Explore the different attitudes to marriage presented in Pride and
Prejudice.
In the time of Jane Austen, marriage was mainly based on attraction
and compatibility. Women had the right to choose husbands, but status
in society and wealth were very important parts of their decision. In
'Pride and Prejudice' we see many different attitudes and reasons for
marrying in the gentry.
Jane Austen was brought up in a family who loved to read novels, a new
concept of writing that was very different to poetry and plays. At
first novels, written mainly around letters, were not taken very
seriously and were believed to be overly sentimental and unrealistic,
and also thought to be dangerous to influential young women. Jane
Austen's first published novel was 'Sense and Sensibility' in 1811,
'Pride and Prejudice' was published two years later.
Elizabeth is the heroine of this novel and one thing is clear about
her attitudes from the start - she will only marry for love. She is
therefore amazed that her friend Charlotte Lucas does not marry for
love, but for status and a comfortable home, "Charlotte engaged to Mr
Collins - impossible". In this way she can be seen to be prejudiced
and quite blind to other people's viewpoints other than her own - a
failing on her part.
Lizzy takes after Mr Bennet, in that she has a quick and generally
accurate judgement of people's characters. It is clear at the
beginning that she dislikes Mr Darcy, "with more quickness of
observation, she was very little disposed to approve of him". At their
first meeting Mr Darcy is very proud and disagreeable in contrast with
the good-natured Mr Bingley. It shows that she is a very good judge of
character and that she takes her first impressions...
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...she will only marry him if
she can grow to love him as much as he loves her. His attitudes to
marriage change after rejection at the first proposal.
In conclusion, attitudes to marriage would seem to depend on social
status and wealth. Those with social status and wealth would seem to
look for the same things in a partner first, with love coming second,
as seen in Lady Catherine's preference for her own daughter to marry
Mr Darcy rather than Elizabeth. However those without wealth or high
social standing, such as Jane and Elizabeth Bennet (although Elizabeth
would dispute her lack of social status), would look for love and
happiness first. Some, such as Mrs Bennet see marriage only as a way
of increasing wealth and social standing. The union of Elizabeth and
Darcy is remarkable as they marry purely for love - going against the
social traits of the time.
Marriage, often thought of as a sacred union of the utmost importance, is portrayed in both A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov, and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, as a minor issue rather than a key part of the lives of the main characters. Marriage is unimportant to both main characters Pechorin and Clara. Lermontov uses Pechorin?s refusal of commitment, while being an object of desire and passion, to illustrate that men should keep their independence from women to protect their power. On the other hand, Allende uses Clara?s priorities of spirituality and children above her husband and marriage to suggest that women?s power does not depend on men.
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.
feelings as he did not want to love or marry a woman who was beneath
little, if nothing at all based on a good love match. This can be seen
...line of thinking makes perfect sense when we consider Jane Austen's tendency, particularly in Sense and Sensibility, to use her writing as a vehicle for not only entertainment but also instruction. We may view the varying representations of mothers then, not only as examples for Elinor to learn from, but for us as readers as well.
would be a very gallant thing for him to do to marry one of his
Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen In pride and Prejudice there are many different marriages that occur. There are also, various, different incentives for these marriages. In comparing Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship with, Lydia and Wickham, and Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins the reader begins to see the different reasons in which the partners marry. The reader can base their views on the priorities of each relationship. If a reader was to read of a marriage based on financial security like Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas' they may have preconceived ideas about how the relationship will work if love is not involved, they may form prejudices on the marriage based on their own beliefs and ideals.
Jane Austen Society of North America, Inc. A Brief Biography. jasna.org. 26 April. 2014.
She first begins with the introduction of Jane Austen’s life circumstances, how small amount of money she had with her mother and her sister and the better life circumstances of her five brother whilst they had got access to work that was paid, inheritance and preference and also the right for independence, personal power that is prosperous and masculinity.
Austen was a recondite writer with a new inside perspective with an outside view on life in the early 19th century. Born on December 16, 1775, Austen was a curious child given the unseal luxury of an education. Her father was a part of the gentry class and raised a family of ten, but was not well off by any means (Grochowski). Sense and Sensibility, written by Jane Austen, tells a dramatic story of three sisters and their emotional journey where they encounter love and betrayal. Because Jane Austen was raised in a liberal family and received a comprehensive education, her dramatic analysis of societal behavior in Sense and Sensibility was comparable to the hidden truths of social and class distinctions in 18th and 19th century Europe.
Views on Pride, Prejudice and Marriage in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice Pride pride n., v., 1. high (or too high) opinion of one's own dignity, importance, worth, etc. 2. the condition or feeling of being proud. 3. a noble sense of what is due to oneself or one's position or character; self respect; self esteem. prejudice n., v., 1.
what the story is about as well. It is based a lot upon people's first
Jane Austen wrote only about the world she knew, because she only lived in small villages on the south of England. Austen wrote about the normal daily life of women of her age and class. During the lifetime of Austen, she wrote about six books, but the book “Persuasion” by Jane Austen...
Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775 in Steventon, England to George and Cassandra Austen. Jane had many different types of education. At age six she was sent away to Oxford with her sister Cassandra. Three years later, they both got sick and were sent to Madame Latoelle, who conducted Abbey School. After the Abbey School, they were sent home to be educated by their father. Jane was never married but was very close. In 1801, she was engaged to a man named Blackall, but all ended it because of his sudden death. In 1802, another man proposed, but she declined because she did not love him. In 1802 her first novel, Northanger Abbey, was published. In 1812 published her most famous book Pride and Prejudice, originally known as First Impressions. Later she died in Winchester, England on July 18, 1817.
Fergus, Jan. “Biography.” The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen. Ed. Janet Todd.