What Is The First Marriage In Pride And Prejudice

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Recommended: Give analyses of pride and prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a novel that deals with love, marriage and first impressions. This story follows Elizabeth Bennet, and her middle-class family living in England during the 19th century. Elizabeth, is a quick-witted and judgmental person about people on first impressions. Lydia, Elizabeth’s youngest sister, is childish and quite foolish. And Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s opportunistic friend. The novel explains the different reasons for each characters’ marriage and their motivations behind their marriages. Elizabeth marries out of love, whereas her friend, Charlotte, marries so that she can continue with her lifestyle. Lydia, Elizabeth’s youngest sister, marries out of what she believes is love.
The first marriage in the novel is Charlotte Lucas to Mr. Collins. Charlotte, was well educated and she accepts Mr. Collins’ proposal as soon as she got the chance because Elizabeth, had already rejected the proposal the week before. Charlotte married Mr. Collins for the simple reason that he will be able to provide for her and will be able to make her life easy because after the death of Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins would possess the Longbourn estate. Charlotte’s family did not inherit what they have, everything her family has was from work and trade. People who earned their money through hard work and labor are considered to be lower working middle class, so when Mr. Collins proposed to Charlotte it is seen as good fortune because he earned his money is from his inheritance and works for Lady Catherine who is very wealthy. Bottom line for Charlotte is that she married Mr. Collins not for love but out of material gain.
Lydia married Mr. Wickham. At the time of Lydia’s departure, she was just over sixteen years old and wa...

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...heir taking the time to know one another, they both knew what they were getting into and were happily married, they were both able to obtain an accurate idea of what the other was truly like.
The idea of the novel shows the different kinds of marriages and how each character’s pride and prejudices get them there. The union of Mr. Collins and Charlotte demonstrates the ideas of Charlotte’s prideful ambition and a one-sided marriage, whereas the union between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy shows one of compassion and mutual love because they learned to love each other once they got to know one another. Lydia’s marriage to Mr. Wickham shows the darker side of society and how his character can easily take advantage of an innocent and foolish child. The novel is an example of human interaction in 19th century England and could even be useful for studying that period in history.

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