How Does Jane Austen Present Marriage In Pride And Prejudice

For Charlotte she married Mr Collins. Mr. Collins was not Charlotte first choice but she wanted to have security. She no longer wanted to be aberdon on her mother and father, as well as she was right on the edge of the age in which women were considered old if they had not married yet. The reason for marriage is polar opposites when comparing Charlotte to Elizabeth. Elizabeth believes in marrying for love and affection. Charlotte on the other had marries for security she may not have turley loved Mr. Collins, but she now knows she has a home and a husband. It is believed that Elizabeth deals with relationships in a pragmatic way. Not taking things fast, You can see this in the novel when she denies the marriage proposal from Mr. Collins. She found Mr. Collins to be rude and over controlling. Her mother was in disbelief and her father agreed that if she didn't want to marry Mr. Collins was her

The value given to marriage in the 18th century is examined by Jane Austen in pride and prejudice. These values are further explored and evaluated by Letters to Alice. Pride and Prejudice shows the urgency and importance placed on marriage as a vehicle for getting wealth, social status, and a home for women of the 18th century. Letters to Alice brings new insight into the context surrounding the motives of marriage in Pride and Prejudice, whilst also providing insight into the marriages of Weldon’s own era. Charlotte Lucas is characterised as a woman not ‘thinking higher either of men or matrimony,’ but she still marries Mr Collins

serve her best work ethic toward being the wife of Collins. Referring to her own statement, "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance,”(Austen 30), she has chosen a life of misfortune. Unfortunately, Charlotte and Collins’ marriage was common in 1800s, and still is to our present days. We measure each other’s wealth, not love; we let future to depend on wealth, instead of creating our own pathway; we believe that wealth is the ultimate fame, not happiness. Pride is an empty pleasure that corrupts humans’ primary senses.

In later events, Elizabeth reflects on the news of Charlotte’s engagement. “It was a long time before she became at all reconciled to the idea of so unsuitable a match. The strangeness of Mr. Collins 's making two offers of marriage within three days was nothing in comparison of his being now accepted. She had always felt that Charlotte 's opinion of matrimony was not exactly like her own, but she had not supposed it to be possible that, when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. 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" (22.18) Where marrying for financial security is fairly common, Elizabeth 's opinion and views of marrying for love does not mirror that of the time she lives in. Elizabeth is therefore unsurprisingly disappointed and shocked that her friend has settled to marry someone, who although is wealthy, is also much less desirable in character, only on the basis of financial security. She finds it shameful that someone who is a "sensible, intelligent young woman” (5.2), should have to settle for someone like Mr. Collins just so she no longer has to worry about becoming a spinster. But Charlotte poses a sound

Charlotte continually disregards her dream of love and to belong to someone and surrenders to that which she believes will make society approve of her. Charlotte is the only character that appears to be level-headed when acting what seems to be ridiculous. She does not marry for love, but she still seems to be reasonable and she has thought through this decision. Charlotte arrives at approval from society, but only after she surrenders her dream to that of her superego and

Most importantly, due to his religious duty. As she told her friend, Elizabeth, about accepting a proposal from Mr. Collins, Elizabeth full of of shock replied, “Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte, -- impossible” (Austen, 122). Elizabeth’s shock is because she believed he would not be the right person for her. However, Tony Tanner agrees that Charlotte views her marriage strictly as a “preservative from want” (Bloom, 66). This symbolizes Charlotte marries Collins because she did not want to be a load for her family especially her mother who went through difficulties to find her a mate Marrying Collins helps Charlotte than it did for him because she received advantages such as financial, security, and unburden to her family as well as getting a higher rank. She coldly admits to Elizabeth, “…I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins 's character, connection, 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, 123). Charlotte’s train of thought is Mr. Collins is her last option of marriage to have her own life instead of living with her parents. Their marriage is based on societal norms and she agrees to marry him, even with the knowledge that they have different personalities. She marries Collin in disregards of her self-respect and his undurable personality.

After Collins proposes to Elizabeth, Charlotte, knowing she needs a husband, jumps straight in with her tactics.  She doesn't however tread

I ask only a comfortable home.” (Austen 134). Charlotte in marriage admits to Elizabeth that she does not love Mr. Collins, but she enjoys her comfortable home.

engaged." Pathetic fallacy is employed to portray the dreaded effect of displeasure this has on Elizabeth that her best friend is engaged to such a "ridiculous" man. In her own defence against Elizabeth's disappointment, she claims that "[she's] been offered a comfortable home and protection. [She's] twenty seven years old. [She has] no money and no prospects. [She's] already a burden to [her] parents, and [she's] frightened." Charlotte's desperate actions executed against her will to obtain financial security exemplify the exact reason why most women initially married during the time of Regency England – which was entirely out of the benefit of their families. The source of Charlotte's distress stems from the fact that women are unable to inherit their family's fortune unless they marry a man who can. From birth, women are thrown into a race to wed in fear of being disowned or becoming a burden to the family when the father of the household dies. Marriage, at the time, was mainly viewed as a commitment solely for the purpose of economic sustainability rather than a one of love and care.

Jane Austen’s novel is commanded by women; Pride and Prejudice explores the expectations of women in a society that is set at the turn of the 19th century. Throughout the plot, Austen’s female characters are all influenced by their peers, pressures from their family, and their own desires. The social struggle of men and women is seen throughout the novel. Characters, like Elizabeth, are examples of females not acting as proper as women were supposed to, while other women like Mrs. Bennett allow themselves to be controlled by men and society. Mr. Collins is a representation of the struggles males deal with in a novel dominated by women. The theme of marriage is prominent during Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Marriage can be examined in

Charlotte is a neighbour and friend of Elizabeth, who is older and unmarried at the beginning of the story. She is simple in her values and does not question a women's role in society. Charlotte's main achievement in the story occurred when she was able to secure a proposal of marriage from Mr. Collins after he had been rejected by Elizabeth, who asked why she accepted. Charlotte explained "I am not a romantic you know. I never was. I only ask for a comfortable home; considering Mr Collins's character, connections, situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is fair, as most people can boast on entering a marriage state" By this Charlotte is questioning Elizabeth's values, believing she is over her head in her ideas. She is simply happy with what she has been dealt

Wealth to Charlotte Lucas has special meaning. She believes that marriage must be based purely on wealth. In her attempt to explain to Elizabeth why she accepted the marriage proposal from Mr. Collins, an upper-class individual, Charlotte states, “I am no romantic you know. I

Elizabeth’s snobbish pride hinders her from understanding her friend Charlotte Lucas’s best interests in regard to her desire to marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth “prides herself on being a perceptive “studier of character,” as Mr. Bingley calls her, but how well does she really know her very good friend Charlotte…” when she “responds with amazement and horror” upon hearing that Charlotte wants to marry a man who is “dull”, “pompous” and “physically unattractive”. Elizabeth’s excessive pride blinds her from recognizing that Charlotte is “not much interested in men and very much interested in marriage” (Moler, 26). Elizabeth could have ruined the prospects of Charlotte’s marriage because of her self-importance in the way she

Through the use of literary devices, Pride and Prejudice reveals Jane Austen’s attitude towards the novel’s theme of true love through the actions of the suitors; the process of courtship in the 1800s articulates characterization, foreshadowing, and irony. The novel opens with the line, “it is a truth acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of wife,” (Austen 1) which foreshadows the conflict of finding a significant other . During the Victorian age, men and women courted others of the same education, wealth, and social status; it was considered uncommon for someone to marry beneath them or to marry for love. Jane Austen uses Elizabeth Bennett’s encounters with different characters of varying

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)