The world of Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice is one in which women’s rights were limited due to society’s patriarchal point of view. In Jane Austen’s world, women suffered on the account of their gender in a class pretension society making it only possible to increase social mobility through the mean of marriage. Austen depicts marriage as an economical business, needed to rescue women from succumbing to a life of poverty and disgrace. In a society that affirm the principle values of marriage as a social institution, Austen shows the many sides of marriage and satirizes marriage that base love on appearances, wealth and class by showing that it only leads to one own misery and unhappiness, whereas true leads to happiness and joy. “It is …show more content…
They live in a patriarchal society, where a man who remains single for long risk loneliness and where an unmarried woman faces a lack of financial security. From Charlotte’s view, social injustice means that women have to manipulate a man into marriage for the sake of their future. Charlotte views love to be irrelevant to marriage and see her husband as a commodity that will relieve her from poverty. Even though Elizabeth tries to convince Charlotte to rethink the proposal, underneath the marriage lays a reality to it that reflects marriage during Jane’s time. Charlotte marries Mr. Collin as a “worldly advantage” for financial stability and social security, which makes Charlotte a mirror of reality. Trapped in a social web, Charlotte recognizes the reality of her situations and accepts it rather than rejects it like Elizabeth. Charlotte’s father, Sir William Lucas, is a retired financial stable knight. Therefore, Charlotte cannot marry below her social status. However, her plain appearance does not enable her to attract a truly wealthy man so she must settle for Mr. Collins. Charlotte’s views on marriage and love have a contrasting point of view in compare to Elizabeth. While Elizabeth is in a pursuit of happiness, Charlotte is in pursuit of mere comfort for she “only ask a comfortable home” (84). Charlotte obeyed society and bear the loneliness that comes with her marriage to Mr. Collins …show more content…
Although the interactions leading to Mr. Collins’ proposal to Charlotte is not present in the film, Charlotte confronts Elizabeth with the news of her engagement. Charlotte insists that Mr. Collin is the best she could hope for. From this scene, it becomes apparent that Charlotte have a textured idea of the future she is choosing. In her eyes, the success of her marriage lies in the comfortable economy of their household which becomes clear when Elizabeth visit Charlotte for the first time. Charlotte has settled into married life and she encourages Mr. Collins to work in the garden and leave her to the enjoyment of their home. As they drink tea in a separate room, Charlotte mentions that they [Elizabeth and her] shall not be disturbed for Mr. Collin allow her to have the room to herself. It becomes clear that Charlotte married solely for the security of the home because she confines herself inside while Mr. Collins stays out. They both finds contentment in their marriage only when they are not in the present of one another. Austen reveals her sensibility for Charlotte as a vestigial character left over from an era of practical marriage rather than a romantic
Charlotte’s pessimistic view on marriage. Unlike Elizabeth, who values personal connection and true happiness, Charlotte simply wants someone to
In later events, Elizabeth reflects on the news of Charlotte’s engagement. “It was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match. The strangeness of Mr. Collins 's making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted. She had always felt that Charlotte 's opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own, but she had not supposed it to be possible that, when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins was a most humiliating picture! And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem, was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen" (22.18) Where marrying for financial security is fairly common, Elizabeth 's opinion and views of marrying for love does not mirror that of the time she lives in. Elizabeth is therefore unsurprisingly disappointed and shocked that her friend has settled to marry someone, who although is wealthy, is also much less desirable in character, only on the basis of financial security. She finds it shameful that someone who is a "sensible, intelligent young woman” (5.2), should have to settle for someone like Mr. Collins just so she no longer has to worry about becoming a spinster. But Charlotte poses a sound
Most importantly, due to his religious duty. As she told her friend, Elizabeth, about accepting a proposal from Mr. Collins, Elizabeth full of of shock replied, “Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte, -- impossible” (Austen, 122). Elizabeth’s shock is because she believed he would not be the right person for her. However, Tony Tanner agrees that Charlotte views her marriage strictly as a “preservative from want” (Bloom, 66). This symbolizes Charlotte marries Collins because she did not want to be a load for her family especially her mother who went through difficulties to find her a mate Marrying Collins helps Charlotte than it did for him because she received advantages such as financial, security, and unburden to her family as well as getting a higher rank. She coldly admits to Elizabeth, “…I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins 's character, connection, 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" (Austen, 123). Charlotte’s train of thought is Mr. Collins is her last option of marriage to have her own life instead of living with her parents. Their marriage is based on societal norms and she agrees to marry him, even with the knowledge that they have different personalities. She marries Collin in disregards of her self-respect and his undurable personality.
The marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins is one that Austen sees as an average one. It is similar to some of those at the time. It is most certainly a marriage of convenience. Charlotte is very cynical about marriage and love. She believes that "happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" Jane Austen criticises Charlotte's lack of romance and idealism, through Elizabeth but underlying that we know she understands her motives for marriage. Charlotte also says that a woman must let a man know that she's interested to make sure she snags him. She advises Elizabeth that Jane does this to ensure a marriage to Bingley. Charlotte is obviously not speaking from experience, because at 27 year old, she is practically an old maid and on the shelf. Nobody wants her, and soon she will be forced to become a governess if she can't find a husband soon.
