Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen

A hastily drawn conclusion one might make about Pride and Prejudice is that it appears to reinforce the sexist stereotypes of women during the 18th century. The first sentence of the book reads “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). Dorothy Van Ghent described this opening sentence as being “read as the opposite-a single woman must be in want of a man with a good fortune” (Van Ghent 301). This also introduces one of the central themes of the novel and that is Mrs. Bennet’s desire to see her daughters married “Her mind was less difficult to develop she was a woman of mean understanding little information and uncertain temper when she was discontented she fancied herself nervous the business of her life was to get her daughters married” (Austen 3). Marriage was crucial to ensure a woman’s

Bennet exclaims, “Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls” (2). Considering Mrs. Bennet’s lines, the reader acknowledges Austen’s first claims on marriage. Mrs. Bennet not only exemplifies the opening statement of the novel, but also justifies the effect it has on mother figures. As Mrs. Bennet’s character develops, the reader recognizes her obsession with the marriage of her daughters. Mrs. Bennet understands the importance of marrying ‘well’ in order to maintain a high standing in the social realm. However, understanding the consequences directly affects Mrs. Bennet’s desperate behavior. This interpretation becomes an inevitable experience for each of Mrs. Bennet’s daughters.

This stands in stark contrast to what Miss Elizabeth Bennett wants. Mrs Bennett wants her daughters to marry because it’s thea only way for them to solidfy that they will have food on their plates and a roof over their head. Mr. Collins is Mr. Bennetts brother and is set to inherit his estate when he dies. He comes to visit in the middle of the book and his main intentions are to ask on of the daughters to marry him and to observe what he will in time own. Mrs. Bennett says in response to all this “Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousnd a year. What a fine thing for our girls!” (57, Austen) The single man she speaks of his Mr. Collins, the Bennett kids uncle. Austen describes Mr. Collins as a self retious kind of man who thinks he is above the Benntt’s just because he is set to inherrit their estate. This gives him a villeness quality. Austen is commenting on the blindness of Mrs. Bennett to the qualitys of Marraige. She only shes Mr. Collins as money but Elizabeth sees him as a bad person to spend the rest of her life with and theirfore turns down his marraige purposal. Which causes trouble between her and her mother. This is the best example of the contrast in what the two women see as the meaning of Marriage.

“But Mrs Bennet’s obsession with marrying off her daughters at all costs stems from real practical parental concern—if they do not marry, they may starve, especially given that Mr Bennet himself has made no provision for his daughters' futures but seems instead to be in a form of denial—he retreats to his library” (Jones). Readers sympathize with Mrs. Bennet’s aggravating personality when they realize her actions stem from a place of worry for her daughetrs’ future. Since Mrs. Bennet is a woman, she can provide no other form of security but marriage for her daughters. Mrs. Bennet’s actions also originate from a deeply personal part of her life- her marriage. Compared to other men during this time period, Mr. Bennet has done little to give his daughters a financially sound future and sees the search for a husband as silly and dismisses it. Mrs. Bennet has no other way to support her daughters, causing her to obsess over the idea and constantly push her daughters to act proper in order to get a husband. “Mrs. Bennet makes herself ridiculous in her attempts to be overly feminine; she fancies herself a victim of others’ cruelty, constantly complaining that no one regards her ‘nerves’. She has little respect for decorum…her marriage, built on physical attraction, is now a loveless union” (Guggenheim). Mrs. Bennet’s desperation to find her daughters’ spouses can be attributed to the unaffectionate

“Pride and Prejudice”, is a novel which explores the huge chasm between love and marriage in Georgian England. Jane Austen’s presentation of passion and matrimony reiterates the fact that marriage is a “business arrangement”. Austen uses irony to make fun of polite society in this satire and Austen also emphasizes the point that social hierarchy dictates whom you can marry. The pressures of men and women in Georgian England are revealed through her exploration of the aristocracy’s prejudice against the middle class society in which she lived. Finally uses comedy to expose hypocrisy

Jane Austen shows the readers within the first sentence what the plot and main theme of Pride and Prejudice is and what social ideas she plans on presenting through this novel. The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice stands as one of the most famous introductory lines in literature. It states, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 5). This statement puts the novel in motion by showing that the novel will deal with the pursuit of single wealthy men by various female characters. By stating this, Austen reveals that the reverse is also true in the nineteenth century English society, which is that single women of

and Mrs. Bennet do have the best bad marriage. At the very least, the couple care enough for each other to live together and foster a tolerable relationship. Their marriage has stayed relatively intact for a rather long duration of time; the two do not engage in an altercation with any serious degree of severity throughout the entirety of the novel. They do act rather independently of one another, as opposed to a unit like a married couple should, as when Mrs. Bennet causes a stir because Elizabeth refuses to marry the idiotic Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet claims she will disown Elizabeth if she refuses Mr. Collins in matrimony and Mr. Bennet further exacerbates the situation by telling Elizabeth he will disown her if she accepts Mr. Collins’ offer. This encounter especially demonstrates the schism in the Bennet's

