Pride and Prejudice: An Analytical Paper
Madison Seamon Pride and Prejudice
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). Marriage holds a defining place in society as it shapes the culture and traditions of a society. Often, however, marriage becomes something more than a bond between two people who love each, and lends itself more to that of necessity than love. In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, the institutions of courting and marriage play extensive roles in the lives of both the men and the women. In this time, it seems as though the concept of marriage for the sake of marriage is more important than marrying for the purpose of love or affection.
Marriage can not be analyzed in this novel without looking at Mrs. Bennet. Her very purpose in life and in the novel is to marry off all of her daughters to the most eligible and wealthy man that will court them. Mrs. Bennet defines the worth of her daughters by their ability to find suitors and marry them. In the time in which the novel was set and written, daughters were to be married to a amiable man, who would be able to support her well and could give her a good life. This was the case for social classes, such as gentry, that of the characters in the novel. A girl's sole purpose was to ensure that they made themselves desirable to the men of age that they associated with. Love was not seen as something that was a necessary for a marriage to succeed, but rather something that may or may not come with time."Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes" (Austen 4).Through this we see how Mrs.Bennet places little weight on allowing her daughters to get to know the men that they plan on marrying, for once they find a good suitor, she sees no other reason to spend time getting to know them. Mrs. Bennet for example defines her daughters often based on their beauty and attractive qualities. She also finds suitors for her daughter appropriate only if they are handsome and wealthy. Basing a choice of marriage off of this brings together two people based on precedent and affiliation, not by love or attraction. Therefore, many of the relationships are based on convenience. The relationships of many of the older couples in the book are obviously by convenience and not lust. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are in a kind relationship that makes for a fine marriage however, what is commonly viewed as what a marriage needs to have can never be achieved by them. For this reason, Mrs. Bennet feels that this is the way her daughters should have their lives go as well. She goes so far as to feel slightly threatened when Lizzy denies a marriage to her cousin that would have been convenient because she feels that she does not love him. Perhaps, Mrs. Bennet is truly jealous that her daughter has the guts to go outside of the societal bound of marriage and be truly happy, like she never did. Mrs. Bennet represents the character in the novel who is the physical embodiment of the societal normalities of the time.
In contrast to their mother, the five Bennet sisters prove to marry for more common reasons such as physical attraction, love and as proved by Mary, for the exact same reasons as her mother. Lydia becomes the the embodiment of someone who marries and finds love in those she is physically attracted to. She is very immature in her decision to marry Wickham. She wants nothing more than to be married to someone is young and handsome, and spends no time getting to know the person she will spend the rest of her life with. This immature take on the institution of her relationships is almost one and the same as her mother’s. Although Lydia seems to be taking her immaturity and turning it into a lifestyle, the qualities she looks for when she finds Wickham, is what her mother tells her to look for. The shallow, superficial “love” that is considered to be true love in this time. Although Lydia appears to be happy, her fast marriage to Wickham gives her what is coming to her for marrying so shallowly. “As for Wickham and Lydia … such a hope was cherished” (Austen 365). Through this we see how Austen portrays those who marriage for such reasons, in the last pages, Lydia is the only one of the sisters whose life is not happy. While Lizzy and Jane find happiness in those who they genuinely love. Jane and Lizzy, on the other hand, are those who marry for love, and wait for the one who they know they want to spend the rest of theirs lives with. In possibly the most epic love story of all time, Austen shows her obvious bias to the concept of true love in a time when it was not a normality. Lizzy’s dynamic love life proves her genuine need to love the person she will marry, as she has many suitors, Collins, Wickham, and Darcy, who she decides not to marry because she feels that none of them are someone who she could truly love. Both Jane and Lizzy share the characteristic of long relations with their suitors before they decide to marry, as both of them wait years after meeting Darcy and Bingley to marry them. Through this, they achieve the happiest of marriages in the novel, as their patience and maturity allows them to form a relationship based off true feeling and passionate affections. Similarly, the immaturity of the three youngest Bennet sisters is reflected in the way the are courted. Each of them becomes obsessed with the men who have come into town with the military attracted to them for their money, success and attractive physiques. This is reflected as they find themselves developing shallow feelings of lust rather than love for someone they barely know and seem to be a suitable match for them. This sentiment is exactly what Mrs. Bennet preaches in her sermons to the girls about marriage and forming their lives.
