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Love, Wealth, and Marriage

Decent Essays

Pride and Prejudice, authored by Jane Austen, is a skillfully crafted novel dealing with love, comedy, and first impressions. The novel follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, and her middleclass family living in 19th century England. Elizabeth, unlike her younger sisters, is quite quick-witted but perhaps is too judgmental and relies very heavily on her first impressions of people; this is clearly evident after her first meeting with Mr. Darcy. Lydia, Elizabeth’s youngest sister, is rather childish and seems to be quite foolish; this is made quite evident when she marries Mr. Wickham. Another important female character is Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s opportunistic friend; she marries Collins after Elizabeth rejects his marriage …show more content…

Acting on his impression Darcy convinced his good friend Mr. Bingly into leaving the area and to break off relations with Jane, Elizabeth’s eldest sister. When Elizabeth became aware of Mr. Darcy’s actions she became quite cross with him and her opinion of him worsened. Her dislike of Darcy actually blinded her to his feelings for her and she was quite shocked when he proposed to her the first time. She declined his first proposal and stated her grievances with him as her reasons for not accepting. After receiving a letter from him describing his actions and a visit to his estate in Pemberly she began to see Darcy’s true nature. After learning of his true nature she started falling in love with him and in the end accepted his second marriage proposal. Their relationship grew over time and each had the chance to observe the others character; this being the case they were both able to obtain an accurate idea of what the other was truly like. A union like theirs typically lasts much longer and is one of love and prosperity for both parties involved.
The idea of the novel seems to lie in the portrayal of the three main unions. The union of Collins and Charlotte demonstrates the ideas of ambition and a one-sided marriage; where as the union between Elizabeth and Darcy shows one of compassion and mutual love. Lydia’s marriage to Wickham shows the darker side of society and how

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