Victorian Marriage

Austen shows the reader a strong sense of duty through her character Charlotte. Of Charlotte, Austen says “marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune,”(22). Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas soon after Elizabeth rejects his offer. Charlotte knows that her friend Elizabeth has declined Mr. Collins’ offer. Charlotte also knows that it is not socially acceptable for Collins to propose to someone else so soon after he is rejected. The quick rebound also shows that Collins does not have any affection for Elizabeth or Charlotte. Charlotte however, accepts his proposal. When asked about her reasoning for doing so, Charlotte tells Elizabeth that acceptance was her only option because she might not receive another offer of marriage. Charlotte believes Elizabeth foolish for rejecting Mr Collins’ proposal of marriage for this reason. Charlotte believes that her duty, and Elizabeth’s duty, as women includes

Austen opens the novel by telling us, “It is a truth universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”(7) The act of marriage during this time period an act of comfort rather than love. A woman married a man when it was ensured she would live a prosperous and wealthy life. Affection was not enough for women to marry; however, Elizabeth knew that in order for her to be happy, love must be there. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth was promised of a comfortable life by three gentlemen but turning all three down because her affection was

In Jane Austen 's novel “Sense and Sensibility” marriage is a prominent theme. Each character is affected in some way by marriage. Sometimes it is beneficial for characters like Fanny, (Sarah Elizabeth Keyes), who marries John Dashwood, (Alex Givens), and acquires power. For others, it is an unnecessary circumstance forced upon them as in the case of Edward Ferrars, (Rishan Dhamija). Making sure you stay within your social class is very important to people of this era, and in order to do this, you must marry someone above or within your class. Usually this is more important for women since they are working in and around the house and do not have a source of income. Therefore, the man is responsible for making the decisions, but in

Austen is mocking the meaning of marriage during the late 18th century through the eyes of Elizabeth Bennett. At first Miss Bennett rejects the proposal from Mr. Collins, her uncle. Meaning that Austen doesn’t believe women should fall into

Many people believe that marriage is important in this day and age, but it holds little significance compared to the importance of marriage in the Victorian era. In the Victorian era women were to get married to a man of the same or a better social status, be good wives, and be a mother to her husband's children. Very few marriages started with love, but a woman's life is not complete without being married. Over time, the role of married women has evolved a great deal and they now have rights and privileges. John Stuart Mill was one of the great thinkers of the Victorian era, and his essay The Subjection of Women tells how few privileges women had and that they were slaves to their husbands. He also says that women are their own people and

In the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, marriage is a significant issue for almost every single character that we are introduced to. In the year 1813, when the novel was first published, it was natural for people to wed due to status and practicality instead of for true love. The very first line of the novel is the perfect introduction to this ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’. Indeed, in 1813 marriage was seen as a financial transaction and women were seen as a commodity who had to be wed in order

If a woman didn’t marry she would remain in the care of a male relative. It was also important for men to get married because in this time period the people of England were always fighting diseases and plagues that ravished their country. Unsanitary condition and poor knowledge of medicine meant a village could be wiped out in a matter of weeks. Underpopulation weakened England economically and defensively. It was frowned upon if a man decided to stay a bachelor because he was squandering the opportunity to start a family and have children to help repopulate England. To some marriage was necessary “be the lawful son of God [and] possess and enjoy the earth and deserve heaven” (Carlson 23). Marriage in Elizabethan times also represented a kind of “coming of age” and, as Carlson states, “preparation for adulthood was preparation for marriage”. A person wasn’t really considered a full-fledged adult until they had settled down and gotten married. This period after childhood and before full-blown adulthood, known to us now as adolescence, was known to the Elizabethans to be a time of developments both physically and sexually. Within this time period activities such as courtship would take place, and this phase in one’s life would end with marriage, signifying adulthood While the boundaries of adolescence is more unclear in Elizabethan times, it often would last until a person’s late twenties