Just as the Bennet girls struggle with the fine line between happiness in marriage, monetary stability, and parental approval, the Dashwood girls of Sense and Sensibility, struggle to find an amiable man somewhere in the balances of a hypocritical world. An issue largely focused on in both of Austen’s works is the sentiment of class division and how it plays into who can or cannot be married. As seen with Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, her social status versus that of her suitor, in this case Willoughby, is the single determinant that their marriage will not go through. We see the class division become known in the scene when Marianne finds out the Willoughby is no longer attached to her, but instead another woman of London, who, gave a more plentiful, or existent, endowment than Marianne ever could. Although it is clearly seen that Marianne and Willoughby have deep feelings for each other, in this time, the social status associated with marrying a woman of higher status fell for many, before that of true love. In a similar sentiment from Pride and Prejudice, as Catherine de Bourgh shuns the marriage of Lizzy and Darcy when she claims, “Because honor, decorum … mentioned by any of us” (Austen 336). In this Mrs. de Bourgh claims that the union of Darcy and Lizzy is against everything that is honorable and amiable. The de Boughs’ as a family are very wealthy and therefore see the marriage of Darcy and Lizzy as a blemish to an otherwise very wealthy family. She cares not of what Lizzy says of her love for Darcy, she believes what would be best for Darcy is the marriage of him to Miss de Bourgh, because this would allow him a dowry and place him in a more typical financial situation of the time.
All of the young women in the Austen novels struggle to find a man who is good for them, and also good for their families. The walk a fine line of finding love, or attraction, while staying in the strict confines of their social classes. Both the Bennets and the Dashwoods struggle to marry their daughters because of their financial statuses. Not because they are poor and on the streets, but because the money attached to the woman is viewed as more imperative to the families of the two in question than the sentiment of love or affections between the two. This creates a stressful and demeaning environment for the girls in a world where they are seen as subpar marriage material because of their social status. Austen’s social commentary through Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility show her obvious bias towards marriages that are fueled with true love and genuine affection, and rather, not superficial, monetary and social concerns.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). Marriage holds a defining place in society as it shapes the culture and traditions of a society. Often, however, marriage becomes something more than a bond between two people who love each, and lends itself more to that of necessity than love. In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, the institutions of courting and marriage play extensive roles in the lives of both the men and the women. In this time, it seems as though the concept of marriage for the sake of marriage is more important than marrying for the purpose of love or affection.
Marriage can not be analyzed in this novel without looking at Mrs. Bennet. Her very purpose in life and in the novel is to marry off all of her daughters to the most eligible and wealthy man that will court them. Mrs. Bennet defines the worth of her daughters by their ability to find suitors and marry them. In the time in which the novel was set and written, daughters were to be married to a amiable man, who would be able to support her well and could give her a good life. This was the case for social classes, such as gentry, that of the characters in the novel. A girl's sole purpose was to ensure that they made themselves desirable to the men of age that they associated with. Love was not seen as something that was a necessary for a marriage to succeed, but rather something that may or may not come with time."Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes" (Austen 4).Through this we see how Mrs.Bennet places little weight on allowing her daughters to get to know the men that they plan on marrying, for once they find a good suitor, she sees no other reason to spend time getting to know them. Mrs. Bennet for example defines her daughters often based on their beauty and attractive qualities. She also finds suitors for her daughter appropriate only if they are handsome and wealthy. Basing a choice of marriage off of this brings together two people based on precedent and affiliation, not by love or attraction. Therefore, many of the relationships are based on convenience. The relationships of many of the older couples in the book are obviously by convenience and not lust. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are in a kind relationship that makes for a fine marriage however, what is commonly viewed as what a marriage needs to have can never be achieved by them. For this reason, Mrs. Bennet feels that this is the way her daughters should have their lives go as well. She goes so far as to feel slightly threatened when Lizzy denies a marriage to her cousin that would have been convenient because she feels that she does not love him. Perhaps, Mrs. Bennet is truly jealous that her daughter has the guts to go outside of the societal bound of marriage and be truly happy, like she never did. Mrs. Bennet represents the character in the novel who is the physical embodiment of the societal normalities of the time.
