Although Mr Collins seems to be happy, when he tells Elizabeth that ‘We (he and Charlotte) seem to have been designed for each other,’ we have to go back to the fact that Charlotte was his third choice. He had favoured Jane, before Mrs Bennet enlightened him with the information that she believed that she would soon be engaged to Bingley, and it was only afterwards, when Elizabeth had turned his offer of marriage down, that he showed any regard for Charlotte. He proposed twice in three days, and so it is clear that no real feelings of admiration on either part could have developed strongly. This marriage is established on the ground that Mr Collins wants to set an example to his parishioners, and, more importantly in his eyes, to please his wealthy patroness, Lady Catherine. also remarks on Elizabeth’s situation, as his wife had done previously when he says that her ‘portion is unhappily so small that it will in all likelihood undo the effects of [her] loveliness and amiable qualifications.’ The Lucases are by no means wealthy, but Mr Collins is not looking for wealth, he is looking to add to his happiness by obtaining a companion. He came with the intention of returning home with a Bennet bride, but failing that he has an intelligent, practical woman, who has gone into a marriage with no pre-wedding romance, but to be content with her quite prosperous situation. As Elizabeth observes, Charlotte was ‘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.’
In direct contrast to Charlotte’s carefully thought about match, Lydia rushes into a passionate and imprudent marriage. Society almost expected women to marry above their own wealth and station, to make a sensible union, but it was a disgrace to have an affair – it was essential that a woman should keep her virtue. Lydia, however, did the latter but not the first. Inside these parameters, Lydia is a slur on her already tarnished family name. Herr quite insincere love caused her to follow her heart, and go against the foresight that was instilled in so many young women, essentially from birth. Her love can be described more as a ‘fancy’, because it holds none of the virtues so important to Elizabeth, and therefore Jane Austen’s eyes: respect, esteem and gratitude. However, the match between herself and Wickham gives them both happiness, and, although her family does not share their feelings, her decision, however misguided, does give her happiness. Prior to the marriage, she writes ‘for there is but one man in the world I love, and he is an angel’. This view is in opposition to Charlotte’s, that one must marry into good fortune, and then see what happiness may come of it, if any at all. Lydia’s perception of Wickham is unchanged when she writes again, once Elizabeth and Darcy are married. She says that ‘If you love Mr Darcy half so well as I do my dear Wickham, you must be very happy.’ Although on initially embarking on her elopement, the marriage looked as though it was a flirtatious whim, especially on the part of Wickham, by the end, there is no real relationship development, except that they still love each other. From the circumstances surrounding both of their families, it is safe to say that Wickham is not marrying for wealth, it is for his apparent love for Lydia. Previously, he had been engaged to Mary King, a wealthy heiress of ten thousand pounds, and Elizabeth had said of the match ‘;.’ As Colonel Fitzwilliam said of men ‘Our habits of expense make us too dependent, and there are not many in my rank of life who can afford to marry without some attention to money’. However, these same motives are not seen in his match with Lydia, although it is true to say that unless Darcy had intervened, they may not have married.
Elizabeth also observes that his affections for Lydia were ‘not equal to Lydia’s for him….that their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love’. She also wonders why ‘he chose to elope with her at all’, before coming to the conclusion that some financial gain must have been the reason, ‘and if that were the case, he was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion’. However, these reasons have not impaired Lydia’s enjoyment of married life, nor Wickham’s, as she is constantly praising him – he is always her ‘dear’, and he did ‘everything the best in the world’. Whether these observations are made due to Lydia’s ignorance, or her blindness in her fancy, she does not seem to have tired of him, as Mr Bennet had of Mrs Bennet soon after their wedding.
Someone who has married for both money and affection is Jane. There is a mutual attraction between her and Mr Bingley, and this leads onto, we presume, matrimonial bliss. Their relationship is fixed firmly on a rational basis, and they both share an optimistic view of the world. Elizabeth, early on in the book, comments on the likelihood that Jane’s marriage would be for money, not love, but by the end, Jane and Bingley’s equally happy manners and charming countenances mean that there is equality in their affections - unlike Wickham and Lydia, where there is more fondness on her side. Their shared admiration for one another gives the foundation for equilibrium, that there will be a good balance of respect, esteem and confidence on both sides. Mr Bingley says that ‘he could not conceive an angel more attractive,’ while Jane says of Bingley, albeit in private, that ‘she never saw such happy manners’. With these observations, this is a match will lead to domestic felicity - that luck and chance will have no role in the marriage; it has been carefully thought out, and although it is practical, it is also a match which will bring happiness on both sides. Elizabeth describes him as ‘violently in love’, and goes on to say, at the request of her aunt, that he was ‘wholly engrossed in her’ and his inattention to anyone else, meant that this was ‘the very essence of love.’ Mr Bennet, immediately after the engagement had been announced tells his daughter that ‘you will be a very happy woman…I have no doubt of your doing very well together.’ These views are ones shared by all, because it is obvious from their first physical attraction, and also their same manner, that they were well suited, and that their pleasure is secured by such high regard.
