As they were not thinking about love or their future, their marriage is not a happy one and although Lydia likes to brag about being the first one of the daughters to be married, it is predicted she will regret this later. I think there are many different attitudes towards marriage in Pride and Prejudice, but In think Jane Austen gives the impression that couples who marry for love are much happier than couples who don?t.
Charlotte Lucas will marry to solidify her life, not because she loves, for many people are unkind about her ability to marry well; thus after her marriage to Mr. Collins, she spends all of her time avoiding him. Charlotte knows that even though she wants to marry more than anything in the world, she does not expect love to come about; thus, she decides that it is probably even better if you don't know a thing at all about the person you are marrying. While Charlotte is speaking to Elizabeth about her sister, she expressed her opinion as to Jane Bennet's relationship towards a gentleman. She says it is probably better not to study a person because you would probably know as much after twelve months as if she married him the next day. Charlotte even goes as far as to say that "it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life" (p.21).
Society has engrained in Charlotte Lucas’ head that a woman who does not successfully marry will not successfully live. Thanks to society, Charlotte no longer values love, only marriage. “Without thinking highly either of men of matrimony,” marriage has always been Charlotte 's object” (Sleeping with Mr. Collins 120). Charlotte Lucas, unlike Elizabeth Bennet, was self-seeking and largely influenced by societal protocol that she became willing to sacrifice her own happiness. “She would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage” (Austen 85).
Therefore, Elizabeth Bennet’s mother, Mrs. Bennet forced marriage upon her daughters. Elizabeth’s engagement to Darcy was criticized because many did not feel the couple was a good match for each other because he was a “proud” individual, and their economic differences and stature also prohibited the couple to be a good match according to society. Mrs. Bennet was happy when she heard about Darcy’s proposal to Elizabeth stating, “How rich and how great you will be!”… what pin- money, what jewels, what carriages you will have!” (Austen 325). Mrs. Bennet’s focus of life revolved around her daughters or at least one of her daughters marrying wealthy, so that not only that daughter will be cared for, but Mrs. Bennett and any unwed sisters will be provided for, as well. Mr. Bennett agreed that, “the business of her life was to get her daughters married; i... ... middle of paper ... ... she did not love him, knowing that she would have been able to secure her fathers’ wealth.
Conclusion Marriage is the main subject in the novel, as well as for people of this period. The maybe most important condition for a happy marriage is money besides love family relations. The situation of the women in the novel does not allow them any kind of deviant acting since a happy marriage is the only goal for them. Though this is the general atmosphere in the novel, I would like to end my essay with the words of Mr. Bennet to his daughter Elizabeth on her accepting Mr. Darcy's proposal, which stand like an anti-thesis of the otherwise general view of the perfect marriage: "He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages than Jane. But will they make you happy?"
In Pride and Prejudice the relationships are not always due to the fact that the partner’s actually have affection for each other. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet ,who are followed in their footsteps by Lydia in her mate choice, did not marry on account of feeling any kind of endearment to each other. Elizabeth and Darcy along with Jane and Bingley found relationships that are based on true devotion to one another and will provide them happiness. The book 's central conflict is that the girls are ready to be married because of societal views of marriage. The two eldest Bennet sisters do not view marriage the same way that it is meant to be in their society.
If a woman did marry purely for love and not for wealth she risked a life of poverty, homelessness, and hunger. This factor can also be seen in Jane Eyre, because Jane's mother was married to a poor clergyman against the will of her father. She married purely for love and therefore risked a life of being poor. This was almost a punishment for Jane's mother as she married against her father's will and only married for love. Wealth and status is also important in the novel Jane Eyre, although they are important in different aspects of the novel and important to different people.
Austen herself never married and she was a great observer of relationships. She also made fun of the girls that only wanted clothes and men. Austenwas both against and supportive of marriage in general as she shows us in this novel. She disapproved of some of the reasons why people get married, for example Charlotte for security and Lydia for excitement and lust, but she also shows that marriage is the perfect solution when two couples marry for love; Jane and Mr Bingley and Elizabeth and Mr Darcy. Attitudes to marriage today are very different from the attitudes when Austen was writing her book.
Since Wickham is not wealthy, he tries to take advantage of this situation. He agrees to marry Lydia as long as his debts are paid off and if he continues to receive money from Darcy. Just like Mr. And Mrs. Bennet 's marriage, their “passion” dies out very quickly. “His affection for her soon sank into indifference...hers lasted a little longer...” True love never dies. Lydia is too young to understand Wickham and his schemes because she is blinded by the infatuation she has for him.
Evidence of Emma’s lack of objectivity appeared at the beginning of the movie when she marries Dr. Bovary even though she know nothing about him, and marries him because it seems romantic. This does not satisfy her because she soon realizes that her marriage is anything but a romance novel, but is a practical. Although Emma’s husband is pleases with their marriage and to the outside world Emma should be happy, she is disappointed and board. Emma feels dissatisfied by her new life, because, due to her inability to get past childhood expectations, she always expected marriage to lead her to romantic bliss; instead, she feels that her life has fallen short of the high expectations she received from books. Her marriage does not match her naively romantic expectations, and she lapses into a state of boredom and restlessness.