In contrast to their mother, the five Bennet sisters prove to marry for more common reasons such as physical attraction, love and as proved by Mary, for the exact same reasons as her mother. Lydia becomes the the embodiment of someone who marries and finds love in those she is physically attracted to. She is very immature in her decision to marry Wickham. She wants nothing more than to be married to someone is young and handsome, and spends no time getting to know the person she will spend the rest of her life with. This immature take on the institution of her relationships is almost one and the same as her mother’s. Although Lydia seems to be taking her immaturity and turning it into a lifestyle, the qualities she looks for when she finds Wickham, is what her mother tells her to look for. The shallow, superficial “love” that is considered to be true love in this time. Although Lydia appears to be happy, her fast marriage to Wickham gives her what is coming to her for marrying so shallowly. “As for Wickham and Lydia … such a hope was cherished” (Austen 365). Through this we see how Austen portrays those who marriage for such reasons, in the last pages, Lydia is the only one of the sisters whose life is not happy. While Lizzy and Jane find happiness in those who they genuinely love. Jane and Lizzy, on the other hand, are those who marry for love, and wait for the one who they know they want to spend the rest of theirs lives with. In possibly the most epic love story of all time, Austen shows her obvious bias to the concept of true love in a time when it was not a normality. Lizzy’s dynamic love life proves her genuine need to love the person she will marry, as she has many suitors, Collins, Wickham, and Darcy, who she decides not to marry because she feels that none of them are someone who she could truly love. Both Jane and Lizzy share the characteristic of long relations with their suitors before they decide to marry, as both of them wait years after meeting Darcy and Bingley to marry them. Through this, they achieve the happiest of marriages in the novel, as their patience and maturity allows them to form a relationship based off true feeling and passionate affections. Similarly, the immaturity of the three youngest Bennet sisters is reflected in the way the are courted. Each of them becomes obsessed with the men who have come into town with the military attracted to them for their money, success and attractive physiques. This is reflected as they find themselves developing shallow feelings of lust rather than love for someone they barely know and seem to be a suitable match for them. This sentiment is exactly what Mrs. Bennet preaches in her sermons to the girls about marriage and forming their lives.
Just as the Bennet girls struggle with the fine line between happiness in marriage, monetary stability, and parental approval, the Dashwood girls of Sense and Sensibility, struggle to find an amiable man somewhere in the balances of a hypocritical world. An issue largely focused on in both of Austen’s works is the sentiment of class division and how it plays into who can or cannot be married. As seen with Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, her social status versus that of her suitor, in this case Willoughby, is the single determinant that their marriage will not go through. We see the class division become known in the scene when Marianne finds out the Willoughby is no longer attached to her, but instead another woman of London, who, gave a more plentiful, or existent, endowment than Marianne ever could. Although it is clearly seen that Marianne and Willoughby have deep feelings for each other, in this time, the social status associated with marrying a woman of higher status fell for many, before that of true love. In a similar sentiment from Pride and Prejudice, as Catherine de Bourgh shuns the marriage of Lizzy and Darcy when she claims, “Because honor, decorum … mentioned by any of us” (Austen 336). In this Mrs. de Bourgh claims that the union of Darcy and Lizzy is against everything that is honorable and amiable. The de Boughs’ as a family are very wealthy and therefore see the marriage of Darcy and Lizzy as a blemish to an otherwise very wealthy family. She cares not of what Lizzy says of her love for Darcy, she believes what would be best for Darcy is the marriage of him to Miss de Bourgh, because this would allow him a dowry and place him in a more typical financial situation of the time.
All of the young women in the Austen novels struggle to find a man who is good for them, and also good for their families. The walk a fine line of finding love, or attraction, while staying in the strict confines of their social classes. Both the Bennets and the Dashwoods struggle to marry their daughters because of their financial statuses. Not because they are poor and on the streets, but because the money attached to the woman is viewed as more imperative to the families of the two in question than the sentiment of love or affections between the two. This creates a stressful and demeaning environment for the girls in a world where they are seen as subpar marriage material because of their social status. Austen’s social commentary through Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility show her obvious bias towards marriages that are fueled with true love and genuine affection, and rather, not superficial, monetary and social concerns.