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Analysis of the Opening Chapter of Pride and Prejudice Essay examples

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Analysis of the Opening Chapter of Pride and Prejudice

The opening sentence of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ tells is the main theme of the entire novel, marriage. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’

The novel is based upon the theme of marriage, finding a potential husband who has ‘sufficient funds’. Jane, Elizabeth, Lydia, Kitty and Mary all wish to find themselves husbands so that they can be married off to a man who has a large annual wage and also a large inheritance. In the days of when ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was set (in the 1800s), inheritance and yearly wage were very important factors which women looked for …show more content…

So therefore, he would not wish to marry any of the Bennet sisters.

The second sentence of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ also follows on with the theme of marriage and finding a suitable husband. ‘However little known the feelings or views of such a man maybe 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 some one or other of their daughters.’

This quotation explains to us that the women do not need to know how these men feel or their thoughts. Even if he has just entered the village they (villagers) are all just thinking whether or not he would make a good future husband depending on his wealth and size of his estate. The women did not really care about their husbands, but as long as they provided them with financial security, the wives were happy. Any man could be thought of as a marriage possibility, so this is why this is such a main, important theme for the book.

In the novel , the Bennet sisters need to gain financial status through marriage, but Elizabeth does not want to marry for these reasons. Their culture was to be married, but you could either marry for the reasons above, or like Lizzy you could marry for love, which was very rare during this period of time. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ follows the story of the Bennet sisters trying to find love and

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