However, when Elizabeth announces her engagement, her father is not as convinced that she will be as happy as Jane is. Her knowledge of Darcy’s gallantry has grown, whereas her father’s has been stifled, and so he doubts her true happiness when he says: ‘I know your true disposition, Lizzy. I know that you could be neither happy nor respectable unless you truly esteemed your husband.’ However, his understanding of her true feelings could not be further from the truth. Throughout the entire book, it seems Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship is the only one that has grown in understanding and estimation of one another. Respect on both sides has grown, because as they have gained more knowledge, they have also gained more esteem. This is the one relationship where there is a true shift from almost hate to true love. The re-assessment of characters allows us to see the real feelings behind the relationship, and even with Jane and Bingley’s, although they respect one another, their connection is based centrally around admiration, whereas Darcy and Elizabeth have had to conquer their own pride and prejudice to have a full understanding of each other. Throughout the novel, Austen dropped hints about Darcy’s interest into Elizabeth’s intriguing character, but Elizabeth showed no interest in Darcy, except to air her feelings of intolerance at his proud nature. Mrs Gardiner, whose marriage is a very good example of what a successful relationship should aim to achieve, is very motherly towards Elizabeth and gives her competent advice, rather than nonsensical schemes for marriage. She advises her on her fancy for Mr Wickham: ‘affection for would be so very imprudent because of his ’. The relationships in the book are mainly seen through the eyes of Elizabeth, and it is she who determines whether they are happy or not. She was full of scorn for Charlotte’s match with her father’s cousin, and when she advised Elizabeth that Jane should ‘secure’ him and than fall in love, she made a witty and ironic comment, which tells us that she would only marry for a love that had been determined before a ceremony: ‘Where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it.’
In short, Lizzy represents Austen’s own view on marriage, that one should truly know, admire and respect a person before entering the state. Her mother complained to Mrs Gardiner, that had it not been for Lizzy’s ‘perverseness’ she could have married Mr Collins. With views such as this, it is little wonder that the intelligent Elizabeth has such guarded opinion of marriage: she had always been aware of the ‘impropriety’ of her own parent’s union, that this could put her off entering into marriage with someone she did not hold esteem for. It is this reasoning that allows her to fall in love with Darcy, and visa versa. Her unconventional views on what should be established prior to an engagement contrast with many of the motives for the marriages in the book. Lydia and Wickham, as well as Mr Bennet had all been headlong in their reasons, and these marriages, although they could bring happiness for at least some amount of time would not have been as morally successful as Elizabeth and Darcy, whose marriage is based on mutual esteem. Whereas Charlotte had thought about the espousal, and then agreed, much to the disdain of her friend, her happiness is impaired, because the marriage is not based on love, as Elizabeth’s is, it is principled on common gain, as were many matches in the society. Not only do Darcy and Elizabeth respect and gratify each other, they also share common interests, such as reading, as well as having the same elegant tastes. These qualities ensure happiness, unlike Mr and Mrs Bennet, where stimulation of the mind is essential to one, and stimulation of the tongue necessary for the other.
Pride and Prejudice is a very good example of what different types of marriages can achieve: a good home and security, passion and fun or intelligent companionship. Marriage opens up different ways to different types of happiness, but true happiness can only be achieved on the grounds of honour and deference. Lydia, and to some extent Wickham, are happy, despite the different morals in their marriage, when compared to Charlotte and Mr Collins marriage. Darcy and Elizabeth are happy because they knew, appreciated and respected each other before entering matrimony, whereas Wickham and Lydia entered marriage with little but their fancy for each other to base their lives together on. In my opinion, Darcy and Elizabeth’s match is better, because their happiness is determined before marriage, not decided afterwards. ‘Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance’ is true to some marriages, but in a carefully calculated marriage, based on respect, esteem and confidence, the question of chance is indifferent.