Since she is twenty-seven years of age, she is also unlikely to get another marriage proposal. Accepting Mr. Collins’ proposal means she must only learn to tolerate with him, as the novel does later show. Charlotte later develops a way of coping with Mr. Collins’ behaviour, which is more or less ignoring him. He stays on his own, tending to gardens and looking after Lady Catherine, while she keeps herself to specific rooms of the house. She even mentions that there are days where they might see each other only for a moment or so, showing her complaisant attitude towards the marriage.
This type of marriage is very uncommon in contemporary culture, but it was the societal norm during the regency period. The author, in the earlier chapters of the story, describes Charlotte as “sensible, intelligent young woman.” (Austen 16). Charlotte is a sensible woman so her actions were typically frivolous. “Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane’s disposition as you do. ‘But if a woman is partial to man, and does not endeavor to conceal it, he must find it out’.” (Austen 20). Elizabeth and Charlotte are having a typical conversation about Jane and Mr. Bingley. The author describes Charlotte as being a kind and normal person. She is a great friend to Elizabeth and seems to converse easily. The portrayal of Charlotte being normal shows that her actions and thoughts were common of the women of the time period.
But still he would be her husband,” is an example of how odious Mr. Collins is, but because he has money, is tolerated (Austen 83). Being in the lower middle class, Charlotte needed to separate from her parents support to a husband’s. The sad part about Charlotte’s situation is that she married for love, not money. She simply states to Elizabeth: “‘I am not 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” (Austen 85). Having grown up knowing she must marry, Charlotte does not seem upset, but relieved at the marriage. Many women were required to marry for money in order to support themselves and their family.
that she is humoured by the idea that every young an who has a large
During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, a person’s social rank was based on their reputation, wealth, family, and most importantly marriage, as it was the primary way in which someone could elevate their status. Jane Austen’s Emma, explores a number of marriages and anticipated vows, and how the relationships are often based on social status. The rise in social rank through romantic relationships is essential to women as they are unable to improve their status through personal achievements. At the time, social norms dictated that marriage be a critically important accomplishment for women, especially since they had very few prospects for employment. For example, Harriet is astonished that Emma chooses to remain single given the stigma associated with unmarried women, such as poor Miss Bates. Austen also highlights how the wealthy and “well-bred” govern society through their strategic distribution of invitations and steering of new friendships. In contrast, people with less means depend on the charity of those in a higher social strata. In the book Emma, the criteria for proper marriages is examined as well as the class conflicts that often interfered with romantic relationships. The book also underscores the gender limitations women experienced.
Mrs. Bennet’s desperation is especially noticeable when Elizabeth, the protagonist, is given the opportunity to marry Mr. Collins, a distant cousin and a wealthy land owner. After learning of Elizabeth’s refusal to marry Collins, she implores Mr. Bennet to force Elizabeth to change her mind. In her final efforts to convince Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet addresses,
Jane Austen’s novel is commanded by women; Pride and Prejudice explores the expectations of women in a society that is set at the turn of the 19th century. Throughout the plot, Austen’s female characters are all influenced by their peers, pressures from their family, and their own desires. The social struggle of men and women is seen throughout the novel. Characters, like Elizabeth, are examples of females not acting as proper as women were supposed to, while other women like Mrs. Bennett allow themselves to be controlled by men and society. Mr. Collins is a representation of the struggles males deal with in a novel dominated by women. The theme of marriage is prominent during Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Marriage can be examined in
Charlotte is a neighbour and friend of Elizabeth, who is older and unmarried at the beginning of the story. She is simple in her values and does not question a women's role in society. Charlotte's main achievement in the story occurred when she was able to secure a proposal of marriage from Mr. Collins after he had been rejected by Elizabeth, who asked why she accepted. Charlotte explained "I am not a romantic you know. I never was. I only ask for a comfortable home; considering Mr Collins's character, connections, situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is fair, as most people can boast on entering a marriage state" By this Charlotte is questioning Elizabeth's values, believing she is over her head in her ideas. She is simply happy with what she has been dealt
A conflict between character personalities demonstrates this theme yet again in the novel. When Elizabeth's friend Charlotte becomes engaged to a man named Mr. Lucas, the topic of marriage views becomes evident once again. Charlotte does not have an extremely high income, and she feels that marriage is the simple answer to her quest to live a desirable lifestyle. She has no passion to spend the rest of her life with someone whom she actually loves. The narrator states, "Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want" (166). Because of this statement, the reader understands that these were the conventional ideas of
Elizabeth’s snobbish pride hinders her from understanding her friend Charlotte Lucas’s best interests in regard to her desire to marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth “prides herself on being a perceptive “studier of character,” as Mr. Bingley calls her, but how well does she really know her very good friend Charlotte…” when she “responds with amazement and horror” upon hearing that Charlotte wants to marry a man who is “dull”, “pompous” and “physically unattractive”. Elizabeth’s excessive pride blinds her from recognizing that Charlotte is “not much interested in men and very much interested in marriage” (Moler, 26). Elizabeth could have ruined the prospects of Charlotte’s marriage because of her self-importance in the way she
Through the use of literary devices, Pride and Prejudice reveals Jane Austen’s attitude towards the novel’s theme of true love through the actions of the suitors; the process of courtship in the 1800s articulates characterization, foreshadowing, and irony. The novel opens with the line, “it is a truth acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of wife,” (Austen 1) which foreshadows the conflict of finding a significant other . During the Victorian age, men and women courted others of the same education, wealth, and social status; it was considered uncommon for someone to marry beneath them or to marry for love. Jane Austen uses Elizabeth Bennett’s encounters with different characters of varying