The theme of marriage is seen from the very beginning of novel. Jane Austen makes her views on marriage known from the very first sentence. She opens her highly acclaimed novel with: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of someone or other of their daughters. 5) The quote signifies that a wealthy man is the most eligible bachelor whether or not he is in love. Money ranks over love in all cases. There are a wide variety of proposals throughout the course of the novel. Marriage is supposed to be about love but when your property is entailed and you have five daughters things can become more complicated. The marriages that occur in Pride and Prejudice are for both love and money. Darcy and Elizabeth, as well as, Bingley and Jane marry for love but Lydia and Wickham marry because they are forced together through Wickham’s debt and Lydia’s hormones.
Mr. Collins and Charlotte marry because of Mr. Collins’s need to please his patroness. The twenty-first century view on marriage is quite different. From the moment Mr. Collins is introduced he comes off as an annoying, rambling, fool who takes orders from his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He makes long, awkward speeches that tend to bore people to sleep. He is called amiable many times but is not considered a bachelor by anyone, except Mrs. Bennet after Mr. Collins’s proposal to Elizabeth. His proposal to Elizabeth is sloppy and selfish.
He lists his reasons for wanting to marry as being: wanting to set an example in his parish, adding to his happiness, and wanting to please “the very noble lady whom [he has] the honour of calling patroness. (103)” He never once mentions or even tries to express or portray any thread of love or care for Elizabeth or her happiness. He sees marriage as an obligation set forth by the woman who controls his job and housing. Elizabeth has a more twenty-first century view on love, marriage is about love and all the other superficial, external details are just an added bonus.
He then proceeds to propose to Elizabeth’s good friend, Charlotte Lucas. After being rejected by Elizabeth, he learns he should make the proposal more endearing and sincere. Charlotte accepted knowing her beauty is fading rapidly. Her views on marriage greatly differ from Elizabeth’s. She says, “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. (24)” She knows if she doesn’t take the proposal set in front of her by Mr. Collins, another may never come again and she would be forced to live life as an old maid.
A fate she does not wish for, nor do her parents. When Elizabeth confronts her about her accepting Mr. Collins’s proposal she further proves how she feels about marriage by saying, I am not a romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state. (123) This is the traditional late eighteenth and early nineteenth century thought on marriage.
She realizes she may have no other suitors and that if she wishes to live an easy life, she must take the first opportunity that is offered to her, regardless of love. This idea of marriage bothers Elizabeth. Wickham seems, altogether, handsome and charming. He has a way with words and of hiding the truth to make himself seem more eligible. First, it is Elizabeth who falls into fancy with him. She soon learns of his despicable past and sees Darcy for the real man that he is. With one Bennet girl no longer interested and another one already preoccupied, he was down to the three younger girls, his favorite type.
Lydia is invited to go with the regiment with her aunt and uncle. She excitedly accepts and proceeds to let her hormones and libido get the best of her. Wickham sets out with a plan to ruin Lydia and then dispose of her. Marriage never even crosses his mind until Mr. Gardner and Darcy offer him money to marry Lydia. Wickham needs the money to pay off his gambling debts. Their joining is not about true love, Lydia just wants to be with an officer and Wickham’s debts need to be paid soon. In contrast, Bingley and Jane’s love is pure. From the moment each of them lay eyes on each other they fall in love.
The couple puts meaning to the saying, “Love at first sight. ” Even through the hardships of being so far apart and a jealous sister, they find each other and join in matrimony. Their love is what marriage is all about. Jane doesn’t marry Bingley because of his fortune or lodgings; she marries him because she falls in love with him. Bingley doesn’t propose to Jane because he feels obligated, is forced, or because Jane’s nonexistent fortune, he does it because, he too, falls in love. Elizabeth is more than please when she hears this.
She feels Jane and Bingley will be very happy together because they are in love and are marring for the right reasons. Darcy is first introduced as a stuck up guy who thinks he is superior to everyone but as the novel progresses, his true colors fly. Elizabeth doesn’t get a great first impression of Darcy at the ball and Darcy later realizes this. He works to fix what he has broken but Elizabeth is persistent on her opinion of him. The first time Darcy proposes he says, In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
He spoke well, but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed, and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness that of pride. His sense of her inferiority – of its being a degradation – of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seem due to consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. (185) When he talks about how he was forced to like her against his better judgment, against his will, and against his very character, Elizabeth becomes offended.
Darcy demands reasons for her rejection and she in turn tells him that she is mad because Darcy is responsible for keeping Bingley away from her sister, Jane, and for how poorly she thinks Darcy has treated Wickham. Darcy later sends Elizabeth a letter explaining everything and apologizing. If he did not care for Elizabeth, the letter would not have been necessary or even important, but he knows how he feels about her. In his letter he explains everything. Elizabeth realizes that she may have been wrong about Darcy. When she visits Pemberley, she falls even harder for him. She falls in love with the landscaping and is intrigued when Mrs.
Reynolds talks about what an amiable man Mr. Darcy is and how well he has treated her. Elizabeth thinks it’s amazing that a man who comes off as superior and stuck up is really just shy and out of his comfort zone. In reality Darcy is a genuine and sweet human being. Elizabeth realizes her mistake and is given a second chance towards the end of the novel. Darcy’s conversation with Elizabeth at the end differs dramatically from how he spoke to her during his first proposal. He says, “my real purpose was to see you, and to judge, if I could, whether I might ever hope to make you love me. 361)” The statement is so sincere and sweet, nothing like the superiority that he displayed in his earlier proposal. Elizabeth agrees to marry Darcy because she is in love with him, not because he makes ten thousand a year or because he is a bachelor. The added bonus is always a plus but the main purpose for marriage is and always will be, love. During the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, daughters marring a well off man was great news to her parents. Marriages were more often than not arranged in some way or completely based on social standings and not on love.
The novel, Pride and Prejudice, revolves primarily around first impressions and marriages. The marriages occur for many different reasons: love, money, lust, wanting to please others. Elizabeth believes that marriage should be more than money or lust but rather love. Jane also believes this and both of their marriages result in love. Charlotte feels if she does not find a husband she will become an old maid and Lydia lusts for a man in uniform and a red coat. Whatever the reason for a marriage may be, there is always going to be someone who disapproves but as long as the two people are happily in love than the marriage is a good one.
