Pride and Prejudice

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The path to marriage initiates in the very first paragraph of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. This courtship novel begins with the premise that “a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife” (pg. 5) Throughout the competition for the single men, characters are naturally divided by the norms of their social standing. However, the use of social conventions and civility further divides them. The characters in need of the most moral reform remain unchanged, leaving a path for the reformers to travel to each other’s company. Austen uses the stagnant characters and their flaws as a line that needs to cross in order to achieve a dynamic marriage of mutual respect.

Three of the Bennet daughters get married in the novel. Only two are in need of moral reform, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Lydia. Elizabeth is quick to judge others and has a harsh wit that accompanies that judgment, while Lydia is a flirt. Before Lydia’s expedition with the Forster’s, her flaws are exposed by Elizabeth to her father, “If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble of checking her…Her character will be fixed; and she will, at sixteen, be the most determined flirt that ever made her family ridiculous” (226). Hints of her flirtations are present throughout the novel, but not so eloquently stated. Elizabeth attempts to keep her family from a lower reputation and needs her father to assert some parental control. Luckily for her, Mr. Bennet’s nature does not allow him to be sensible, and he lets Lydia remain unchecked. The men with faulty morality clear Elizabeth’s path to growth and marriage.

Mr. Wickham, Mr. Collins, and Mr. Darcy are all possibilities for matrimony. Each has a respectable profession and some characteristic of attraction....

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...ead of breeding. The Bennet women rise and fall according to the disposition and capacity for change in themselves and their matches. Mr. Wickham and Lydia maintain their bad qualities and have the audacity to continue to ask for assistance even after they are married. Mr. Collins and Charlotte are unassuming and pinned under the influence of Lady Catherine; with no complaints from Mr. Collins. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth grow to be more understanding of each other, therefore allowing their understanding of others to expand as well. The romance and respect in the marriage for love overshadows the traditional marriages of convenience. This courtship novel presents many possibilities but only allows one path. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are at the top of the list with the most progress.

Works Cited

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics. 2003.

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