“It has become a universally recognized truth that single men with good fortune are in desperate need of wives” (Austen, 1). Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice begins with a famous sentence that introduces satire to the readers. She focuses on marriage rather than love, which was not a common concept in nineteenth century England. The novel opens with a statement about men becoming ready to marry at a specific age. Austen’s parody of this unromantic marriage view is a great example of how she can make a marriage seem like a parable. She gives the reader dozens of marriages to choose from, as well as courtships. Austen’s four marriages are all based upon different motives. Lust, beauty, economic stability and love are just a few.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is different from the others in the novel because it’s based on Mr. Bennet wanting Mrs. Bennet to be beautiful. It’s also important to show the marriage at its end, when both it and their union are clearly unfulfilling. Their marriage, while it may have been a good one when they were young, failed as soon as Mrs. Bennet lost her beauty and their true personalities became apparent. Elizabeth writes that her father married a young woman whose lack of intelligence and unliberal outlook had already ended any genuine affection between them. Austen describes the personalities of these two characters in her first chapter. Bennet had such a bizarre mixture of sarcastic humour and quick parts that his wife could not understand him after three and twenty-years of marriage. Her mind developed more quickly” (Austen 3,).
Their children have suffered because they do not get on, and are constantly insulting and ignoring each other. In a common conversation, Mrs. Bennet says, “You enjoy vexing and annoying me.” You do not have compassion for the poor nerves of my wife” (Austen 2); Mr. Bennet replies, sarcastically “you are wrong, my dear.” Your nerves are something I admire. These are my friends. You have been mentioning them for the past twenty years or so with some consideration” (Austen, 2). Indifference from Mr. Bennet combined with frivolity of Mrs. Bennet resulted to the three youngest daughter’s growing up with little intelligence and no seriousness. Their time was spent chasing after military officers. Due to their irresponsible behavior, Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet are not only harming each other. But they also do a grave disservice to the daughters’ education.
Elizabeth chooses to go against this marriage, which is the most popular in the time period. In doing so, she risks becoming an old woman, but in the end, they have the best relationship. Charlotte and Mr. Collins are married for purely pragmatist and unpassionate reasons. Although Mr. Collin never presents his proposal to Charlotte, the proposal he makes to Elizabeth is sufficient to demonstrate his lack understanding of what marriage means. As he tells her,
“My reasons for getting married are that, firstly, I believe it is right for all clergymen in good circumstances (like me) to be an example of marriage in their parish. Second, it’s because I know that marriage will bring me great happiness. . It’s the special advice and recommendation given by the very noble woman whom I am honoured to call my patroness.
Charlotte’s pragmatic approach to marriage becomes evident when she accepts the proposal of Mr. Collin. Charlotte explains that he is “neither sensible, nor agreeable. His society was irksome. And his attachment must be imaginary. Yet he was to be her spouse” (Austen 95) She has a practical outlook, if you can call it that. It is evident in the context of the society that she lives in. She cannot afford to be picky, as she risks “dying a maid” (Austen 96). The idea of a marriage without love may seem worse than just spending the rest of one’s life alone. However, in the 19th-century, there were few women who would have accepted that fate.
Lydia and Wickham’s union can also be blamed on Lydia’s frivolousness. Lydia’s foolish elopement with Wickham could ruin her reputation and that of her family. Lydia was sure that Wickham and her were going to get married, but she didn’t realize Wickham had no intention to marry her. Darcy generously offers to bribe Wickham into marrying Lydia, in order for the Bennets to maintain their dignity and protect their reputation. You can probably guess the type of marriage this will be. Elizabeth remarks that Wickham’s love for Lydia is exactly what she expected, but not as great as Lydia’s. Lydia does not think about her future with Wickham. This is typical of Lydia’s flighty personality. “When I went away, it’s likely that I didn’t even know I was engaged until I got back! Though I thought I would have a great time if it were true.” (Austen 234). While the reader isn’t able to see their marriage once they have passed this initial phase of “honeymoon,” it’s clear that their future will be miserable.
Elizabeth and Darcy are a wonderful example of a marriage that is similar to other unions. The relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy grows and develops throughout the novel. Both characters are well matched and complement each other. There is a lot of respect and love for one another. After their first encounter, they had a strained relationship. Mr. Darcy told Bingley: “She is acceptable; but not handsome to tempt you” (Austen 7) and refused to dance. Elizabeth believes Mr. Darcy to be “the most proud, disagreeable man on the planet” from that moment until the very end of the book (Austen 7). Darcy changes his feelings for Elizabeth quickly after their second dance. He asks her hand but she refuses.
Comparing the interactions between Darcy and Elizabeth during his first and second proposals, their growth as a pair and as individuals is apparent. Darcy shows his disdain, pride, and class consciousness in his initial proposal. Darcy makes clear that his intention was to not marry her. His pride and class consciousness are also evident in this proposal. The pride he displays is evident in his lack of concern for rejection. He believes that Elizabeth would never refuse his proposal. Elizabeth notes that he was confident of receiving a positive response. His face was full of security, even though he spoke with apprehension. (Austen 145) Elizabeth’s dislike and rejection of Darcy are not a surprise given his behavior towards her. The story Wickham told Elizabeth about his relationship with her was the main reason for her negative opinion.
Darcy’s proposal shows that Darcy and Elizabeth have improved as people due to their interaction. Darcy, by interacting with Gardiners from Pemberely so warmly and with kindness, despite the fact that they are a lower-class family, has demonstrated a newfound lack of class consciousness. Elizabeth also realizes that Darcy has faults but is still a good guy after reading Darcy’s letters and observing him more closely. He expresses admiration and love for her without mentioning their differences in class or his superiority. Darcy, when Elizabeth tells Darcy that she has changed her mind about him, responds with a happiness he’s never experienced before: “the reply he gave was as sensibly warm as you would expect from a lover who is in love violently” (Austen 278). Darcy summarizes both characters’ changes when he tells Elizabeth that “your accusations are ill founded, and formed on erroneous premises. My behavior toward you at the moment, has merited the harshest reproof.” I was not forgiven” (Austen 281). Darcy, Elizabeth and their prejudices are gone. Their future will be filled with happiness.
Austen shows readers in Pride and Prejudice that there is an alternative to marriages built on economic security and lust. There are also marriages like those between Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy. These marriages, though harder to achieve, are more likely to succeed than others because they are based on mutual respect and love. Austen proves her point by having women marry for love with handsomer men. Austen ends the novel with an assurance that it’s possible to marry and find love, regardless of how difficult or impossible it might seem.