The Importance of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice

Set in late eighteenth Century England, Pride and Prejudice depicts the search of women for the inevitable preserve and of a male dominant lodge, within which no woman can be considered truly happy without the assistance of a man of good fortune. Austen addresses the common ideals of cab art by means ofout Pride and Prejudice, such as the monetary values of sexual union and the need of a woman to find security for herself and her future children. The arising tonal pattern of the novel reads It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. Austen not only uses this line to introduce a key theme of the novel, besides also hints at the underlining themes of the novel and at the derision and satire cod to follow.This is also a use of proleptic irony, Elizabeth is considered as a woman who seeks true make love, quite than a marriage based on the fortune of the male however, upon seeing Pemberley Austen pres ents Elizabeth as considering money for the for the first time time, the sheer size of the house impresses her and thus she cannot disregard its appeal. During twain the 18th and 19th centuries marriage was regarded twain a social and biological destiny for woman across all the classes.Austen shows this belief through Charlotte Lucas whom after gaining some composure considers Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had al federal agencys been her quarry it was the only honourable provision for a well-educated teen woman of small fortune, and however chatoyant of giving satisfaction, must be their pleasantest preservative from want (Austen,J. 1853 22). This amplifies the greatness of the rejection of marriage by Elizabeth to Mr Collins, whom by the opinions of society at the time, the natural reaction for a woman in her situation would have been to accept.For she cannot afford to be overly choosy when it comes to marriage earlier on in the novel Aus ten describes Mr Bennett cautiously going through the accounts of the estate, in which we are indirectly informed that the accounts are not looking positive. This marriage rejection is also pertinent to the life of Austen, who we have learnt rejected a marriage proposal after overnight mentation. Marriage during the 18th and 19th centuries would be a whole family affair, and thus the effects of a marriage proposal or rejection would be felt passim the generations.Families would look to ally themselves with other families of similar rank, hence marriage betwixt cousins was common practice. This would ensure that both wealth and property would remain within the same family for generations via entailment, thus explaining the vexation of Mrs Bennett upon finding out of the rejection of marriage betwixt Elizabeth and Mr Collins. Moving to their husbands establishment would often be the only feasible freedom available to girls, though not to be confused in each way with independenc e, which girls at the time would be lacking.This was another(prenominal) reason that leading families would ally with one another, or often attach within a family would never wish for their daughter(s) to be associated with a family of lower social value, and thus a smaller estate, or require any future financial support from them this dependence would grow progressively expensive and as Austen presents the Bennetts as a family with some financial troubles there is no question as to why she identifies the need for the daughters to be married off.With marriage existence the ultimate goal for any young girl within Pride and Prejudice, events leading up to any such event are considered significant. For practice session, any balls or dances and the partnerships which develop within these any chance encounters, such as meetings within town.Marriage would be a key theme of conversation within social circles of girls beyond puberty, the licit age for marriage was 16 (or the age of c oming out), it was much desired by the age of 18 and would threaten to be beyond availability for girls of 20 or older. Girls would worry about being considered an old maid beyond the age of 20 which explains the desire that Austen presents Charlotte to have in catching Mr Collins and the warning that Mr Collins gives Elizabeth, who upon rejection of Mr Collins proposal is already 21.Though the legal age of marriage in England was 16, overdue to the Marriage Act of 1853, it is assumed that Lydia and Wickham elope to Gretna Green in order to complete their marriage, rather than be living in sin and thus have society look down on them as an unlawfully acquainted couple in Scotland was not undeniable to live in each others company for a minimum of 3 weeks prior to marriage wish well it was in England, thus allowing for an instant marriage.Much alike the partnership between Darcy and Elizabeth we are made to carry for them to be partners in dance, it is a recurring theme throughou t the novel that the longer the time hitch before the first dance between a couple the longer the time period provide also be before they are romantically interested in one another. To be doting of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love (Austen, J. 1853 6), thus the reluctance of Darcy