“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” These are the infamous first words of Jane Austen’s Pride and prejudice. It is a beautiful, semi-epistolary romance novel about the love and relationships in Regency Britain, set in a fictional town called Meryton in Hertfordshire. It also tells a story about how even the most perceptive people can quickly and wrongly judge people as proud or unloving, when in fact, they are just shy and unable and unsure of how to communicate their feelings to each other. The Bennet family has five daughters, the beautiful and elegant eldest, Jane, the intelligent and strong-willed Elizabeth, the uptight Mary and the two youngest, Kitty and Lydia who are “silly,” flirtatious and wild. Mr Bennet is a kind gentleman who married his wife while she was still young. Mrs. Bennet is quite the opposite as she is very talkative and fussy and does not know the full extent of embarrassment that she has caused to her family. The story uses a third-person omniscient narrative type which follows the second eldest daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth (or Lizzy as she is sometimes known) is the pride of her father, and she and Jane confined in each other as much as they can. Whilst their mother wishes for them to get married to the richest and powerful man, the contrary wishes of Jane and Elizabeth are to marry for love.
The tall and handsome Fitzwilliam Darcy was raised in a wealthy family, and was probably told that no shame should ever come to their family by his aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The combination of his shyness and wealth made him look proud and unapproachable when he newly moved into Hertfordshire, and was seen at the first ball ...
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..., the shot showed happily married couples such as Jane and Charles, Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam and Mr and Mrs Bennet. But, when saying negative things, the shot showed people or couples who weren’t happy or didn’t marry for love or for moral reasons, such as the Wickham’s, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and the Collins’.
Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ has a diverse range of representations of marriage. It is a love story, but doesn’t only look at the romantic side of love, but also about how the “happily ever after” fairy tail ending of an ideal couple is not something that is easy to get or that this is ideal in some cases. Austen uses semi-epistolary, third person narrative, and even talks through characters to carry her point across; even the most perceptive people can misinterpret situations, and that can seriously harm and source prejudice amongst people.
Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice conveys many varied opinions of love and marriage through the use of literary devices, writing style, language and dialogue present throughout the narrative. One of the outlooks that are developed in Austen’s novel is Elizabeth Bennet’s uncustomary views of marriage. These views that Austen establishes can strongly contrast her mother, Mrs Bennet’s more materialistic viewpoint and her close friend Charlotte Lucas’ conventional attitude which are also present throughout the plot.
‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a novel fixated on marriage: throughout, all the ‘action’ occurs within scenes devoted to either the talk of marriage or actual proposals. This cannot be expounded more than within the very first line: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife’. Here, at the beginning of the novel, a definite, though somewhat sarcastic, statement introduces the main theme of the novel – marriage- and, possibly more importantly, not love.
Elizabeth said to Mr. Darcy, “...I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry” (Austen 145). By Elizabeth saying this she is showing irony because in the end Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy do get married. Her love for him went from an immovable dislike to love and marriage. Miss Elizabeth didn't have any feelings for him at first because of how prideful Mr. Darcy was acting. She was told by Mr. Wickham all horrible things that Mr. Darcy has done. For example, Wickham was conversing with Elizabeth and told her after the old Mr. Darcy died, he was supposed to get his share of the money, but he didn't. He did get his share of the money, however, he used to buy prostitutes and unneeded items. He tricked Miss Bennet into thinking of how prideful and unjust he was.
Throughout the novel Pride and Prejudice, relationships play major roles in every character 's life. Jane Austen presented two different types of relationships: relationships of security and relationships of love. Many women wanted to get married into a wealthy family in order to feel secure financially for the rest of their lives. Mrs. Bennet wished to marry her daughters off to wealth to ensure her family would never fear over who would take care of their financial needs. However, other women like Elizabeth solely wanted to marry someone she could love for the rest of her life, no matter the financial circumstances. Elizabeth learned what type of relationship she would want in future by looking at the couples and marriages that surrounded her.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice illuminates a social courtship between the proud Mister Fitzwilliam Darcy and the shrewd, unconventional Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth is proud of her own identity. She astutely justifies herself as “a gentleman’s daughter” (Austen 337) in her confrontation with the prejudiced and class-conscious Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mister Fitzwilliam Darcy, who shares Elizabeth’s sharp tongue, comes from a family of high social status; his privileged upbringing instilled in him “pride and conceit” (Austen 349) that blinds him from acknowledging the similarity and equality between him and Elizabeth. Upon first proposing to Elizabeth, he does not realize that he is not raising her social status by marrying her. They are of equal authority in marriage; their similar personalities makes them all the more equal and complementary to each other. Thus, their marriage, following a second, sincerely worded proposal, signifies Darcy’s recognition of Elizabeth’s worth, and through his recognition, Austen argues for the fundamental equality between husband and wife.
