Love and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essays - 2274 Words

How does Jane Austen present love and marriage in Pride and Prejudice? Jane Austen presents love and marriage in many ways in the novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice.† In this essay I am going to discuss some of these marriages, not only from Jane Austens portrayl of her characters but also from my own point of view. Jane Austen opens Pride and Prejudice with a statement: â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must want be in want of a wife.† By using this statement as her opening line she makes it very clear that she is humoured by the idea that every young an who has a large sum of money are eagerly looking for a wife. The main part of her book is based on matrimony. The†¦show more content†¦When Mr Bennet speaks to his beloved daughter Lizzie, he feelingly says to her, â€Å" My dear child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life. You know not what you are about.† This happens when Mr Darcy has just proposed to Elizabeth. When I question why Mr and Mrs Bennet’s marriage is so unsuccessful, I am faced with three points that I think contribute to their marital problem. Between Mr and Mrs Bennet there is no intellectual equality. Mr Bennet is clever, but on the other hand his wife isn’t, in fact Mrs Bennet is a fool! She does not understand her husband in the slightest manner, and so Mr Bennet frequently takes this opportunity to make a quick comment that will offend Mrs Bennet. Jane Austen says, â€Å" The experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his temper.† These twenty-three years of his unhappy marriage had brought Mrs Bennet’s characteristics out in a true light. She was a woman of mean understanding, very little information and an uncertain temper. She fancied herself nervous whenever she felt discontented. The business of her life was to get her daughters married, it seemed that was all the poor woman ever went on a bout and it infuriated Mr Bennet greatly. The second point is that Mr Bennet never showed any respect for his wife and almost seemed to enjoy ridiculing her in front of herShow MoreRelatedLove and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essay3416 Words   |  14 PagesExplore the variety of attitudes towards love and marriage in regards to chapters one, nineteen, thirty-four and fifty-eight in Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice Introduction Jane Austen was born in 1755. She was the seventh of eight children. The family was well educated and affectionate. Her father was a clergyman and they lived at the rectory in the parish of Steventon in Hampshire. She wrote several novels one of which was ‘Pride and Prejudice’. It is full of romance, drama andRead MoreThe Theme Of Love And Marriage In Pride And Prejudice1000 Words   |  4 PagesIn Jane Austen’s â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, one of the major themes is love and marriage. Elizabeth is portrayed as a movement towards women’s rights and what is wrong with society and their views of women as material possessions or collateral. Jane Austen seems to do this in a satirical way by bringing light to these issues in a comical romance, hidden in the humor. 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 aRead MoreLove and Marriage in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice2117 Words   |  9 PagesLove and Marriage in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Analyse Jane Austens presentation of love and marriage in her novel Pride Prejudice. From your evidence suggest what Austen regards as a good marriage. On first impressions of the novel, my own prejudices clouded my judgement of the book and of what it might have consisted. Living in the 21st Century it is somewhat difficult to imagine anything remotely similar, interesting or slightly scandalous happeningRead MoreSimilarities Between Love And Marriage And Pride And Prejudice1248 Words   |  5 Pagesconcepts of love and marriage, and feminine appearance of a woman. We can clearly observe the comparisons of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice to Sharon Maguire’s 1997 film Bridget Jone’s Diary. The novel Pride and Prejudice was composed in the Regency period where marriage was vitally important for a woman as it meant a financially comfortable and stable future, and it was not based upon true love, whereas Bridget Jones Diary set in a contemporary society where woman married for love and wereRead MoreLove and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Essay2052 Words   |  9 PagesWhat is your response to the way love and marriages are presented in Pride and Prejudice by JaneAusten? Pride and Prejudice was written in 1796-7 during the romantic period and was published in 1813, it is set between 1797 and 1815, in rural England when the agriculture society was changing into a modern industrial nation. Pride and Prejudice is about love and marriage, personal happiness, andamongst other things, status and reputation. Pride and Prejudice is a popular romantic novel, whichRead MoreLove and Marriage in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Essay2485 Words   |  10 PagesLove and Marriage in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813 during the Regency period. From a woman’s point of view, marriage was seen as â€Å"the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune†. Marriage was seen as the only way of securing a home and a decent living. If a woman wasn’t married she would have the life of a spinster, and depend upon a family who may not always support her. The only other choiceRead MoreSocial Commentary on Love and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin1734 Words   |  7 PagesPride and Prejudice Love and Marriage 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, â€Å"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 inRead MoreMarriage Vs. Love Jane Austen s Pride And Prejudice 1461 Words   |  6 PagesJake Hammel Ms. Salrin Love and Romance 17 November 2015 Marriage vs. Love Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, wrote in an era where considerations of social class and economic status were central to the institution of marriage. This notion is demonstrated throughout the novel by exploring character’s ideas and definitions regarding love and marriage. The main character, Elizabeth, defies almost all stereotypes of early 19th century women in England. She, unlike Charlotte and Jane, believesRead MoreEssay on Marriage Without Love in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen1640 Words   |  7 PagesThe very first sentence of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen satirizes womens’ inability to be self sufficient and respected in society without a husband. Elizabeth Bennet resembles Austen as young women, as she chose to be old maid rather than be married inappropriately. Elizabeth cannot stand the frenzies her mother and sisters get in over superficial marriages. Unlike her sisters, Elizabeth is set on finding love, and will not sacrifice love fo r any absurd amount of money or status. Austen wroteRead MoreLearning of Love and Marriage in Jane Austens Time from Pride Prejudice1615 Words   |  7 PagesLearning of Love and Marriage in Jane Austens Time from Pride Prejudice Pride Prejudice was written in the 18th century by a new author called Jane Austen. Her book can help us have a realistic insight to the social life of her time. It is generated around the Bennet household, a family who live in Meryton. The main theme narrows down to characters relationships, marriages and 18th century society. I hope to give a clear insight to how this novel helped me reach