Decisions Made by Women in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Decisions Made by Women in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in

possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife'

This opening paragraph of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin has

become one of the most famous sentences in English literature. It

states that the novel will explore the theme of marriage. Jane Austen

lived in an opinionated world and this is reflected in her novel. In

"Pride and Prejudice" no secret is made of the need to marry for

money. Many different types of marriages are explored in this novel.

It often so happens that novels mirror the customs and morals of a

particular society. Therefore to understand the real meaning of the

book let me first concentrate on how marriages were arranged in

Austen's times and the difficult situation of young women. For many of

them marriage in any terms was the only escape from a miserable life

of spinsterhood. In our times women have many other alternatives in

addition to marriage.

In those days it was not so. If a husband was poor or a gambler or a

drunkard, she and her children could suffer from plight, as her

prospects for employment were miserable. What's more women were unable

to inherit property after the death of a previous landowner. All these

factors contributed to the unfortunate position of women in the 19th

century and caused them to marry early not for the reasons associated

with marriage of today.

The first chapter gives us an idea of the relationship between Mr. and

Mrs. Bennet. Having read the following several lines we can already

speculate it is not a successful one; 'Mr. Bennet was so o...

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...n ideal

marriage is representative of an ideal society.

If people used the same methods as a couple would use to obtain an

ideal marriage, then perhaps we would be able to obtain a model

society. By researching Jane Austen we know that most of the heroes

and heroines end up at the end of the story in a perfect marriage. By

having Darcy and Elizabeth end the novel engaged in an ideal marriage

is a significant detail. Jane Austen, in doing this, is suggesting

that society would be better if it followed Elizabeth and Darcy's

example. By controlling pride and prejudice, and by learning that

compromise is sometimes the best way to happiness, society can hope to

improve itself. Marriage in the closing stages is the perfect ending,

since it is both an acceptance of the values of society as well as a

personal fulfilment.

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