The Theme of Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

The Theme of Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

One of the main themes in Pride And Prejudice is marriage. Throughout

the novel, the author describes the various types of marriages and

reasons behind them. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a

single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

The novel demonstrates how many women need to marry men they are not

in love with simply in order to gain financial security.

The first instance of marriage seen in the novel is that between Mr

and Mrs Bennet. However it is far from perfect, with the couple barely

speaking to each other. Mr Bennet's extreme sarcasm that is seen

throughout the book makes Mrs Bennet seem incompetent to hold a

conversation and indeed at times a relationship. "They are silly and

ignorant, like other girls". Austen uses the Bennet's relationship to

illustrate at the beginning of the book that clearly many did not

marry because of love or connection but merely for social and

financial acceptance.

The Longbourn estate is an extreme hardship on the Bennet family; it

produces a hurdle in Mrs Bennet's goal to get all of her children

married. The entailment of Mr Bennet's estate leaves his daughters in

a poor financial situation, which both requires them to marry and

makes it more difficult for them to marry. It might be correct in

assuming that Mrs Bennet felt social and financial pressure to get all

of her children married. Her husband's estate was entailed to his

nephew, Mr. Collins. Therefore, Mrs. Bennet wanted her daughters to

have financial stability elsewhere in case of their father's death.

"If you go on refusing eve...

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.... Austen creates a character

that is not special in any particular way but is yet so perfect to

fulfil the role of a wife. We see that she is well dressed, educated,

and creative. It is these qualities that attract Darcy as well as

Elizabeth's apparent unwillingness to actually marry. Ultimately

Elizabeth wants to marry for love. She turns down Mr Collins, even

though he could have offered her a comfortable position in life and Mr

Darcy, even with his fortune of £10 000 a year.

Austen uses different characters and their relationships to represent

to the reader different aspects of marriage. Austen wants to create

the perfect marriage but in doing this shows the reader that no

marriage is perfect. She highlights how money and social status was

far more desirable in the 19th century then true love and

appreciation.