to enrol in dancing earlier on in the novel marks his limited social availability. thus far he becomes more available to Elizabeth later on in the novel as Austen presents him as mortal whom is interested in being acquainted with Elizabeth and thus he asks her to dance, though even the act of doing this is represent as being difficult for him to achieve. The partnership between Elizabeth and Darcy is a stark contrast to that of Jane and Bingley, which Austen develops from the introduction of the ii parties they dance at the first meeting of one another and are thus romantically mingled with one another from this point.Mr Bennett is presented by Austen as a man who is interested i n the happiness of his daughters, though namely Lizzy, he is rarely phased by the actions of Lydia, Jane or Mrs Bennett however upon learning of Mr Collins proposal states Your mother pass on never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins And I entrust never see you again if you do. (Austen, J. 853 64) Austen uses this conversation as a means of demonstrating the understanding and respect that exists between both Lizzy and her father, with Mrs Bennett already having come to the conclusion that Mr Bennett would insist on Lizzy marrying Mr Collins, however in this scene Austen also manages to portray a subtle humour we read earlier on in the novel of Mrs Bennetts nerves and this is just another example of Mr Bennett knowing how to vex her, with the reader remembering earlier on in the book when Mr Bennett states You fall away me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves.They are my old friends. I have comprehend you mention them with consideration these last twenty ye ars at least. (Austen, J. 1853 4). With Lizzy being truly her fathers daughter she knows that she will have the support of the parent who means the most to her, or at least the parent whom she is more interested in pleasing. Mr Bennett plays a pivotal role in the marriage of Lizzy, he has the final presuppose on whether or not she marries Darcy, throughout the novel Austen doesnt portray any form of interaction between Mr Bennett and any of his other daughters or their respective partners regarding the issue of marriage.Though this may be due to Elizabeths importance to the novel, we assume that this is also due to the value of her partnership with Darcy and how this is used to show her romantic development throughout the novel. Austen presents Elizabeth as a character who goes through the typically romantic process of falling in love with someone both Elizabeth and Darcy must overcome a variety of obstacles in order for their love to Blossom, their horizontal surface starts wit h bad first impressions of one another, with Lizzy assuming Darcy to be a pompous, arrogant man and Darcy being blind by Lizzys social inferiority.Austen wrote this novel based in an era within which girls being forced in to marriages for financial reasons was coming to an end and though monetary reasons were still considered a valid reason for marriage, or at least one for which marriage would be considered acceptable by ones family, people were also marrying due to love for one another.Lizzy represents the new era within which love is the main reason for marriage or courtship, we recognise this as Lizzy is aware of Darcys fortune from an early stage of the novel, however she dismisses him due to his arrogant deportment if Lizzy was only interested in his wealth, or if this were the reason of her interest in Darcy then Austen would have ensured that she, like her other sisters, flaunted herself in front of a male of such high social value.Austen represents marriage for the wrong reasons with the marriage between Mr and Mrs Bennett. With Mr Bennett having previously married Mrs Bennett for her youth and good looks, with Mrs Bennett declaring I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. , he now finds his only happiness through private study or mocking his wife, referring to her nerves as his old friends, with his witty humour being too complex for her to understand and thus not being able to tell when he is victimisation sarcasm.This sarcasm is a trait which Lizzy shares, for example in Chapter 28 when describing Miss De Bourgh, Lizzy states She looks sickly and cross. Yes, she will do for him very well. She will make him a very proper wife. This use of juxtaposition is rife in Austens work and is often used for comic effect. Austen uses the juxtaposed relationship between Lizzy and Darcy to present us with an example of marrying for love, rather than superficial reasons which are evident throughout the no vel.Examples such as Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas, or Lydia and Wickham are doomed to fail, or at least to result in the severe unhappiness of the parties involved due to the basis of the relationships being built on financial security or social status. Lizzy and Darcy represent a marriage which ignores the superficial values and focuses on true love, Austen shows us as the reader that this is the only way to have a truly successful and happy marriage to one another and she manages to gain our proportionateness by portraying the other possible choices throughout the novel.