Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen frames the
mother of the Bennet sisters, Mrs. Bennet, and the young man to whom the Bennet
house is entailed, Mr. Collins, as being foolish. Mrs. Bennet is “a woman of
mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper” (Austen 4). Mr.
Collins is a clergyman with “a mixture of servility and self-importance” in his
manner who loves to hear himself talk and loves his patron, Lady Catherine de
Bourgh, even more (44). By framing these characters and the ideals they
chase as foolish, Austen makes a critique of the marriage-based society in
which she lived.
Throughout the novel, Austen
portrays Mrs. Bennet as being a foolish, “nervous” woman whose business in life
is “to get her daughters married” (4). From the onset of the novel Mrs. Bennet
can only think about marriage. When Bingley first moves in, Mrs. Bennet
excitedly declares that he is “’a single man of large fortune; four or five
thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!’” (3). She is obsessed with “’thinking
of his marrying one of [the Bennet sisters],” as that will ensure that the
family will be wealthy and well taken care of after marriage (3). Her obsession
with marriage is so extreme she sends Jane to Netherfield on a horse, knowing
she will get sick and have to stay their with Bingley and his family, in order
to make Bingley want to marry her. While Mrs. Bennet’s extreme desire to see
her daughters married causes them problems, it is somewhat understandable since
women at the time were expected to be married in order to have a secure future.
For example, Charlotte Lucas, Lizzy’s older, unmarried friend, marries the “neither
sensible nor agreeable” Mr. Collins because of “the pure and disinterested desire
of an establishment” (85). Lizzy, the character the audience is most meant to
sympathize and agree with, condemns her friend’s decision to live in an unhappy
marriage simply for financial security, thus displaying Austen’s belief that a
happy marriage is more important than a secure future.
In addition to Mrs. Bennet’s
foolishness, Austen also uses Mr. Collins’ foolishness to further critique her society’s
views on marriage. Mr. Collins is “quite the reverse” of a sensible man (44).
He unashamedly admits that he comes “into Hertfordshire with the design of
selecting a wife” and that upon seeing Lizzy he “singled [her] out as the
companion of [his] future life” (73). His primary reasons for wanting to get
married are that it is “a right thing for every clergyman… to set the example
of matrimony in his parish,” because Lady Catherine de Bourgh told him to, and
seemingly the least important reason, is that it will make him happy (73). Mr.
Collins wants to get married simply because he thinks it is the proper thing to
do, and later eagerly marries Charlotte Lucas, who he barely knows, in order to
do so. Lady Catherine de Bourgh even
states that he “must marry,” simply because he is a clergyman (74). Mr. Collins
gets married simply because of societal pressures, and by painting him and his
decisions as foolish Austen criticizes these pressures.
I agree with your assessment that Jane Austen's goal is to shine a light on the nature of marriage in her time, and critique the folly of people who marry for wealth or standing rather than happiness and "prudence" as Austen so frequently mentions in the novel. This extends beyond just those examples of matches which take place, there are multiple examples of pairings which are implied by Austen to be subpar by the characters which suggest them, such as Miss Bingley's desire for her brother Mr. Bingley to marry Miss Darcy (116). Another example would be Catherine de Bourgh's conviction that Mr. Darcy should marry her daughter who is described as "thin, and so small" and continued to be described as shy, soft spoken, and sickly (159). Both of these matches are made between fellow aristocrats, equal in wealth and status, and so would be seen as ideal pairings, however Austen plainly displays that compatability of character and personality in order to acheive happiness are more important.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a very good point about how Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice highlights the nature of marriage during the time period. While she does call attention to this idea through the marriages which are based on money and social status, I think it is important to consider how she also shows the importance of true love. Of course, she criticizes marriages like the one between Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, since it was done due to societal pressures rather than an emotional connection. I think she uses the shortcomings of other marriages to show the importance of finding love, which is seen through the ultimate marriage between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. Although it takes some time, the two ultimately realize “how ardently [they] admire and love [each other]” (129 Their relationship is based on their opinions of each other, their actions, and their values, in contrast to the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins. Despite her criticism of other marriages, the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth is what really embodies her feelings about marriage. Only when people are able to put aside the pressures of the social hierarchy will they be able to experience the satisfaction of true love. At the end of the day, Austen claims that love (and marriage) should be independent of social status and monetary values, which was an unpopular opinion during this era.
ReplyDelete