Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Marriage

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen introduces the major thematic concept of marriage and financial wealth. Throughout the novel, Austen depicts various relationships that exhibit the two recurring themes. Set during the regency period, the perception of marriage revolves around a universal truth. Austen claims that a single man “must be in want of a wife.” Hence, the social stature and wealth of men were of principal importance for women. Austen, however, hints that the opposite may prove more exact: a single woman, under the social limitations, is in want of a husband. Through this speculation, Austen acknowledges that the economic pressure of social acceptance serves as a foundation for a proper marriage.

Introducing the novel, Austen explains, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (1). According to this statement, the truth depends on what society deems acceptable. With this mindset, social acceptance relies on the economic standings of a single man rather than his character. Austin continues by describing that a man “must be in want of a wife,” emphasizing a sense of desire and need. Ideally, Austen condenses the ideas of want and need as the key motives for marriage. Despite Austen’s claims, that the man must be in want of a wife, the woman's desires is what truly matters. Darryl Jones recounts that there is a ‘fundamentally economic basis’ in Austen’s work, especially in the case of women (Jones 18). Therefore, a man's good fortune should complement his wife's economic needs. This mentality, however, defines the flaws of marriage, but identifies the woman’s perspective on marriage during Austen’s time.

The concern of marriage continu...

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