Although Mr. Darcy has trouble getting along with Elizabeth because she is honest about her opinions, he maintains an attraction to her. When the pair first meets at a dance, there is an immediate barricade in the way of their feelings. Because Mr. Darcy is “very conceited,” people do not like to be subjected to his unpleasant attitude (Austen 18). Mr. Darcy has a way of pushing people away because he has negative comments and has a rocky past with many folks.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to love and marriage is the focal point of the narrative. But, the lesser known source of richness in Austen’s writing comes from her complex themes the well-developed minor characters. A closer examination of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s dear friend in Pride and Prejudice, shows that while she did not take up a large amount of space in the narrative, her impact was great. Charlotte’s unfortunate circumstances in the marriage market make her a foil to Elizabeth, who has the power of choice and refusal when it comes to deciding who will be her husband. By focusing on Charlotte’s age and lack of beauty, Austen emphasizes how ridiculous and cruel marriage can be in this time.
Since the beginning of time, marriage exists as a large part of life. The values of marriage change on a year to year basis and as trends continue to change so will marriage. There have been numerous reasons for marriage throughout time such as arranged, wealth, love or many others. In the 18th century, many marriages were based on one’s class and wealth and not true love. Today, many marriages do not take wealth or class into account they focus on that person’s inner self and love. Marriage exists as an overlying theme throughout Pride and Prejudice and every marriage appears for a different reason.
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice portrays varying attitudes to marriage. "The intricate social network that pervades the novel is one that revolves around the business of marriage". Through her female characters the reader sees the different attitudes to marriage and the reasons that these women have for marrying. These depend on their social status and their personal values. The reader is shown the most prevalent and common view of marriage held by society in Austen's time, and through the heroine, a differing opinion of marriage is explored. We are shown how marriage is viewed by the very wealthy and the values they emphasise in marriage. Through the characterisation of these women and use of irony, Austen has influenced the reader's opinions on the characters attitude about marriage and that of their contemporaries.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s famous novel, is, in large part, a study of marriage. It is an interesting novel for Austen since she was never married. The social culture of Austen’s day made marriage a crucial aspect of a woman 's life. A women in that time was dependent on a man for money and social standing. Synonyms for marriage are union and alliance both have very different meanings. Marriage as a union implies a fully joined couple. A marital alliance suggests that marriage is an association for mutual benefit such as money, social standing, or physical desires. Austen 's characters are developed to emphasize these differences in the reasons for marriage. She makes abundantly clear through her development of these marriages
It is not unusual for an individual to disagree with social customs or expectations. Some people are only happy when they can rebel against society. Most mature adults eventually realize that compromise is necessary to achieve happiness. This is the case in the early nineteenth century England setting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In the novel, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is a lively, independent woman, whose family's financial situation and whose strong mindedness suggest that she may never marry. Mr. Darcy, is a rigid and proper man, who falls in love with Elizabeth, despite their differences. By the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy learn to compromise, and, in doing so, become truly happy. In marrying, they not only fulfill themselves as individuals, but also affirm the principle values of society. The marriage at the end of the novel shows Jane Austen's ideal view of marriage as a social institution.
Mr. Darcy is very proud and vain man. Darcy’s pride occurs because his family allows him to follow his principles “in pride and conceit” (Austen 310). Elizabeth decides soon after meeting him that he is a despicable man, much too abrupt and overweening, and obsequious to be liked by anyone, and lacking even the most basic social skills of the time he is very laconic with everyone
In 1813, a woman’s main goal was marriage. Females wanted to find a man who could provide for them and take care of them; not all women wanted love. Many were fine with living on a wealthy estate and living in an upper-class manner. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a novel about the Bennet sisters, five girls whom, in the time of 1813, are all unmarried and are looking for husbands. The central conflict is based around two young women, the eldest of the five Bennet daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. The girls have their similarities and differences, and can be compared and contrasted in many ways; in terms of which is stronger at handling the pressure of relationships, context clues give a valid answer. What the reader must interpret for his
Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride and Prejudice promotes change in the way the English society during the 19th century viewed marriage. Through the use of conservative characters that were socially accepted in England during this time, Austen provides the reader with necessary details that show how insane these people were. On the other hand, Austen gives her dissentient characters more credit for their rebellious deeds. Austen’s campaign against social prejudice seems to succeed when Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy for love rather than money.
On the surface, Jane Austen's 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of how three of the five daughters of a family living in 19th century England become engaged to be married. Underlying themes of the story, however, reveal a message about growing up and the judgments of people based on either outward appearances, behavior, or secondhand information from another person. The title of the novel proves to be extremely fitting, as Elizabeth, the main protagonist, learns that too much pride, along with many unjustified prejudices come to result in ignorance as to who a person really is inside and renders one incapable of finding true love.