As Jane Austin establishes, through the voice of Mrs. Bennet, “…Lizzy does not lose much by suiting his fancy; for he is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing” (Austen 9) she forms the general consensus of the sentiment that a majority of the characters feel for Mr. Darcy throughout Pride and Prejudice. Cold, rude, arrogant, and snobbish are what many characters consider Darcy due to his actions towards society and, especially, Elizabeth, Jane, and Wickham throughout the story. At the commencement of the tale, Darcy refuses to dance with Elizabeth due to his premature prejudices against her looks and “inferior connections” (8). However, at the story’s

Pride and Prejudice’ is concerned with the equality of personhood between characters in the story. For instance, the marriage of Charlotte Lucas marriage to Mr. Collins which can be demonstrate the fact that marriage in the 19 century England, was ultimately seen as being an economic institution, dictated primarily by economic means. Miss Lucas, whom is a woman with small fortune, recognized her requirement for a wealthy husband to ensure that her social and cultural sustainment and thus, she marries Mr. Collins for whom she does not feel any loving emotion, “it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together”. Within this, Austen presents a more cynical view of marriage, that of happiness not as marital

By placing the ideas of wealth and marriage together, Austen is presenting the financially beneficial values of marriage in 19th century England, as an honourable way security. Austen uses this idea that marriage is vital for social stability, through her characterisation of Charlotte Lucas as a woman who does not “think highly of men or matrimony” and believes that “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” With the acceptance of Mr Collins’ marriage proposal, despite not being a product of love, she is able to ensure her financial security with a man of fortune, hence her marriage acts as a product of her time. As responders, Austen’s reflection of marriage in 19th century England allows for the enhanced understanding of societal values.

In society today, some women may not even consider marrying. According to “The State of Our Unions,” there has been a decline in the marriage rate of over 50% from 1970-2010. However, during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, marriage was often one of the few choices for a woman’s occupation. Reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen from the twenty-first century perspective might make some matters that are stressed in the book seem dated or trivial. As Pride and Prejudice was set sometime during the Napoleonic Wars, it is only fitting that finding a proper marriage is on the minds of many of the women in the book. Marriage and marrying off one’s daughters is a

Jane Austen, describes five different marriages in Pride and Prejudice, and each is very different in the way they come to be, and the reason for the marriage, but they all provide a showing of each character 's viewpoint on what love really is. There are lots of aspects of marriage in Pride and Prejudice. We are shown, marriages of love, convenience, physical attraction and money. The marriage between Mr. Wickham and Lydia is due in part to their physical attraction to one another and Mr. Wickham’s love of money. On the other hand, we see the marriages between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Jane and Mr. Bingley are due to love. Both marriages are very different from the start and have to overcome different problems, Jane and Mr. Bingley clicking right away while Elizabeth 's distain with Mr. Darcy only seems to grow as the book progresses, and although in both relationships, both partners might be attracted to each other in a physical sense it is more than just that, the two marriages have deeper aspects and are truly based on something more than just looks. Lastly the marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas is based on convenience. Charlotte needs and husband and Mr. Collins wants a wife so they get married because it was a very easy thing to do. Not all of these images of marriage match up with the way the main character, Elizabeth Bennet envisions to be an ideal marriage and her views on what love is.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was first published on January 28, 1813, and was later republished in May of 2004 by Barnes and Noble. The story follows five young women and their family as they discover what it is to love and to lose love. The Bennets discover how the real world around them views propriety and proper etiquette when it comes to marriages. This tale specifically focuses on one of the eldest daughters, Elizabeth Bennet, as she discovers the true meaning of love from an unexpected source. Despite the fact that this story is about love, it displays many characteristics that were typically of the time period the book is set in, especially in regards to marriage. The interaction between the characters of the novel displays

On the very first page of the novel, you have Mrs. Bennet not only desperately wanting to marry off her five daughters, but also to a man she knows nothing about other than what she has heard about his wealth. She is very desperate for her daughters to marry wealthy and men of high social standings, however when her daughters are courted by them she always seems to have an issue

True love arises when one eliminates the pride and prejudice. Throughout the novel, it was rare to pinpoint a couple, who married out of true love. Both males and females were in a constant suppression by the societal standards. The rare exception is Elizabeth and Darcy.