Charlotte Lucas says: "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance". Examine the presentation of marriage in Pride and Prejudice. During the novel of Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen

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'Charlotte Lucas says: "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance". Examine the presentation of marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

During the novel of Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, we are presented with many marriages and relationships between the characters. As each character is introduced to another (or if a new character has been entered into the novel), Austen always tells us about their social status and financial background as this was a major contribution to marriage back then. In those times, one of the most important reasons to marry was because of money and income; it wasn't common for people to marry for love alone. Charlotte Lucas knows this and says "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance". This implies that the marriage could be a happy or unhappy time depending on how well the characters know each other beforehand.

Austen created many single female characters in Pride and Prejudice and she put each of them in a bad light, which is ironic as she never married herself. Austen says in Pride and Prejudice that a woman who never marries could only look forward to living with relatives and