How do the marriage proposals of Mr Collins and Mr Darcy reflect the attitudes of the day?
Our attitude to marriage is very different to that of the people in the 18th and 19th century. In the 21st century people in the United
Kingdom mainly marry for love but in the 18th century love was a bonus! In the early 1800s you had to marry somebody from your own social class and people mainly married for money, status and to unite rich families because the only way to survive was to be part of a strong family. If you did not have family back up you could have starved and been very poor because if your family were not rich there would be no one else, as society would not help you. An example of this is Mr Collins and Charlotte's marriage
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Mr and Mrs
Bennet married for love but slowly grew apart as they were so different as many 21st century couples sadly do. Mr and Mrs Gardener had a very successful marriage as they were perfectly matched in status and personality.
Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydiawere the 5 daughters of Mr and
Mrs Bennet. Elizabeth and Jane were very close being far more sensible than their younger siblings. Mr Collins was Elizabeth's 1st cousin and they didn't know each other before Mr Collins came to the house. He knew that when Mr Bennet died he was entitled to inherit Longbourn and he wanted a wife to share it with and because Lady Catherine had instructed him to find a wife. Mr Collins thought that one of his cousins would want to marry him to hold on to the family house so he proposed to Lizzy after just 2 weeks, having first considered Jane only to be told she was shortly to become engaged.
Mr Darcy came to Longbourn with his friend Mr Bingly because he had rented a house. Darcy first met Elizabeth at a ball and became social acquaintances. They knew each other for about a year before the proposal and knew each other better than most other couples when they
got
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Mr Darcy, when proposing, made Elizabeth very angry with the things he said, "Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations beneath my own?" Darcy implied to Lizzy that he was doing her a favour as her family were clearly beneath his and despite that he loves her he is not happy as she is not wealthy and has a lower status than him.
Mr Collins felt that what he said in his proposal was good and positive; he also thought he was doing an honourable thing by proposing to Lizzy but insulted her greatly with what he said. "My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it is a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances (like myself) to set the example of matrimony in his parish." This implies that Mr Collins feels the most important reason to get married is because it is the right thing for a man of the parish to do Mr Collins also tells Lizzy how it was
Lady Catherine who instructed him to find a wife. "To fortune I am perfectly indifferent, and shall make no demand of that nature on
marriage. She was to do just as he said, without so much as uttering a
In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, the necessity of marrying well is one of the central themes. In Austen’s era a woman’s survival depended on her potential to acquire an affluent partner. This meant a choice of marrying for love and quite possibly starve, or marry a securing wealthy person, there was a risk of marrying someone who you might despise.
will do this by finding a wife at a suitable age. There are four main
The Attitudes Toward Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin wrote the novel Pride and Prejudice in 1813. The novel provides a great deal of information and gives us a detailed insight to the different attitudes towards marriages at the time. Pride and Prejudice is focused and written about the lifestyles among "gentry". The "gentry" was the middle to upper class citizens in England. In the novel Jane Austin shows us that social status is a very important factor and that is was essential to have connections with people higher up in the gentry.
husband was very poor and she wanted the good life. A life where all she had to do all
Relationships and marriages play a crucial role in the novel, Pride and Prejudice. Some of the important relationships shown in the novel are out of pure love while, most are together for the sense of security, money, and convenience for the both of the partners. Each character holds a different perspective on love and marriage. A handful of characters even become involved in each others’ “love life.” In this particular time period, the parents of the daughters purposefully try to marry them off based on money and looks. In this case, we see Mrs. Bennet play the role of the crazy mother who wants her daughter to be married off to any man with money. Mrs. Bennet does not care one bit if they do not love each other, her one care is money money money. Mr. Bennet doesn’t push the marrying off of his daughters because of the fact, that he feels indifferent about his marriage with Mrs. Bennet. The marriages in the book are either hits or misses.
feelings as he did not want to love or marry a woman who was beneath
older days for women, as they did not have much rights as men’s did. A
man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ This
to share in his wealth, is undoubtedly in search of a wife. In Pride and
In life women had only one main goal; to marry. Prior to a woman’s marriage, a woman would learn the basic necessities and qualities of a typical Victorian Woman. She would learn ideals such as cooking, cleaning, weaving, raising children and plenty more. If a woman was well of in the financial aspects, she likely did not have to learn much or work as hard other women due to having maids at hand. Women at the time were typically unable to better educate themselves beyond minimal knowledge of household duties because in essence men ruled society. “A woman was inferior to a mam in all ways except the unique one that counted most [to a man]: her femininity. Her place was in the home, on a veritable pedestal if one could be afforded, and emphatically not in the world of affairs” (Altick, 54).
her marriage, resulting unfortunately by portraying her true colors of being greedy and unappreciative of the little money her family had.
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.
single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
The Relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice In the 19th century, a controversy arose over what the true foundation and purpose of marriage should be. The basis of this conflict was whether one should let reason or emotion be the guide of their love life and if a balance between the two could be maintained. The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in Jane Austen's book Pride and Prejudice depicts such a balance, thus becoming the model for Austen's definition of a perfect couple and for true love. Their relationship is neither solely based on a quest for money on Elizabeth's part, or emotions that blind the couple from all other important aspects of life.