preview

Pride And Prejudice By Mr. Collins

Decent Essays

Pride and Prejudice depicts the unfairness of marriage that was often an unhappy one for women during the nineteenth century. Once a woman had successfully managed to secure a marriage that would guarantee financial security, there was no guarantee that they would have obtained happiness. For most men, exemplified by Mr. Collins, the happiness of their wives was of no consequence:
‘“Pardon me for interrupting you, madam," cried Mr. Collins; "but if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether she would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my situation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage state. If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit, perhaps it were better not to force her into accepting me, because if liable to such defects of temper, she could not contribute much to my felicity.”’
It was more important for a man to be happy in his marriage than it was for a woman, but that was commonly accepted. Women did not actively seek happiness from a marriage, but this did not mean that they were not aware that you some marriages were happy marriages, as Charlotte Lucas was aware:
‘Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance […] it is better to know as little as possible about the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.’
Charlotte’s marriage was not a happy marriage, and was rather an arrangement of convenience. It is, however, one of the most accurate portrayals of what marriage was like for

Get Access