating humour, the ability to laugh at the weight of life while shouldering it without complaint.
One of the most widely known Sicilian proverbs about marriage, invariably delivered with humour rather than hostility. Reflects the enormous social and economic weight of marriage in traditional Sicilian society. Found in Pitrè's collections and still in common use.
An older man teasing a nephew about to get married
— Tra tre mesi mi sposo! — Cu pigghia moglieri pigghia guai — benvenuto nel club.
— In three months I am getting married! — He who takes a wife takes trouble — welcome to the club.
A married man complaining humorously about domestic obligations
Devo andare al matrimonio di sua cugina che non ho mai visto. Cu pigghia moglieri pigghia guai — ma la amo, quindi vado.
I have to go to her cousin's wedding, someone I have never met. He who takes a wife takes trouble — but I love her, so I go.
Joking about the complications of extended family
Non è solo lei che sposi — è tutta la famiglia. Cu pigghia moglieri pigghia guai — i suoceri vengono con il pacchetto.
It is not just her you are marrying — it is the whole family. He who takes a wife takes trouble — the in-laws come with the package.
A woman turning the proverb around
Cu pigghia moglieri pigghia guai? Mio marito mi dice sempre così. Gli ho risposto: e cu pigghia maritu pigghia guai ancora di più.
He who takes a wife takes trouble? My husband always says this to me. I replied: and she who takes a husband takes even more trouble.