In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the two reoccurring motifs
are marriage and social status/class. Austen creates and develops characters
that aid in understanding the connection between marriage and social class. Although
the two main characters are Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, the other
characters play vital roles in emphasizing the two motifs. By examining the relationship
between Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley, and Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, readers
can identify how marriage and social class go hand-in-hand.
Austen begins the story 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” (Austen 1). From that statement, it clearly lays out the two
prominent motifs within the novel. A man of high social standing is thought to seek
out a woman to marry. In the first case, Mr. Bingley is the rich gentleman and
Jane Bennet is the woman he seeks. Although Jane is not as rich as Mr. Bingley,
they fall in love with each other and Jane gains a higher social status as Mr.
Bingley’s wife. Even though Mr. Bingley is convinced by Darcy and his sister
that Jane is only after his money, Jane does not have money as her motive to
marry Mr. Bingley. After all, Mr. Bingley has a higher social status due to his
wealth.
A different dynamic in comparison to Jane and Mr. Bingley is
between Elizabeth Bennet’s cousin, Mr. Collins, and her friend and neighbor,
Charlotte Lucas. Mr. Collins is searching for a wife to share his fortunes
with. Since Elizabeth turns down his marriage proposal, Mr. Collins asks Charlotte
if she will consider marrying him. She accepts the offer, but it is not for
love. When Elizabeth finds out about Mr. Collins second proposal, Charlotte
explains to her, “I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collin’s
character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of
happiness with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the
marriage state” (Austen 93). Instead of love being the first sought after element
for marriage, rising in social status and living standards are Charlotte’s
goals. She comes from a family that is less fortunate than the Bennets, and Mr.
Collins received his fortune with the help of Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de
Bourgh. Since Charlotte is getting older and has yet to find a husband, she takes
up Mr. Collins proposal as the only chance she might have in finding a man who
will take care of her and allow her to live a more comfortable, prosperous life
away from her family.
While Jane and Mr. Bingley’s relationship comes
from love, Charlotte and Mr. Collins’ relationship comes from self-gain. Though Elizabeth and Darcy may have
the main love interest within the novel, the other relationships help to
solidify the importance of marriage and rise in social status. Austen presents
It is certainly interesting to examine the different types of marriage shown throughout Pride and Prejudice. Jane and Bingley obviously married out of love, but in contrast the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet was probably one out of obligation like the one between Mr. Collins and Charlotte. Mr. Bennet seems to be a very logical and smart man that has littler tolerance for drama. Mrs. Bennet seems to be the total opposite of him since she is constantly in a tizzy about something. In almost all the other marriages, the two people have something in common. Jane is seen as the nicest sister and Bingley is described as “just what a young man ought to be” (11). Both Elizabeth and Darcy are witty and occasionally prideful. The only other marriage like Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s is the one between Charlotte and Mr. Collins since Charlotte accepts the proposal out of obligation. Even so, Mr. Collins and Charlotte are both looking out for their future and are just trying to follow what society wants.
ReplyDeleteIn a time where marriage was the goal and only option for women, it seems like there was a surprising number of girls who ended up marrying for love. Jane and Elizabeth were able to marry the men that they loved, and it just so happened that they married into wealth. On Lydia’s side of her marriage, she was also able to marry for love even if her husband was coerced into the marriage by Darcy.
I agree with you that marriage and social status are a constant motif throughout the novel. However, I think that love, not social status is the primary motive Austen tries to exhibit to her readers through the marriages in the novel. For example, although Elizabeth does eventually marry Darcy, Austen initially has her turn Darcy down because although it would advance her social class, Elizabeth does not yet love Darcy. When she turns down Darcy’s initial proposal, she explains, “I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly” (Austen 189). Because Elizabeth has a strong negative opinion about Darcy’s character, she chooses to turn down his marriage, even though accepting the proposal would have increased her social status because she is not in love with him. For similar motives, Darcy convinces Mr. Bingley to leave Jane, as Jane has made no actions to prove her love for him. Although Darcy does recognize the class disparity between Bingley and Jane, he writes to Elizabeth that “[His] objection to the marriage [was] not merely those” of class difference, but mostly motivated by his belief of Jane’s “indifference” to Mr. Bingley (Austen 195). Through these two instances, Austen relates that the characters in the novel care more about true love, than social status, when discussing marriage. Although Darcy and Elizabeth as well as Jane and Mr. Bingley do eventually get married, their care and love for each other throughout the novel is necessary to enable these characters to move up the social ladder.
ReplyDeleteMarriage and social status definitely go hand-in-hand in the novel, but Elizabeth knows that money cannot buy love. When Elizabeth turns down Mr. Collins’ proposal, her mother is furious. She cannot believe her daughter allowed a potential husband – a wealthy one, nonetheless – to escape her. And when Mr. Collins then proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth is shocked. Charlotte challenges her, saying “‘Do you think it incredible that Mr. Collins should be able to procure any woman’s good opinion, because he was not so happy as to succeed with you?’” (Austen 109). Charlotte insists that she and Mr. Collins make a better match than he and Elizabeth would have made. In such a male-dominated society, where unmarried women are left without a future, Elizabeth sticks to her ideals and refuses to marry solely for money, as Charlotte has. It is not that she is jealous of Charlotte for getting married before her, but rather she seems embarrassed for Charlotte and laments her fate. “Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins was a most humiliating picture!—And to the pang of a friend disgracing herself and sunk in her esteem was added the distressing conviction that it was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen” (110). Elizabeth’s pride is evident here, as her romanticism compels her to raise her expectations and ask for more than society is willing to grant her.
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