In the course of the novel four marriages take place.
In the course of the novel four marriages take place. Discuss which
one you feel will be the happiest and compare it with the other three
to justify your choice.
You may wish to consider:
- Key events relevant to these relationships
- The language, which Austen uses to portray these characters and
relationships and Austen’s narrative craft.
- Society’s attitudes towards love and marriage in Austen’s period.
The four marriages, which I am going to be discussing, are the
marriage of Mr Collins to Charlotte Lucas, Lydia Bennet and Wickham,
Jane and Bingley and finally Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. I will also
discuss the marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennet, as there is a lot of
important information, which Austen includes about marriage relating
to them.
Right from the start marriage is mentioned in an ironic and humorous
way and hints the events, which are to follow. ‘It is a truth
universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ It highlights the importance of
marriage within the world of the novel. The sentence suggests that the
sole purpose for marriage was to increase the characters social and
financial ranking. The quote mentions nothing of love yet it provokes
the feeling tint he minds of the readers that the purpose of marriage
was to merely create security.
We see that Mrs Bennet has a consuming passion to find suitable
marriage partners for her daughters. In her opinion the wealthier a
young man the more an attractive proposition he becomes. Jane Austen
is keen in this book to point out the dangers of a marriage that is
not based on mutual love and respect.
The first marriage we witness is the unsatisfactory relationship
between Mr and Mrs Bennet. It is their absurd personality clash that
causes us to look for qualities in their relationship, which could
help us believe this was a happy marriage. Unlike other relationships
in the novel we are able to see the effects which time has had on
their relationship. The main pleasure Mr Bennet receives from married
life results from teasing his wise and finding amusement at her
expense. They are clearly incompatible and we see no signs of love at
this stage. Mrs Bennet is obsessed with marrying off her daughters,
while Mr Bennet enjoys reading and countryside pursuits. However, they
both seem to draw vague contentment through compromise and small
things; for example when Mr Bennet proclaimed himself adamant not to
visit Mr Bingley when his intentions were otherwise. Mr Bennet had his
Time: How does the way the writer moves between the past and present and future affect the structure of the book? How might this technique inform my approach?
...ople see from outside might not be the truth about a particular marriage though there may be some truth in it.
Marriage is an important theme in the stories Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin. When someone hears the word “marriage”, he thinks of love and protection but Hurston and Chopin see that differently. According to them, women are trapped in their marriage and they don’t know how to get out of it so they use language devices to prove their points.
Research of literature depends on the theory or topic one is researching. Research uncovers what the author knows about his or her discipline and its practices. Augustus Napier is a family therapist with vast experience in family therapeutic processes and experiential therapy with couples. In my research of his background, I reviewed his book “The Family Crucible.” In this text, Dr. Napier chronicles the therapeutic process of one fictitious family (which is a composite of real cases) experiencing marital discord. In reviewing the case studies in this book, I gained insight into his style of the therapeutic process, which exposed Dr. Napier’s framework which leads to his assumptions about marriage. The details of this case study coupled with Dr. Napier’s added paragraphs and chapters of analyses with his conclusions on the maladaptive reasons people marry other people make this resource of great qualitative value. Additionally, useful evaluative data revealing a deeper insight into Dr. Napier’s position on irreconcilable differences can be fo...
From the novel, it can then be concluded that issues that may seem to have disappeared from the world still thrive no matter the period of time. There is still some sort of oppression that takes place even if not necessarily by one race over another. Slavery, racism and gender abuses are still very much a part of the modern world. No matter how they seem to be removed from the world, there is still a little part of them that thrives within the very fabric of society.
Even the most durable substances can fall apart. Marriage, a structure built upon the union of two people for eternity, can be destroyed—especially when the two feel threatened by the inevitable stress and frustration that follows. Eric Bartels, an author for the Portland Tribune, wrote in his article, My Problem With Her Anger, about receiving anger from his wife and his own discontent in his marriage. Bartels establishes his opinion that fundamental differences between men and women can deter marriage, through his use of strands and diction to describe reactions to stress from marriage based on gender; however, with his use of generalizations and loaded language to attack the female audience, his claim is limited.
Pollard, Percival. "The Unlikely Awakening of a Married Woman." Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1994. 179-181.
Helen is a disgruntled housewife, she doesn’t support Harry in his plans to create a safe haven inside of the cellar. When Harry attempts to set a plan in motion, she seems to be against him and proceeds to scold him. The scenario of Karen, their daughter being ill, may have contributed to her attitude towards Harry. Unable to come to a unanimous decision on the appropriate approach to handle Karen’s illness and as well as the ongoing crisis around them, they foster a bitter attitude towards one another. According to the authors Thomas N. Bradbury and Frank D. Fincham there is a reason for that. It states that… “One explanation for this apparent gender difference is that, compared to husbands' attributions, wives' attributions are rooted more firmly in the events and circumstances of the marriage. If wives' attributions are indeed more accurate or well developed representations of partner behaviors, then their attributions will be linked more closely to the behaviors they display in interaction when discussing some of those partner behaviors.”(Bradbury and Fincham 574). All things considered, Helen’s and Harry’s portrayal cast their marriage under the ‘dysfunctional marriage’ category.
Human beings are not isolated individuals. We do not wander through a landscape of trees and dunes alone, reveling in our own thoughts. Rather, we need relationships with other human beings to give us a sense of support and guidance. We are social beings, who need talk and company almost as much as we need food and sleep. We need others so much, that we have developed a custom that will insure company: marriage. Marriage assures each of us of company and association, even if it is not always positive and helpful. Unfortunately, the great majority of marriages are not paragons of support. Instead, they hold danger and barbs for both members. Only the best marriages improve both partners. So when we look at all three of Janie’s marriages, only her marriage to Teacake shows the support, guidance, and love.
Brockmeier’s short story represents a damaged marriage between a husband and a wife simply due to a different set of values and interests. Brockmeier reveals that there is a limit to love; husbands and wives will only go so far to continually show love for each other. Furthermore, he reveals that love can change as everything in this ever changing world does. More importantly, Brockmeier exposes the harshness and truth behind marriage and the detrimental effects on the people in the family that are involved. In the end, loving people forever seems too good to be true as affairs and divorces continually occur in the lives of numerous couples in society. However, Brockmeier encourages couples to face problems head on and to keep moving forward in a relationship. In the end, marriage is not a necessity needed to live life fully.
Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the disposition of the parties are ever so well known to each, or ever so similar before hand it does not advance their felicity in the least (Austen 23).
The bleak tone of this story takes a particularly sad and disturbing tinge when the wife illustrates a scene from early on in her marriage where she tries to get her husband to satisfy her desire and provide her with mutual satisfaction, only to have him rebuke and reprimand her. In fact, the husband responds in such a particularly brusque and hysterical manner that the reader can see how traumatized the wife would have been at ...
...entury gender roles within their marriage are unbalanced, furthermore, holding a reoccurring pattern of injustice.
married. However, “for pragmatic reasons, the author’s conclusions favor marriage as the ultimate solution, but her pairings predict happiness” (“Austen, Jane”). Als...
Dickinson determines and acknowledges that relationships require a mutual risk. The speaker deliberately and courageously expresses the couple as not being interdependent towards one another. Yet, she merges through this affirmation that “some” couples require mutual gain in which both persons are content with their part of the bargain. The purpose is for the wife to have financial security while the husband gains a dedicated wife, very similar to the woman during the 19th century. Dickinson expresses that this obligation will require the woman to forever be indebted “Insolvent” to the husband and the intention to feel otherwise is