The Victorian Period was the era of British Monarch; Queen Victoria, in this era women had extremely limited right’s. Women were not giving the choice to vote, sue or own any property. In addition to that, they lost ownership of their wages, all of their physical belongings, and every other cash they were able to generate once they were married. In fact, once women got married they legally became property to their husbands, giving them ‘ownership’ over their body. Meaning that they had the right to use their wives body for: children, any sexual activity and/or domestic labor. Therefore, their mutual matrimonial consent became a contract of women giving themselves to their husband’s as they desired. Under the law, a husband and wife became one

Jane Austen’s view of marriage in relation to the woman’s place in the hierarchical order furthers the notion of Daniel Defoe’s of how marriage is used as a means of survival and status. In Moll Flanders, Robin wanted to marry Moll which confused everyone. Robin would be marrying downwards which was not acceptable. Similarly, marriage is used as a form of commodity when Charlotte Lucas was at risk of becoming an unmarried old maid which risked her survival. When the younger girls and boys are formally entering adult society they worry about Charlotte’s status. “But still he would be her husband --Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated

The The Importance of Being Earnest, written by Oscar Wilde, is a play set during the Victorian Era. It is about the lives of characters named Jack Worthing, Algernon Moncrieff, Lady Bracknell, Gwendolen Fairfax, Cecily Cardew, Miss Prism, and Rev. Chasuble that lived during that time period. One of the main topics discussed in The Importance of Being Earnest is marriage. Overall, Wilde portrays marriage differently throughout the play for the upper and lower classes of society.

that she is humoured by the idea that every young an who has a large

Most of the women don’t work, and their main responsibility is getting married to a wealthy husband. Marriage was one of the most important things during this time because, who they married resulted in what kind of life they’d have. If they didn’t get married, the woman would have to depend on her family to support her. Another option for an unmarried women was to become a governess. One major quote from the book that shows the importance of marriage is, “It is a truth universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This quote shows that single men need to marry because, that was what they did back then. (Pride and Prejudice)

Jane Austen's Portrayal of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Marriage plays an extremely important role in Jane Austen's novel 'Pride and Prejudice'. The novel begins with the sentence "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. " This single sentence extremely significant in the fact that it is strongly connected with one of the main themes of the novel, and introduces a powerful irony that clashes with the events that unfold during the progress of the novel. In Jane Austen's day, women of high status were almost entirely dependent on men.

It is a symbol of a forever unity between two people where they exchange rings or any relic which will signify their undying love for each other. There are promises being made in this union such as until death do us apart , in sickness and in health and more. Marriage is something that have been part of our lives since the beginning of time but it is something that comes changing from generation to generation. Each era has something that outstands in it and the Victorian era made no exception in it. As time goes by marriage comes changing , nowadays there is marriage between genders which is something that was seen as a taboo back in the day. Even though marriage keeps changing during the Victorian era marriage

Jane Austen’s well-known novel, Pride and Prejudice, discussed multiple social themes in the 19th century. Austen mainly criticized marriage during her era, when she says that, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 3). As she explains that it was valuable to women since it provided them with security and a social title. The author explored the diverse motives behind matrimony in her time period by using a humorous and romantic plot to discuss the social issues. For instance, Charlotte Lucas’s unreasonable marriage to Mr. Collins is a vital example of how women needed to secure a future and attain social status. To conclude, Lydia Bennet’s meaningless marriage to George Wickham shows that entering the marriage estate could have also been for mainly financial purposes. Contrastingly, Jane Bennet, the heroine’s older sister, marries Charles Bingley for love, security, and a social ranking. On the other hand, Elizabeth Bennet marries Fitzwilliam Darcy after months of misunderstandings and romantic drama for none other than true love. Thus, Austen uses her leading characters’ marriages in Pride and Prejudice to exhibit the various attitudes and reasons for marrying in the 19th century. (Lane 2015)