"He looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me."
‘Pride and Prejudice’ is essentially the story of how Elizabeth and her true love Darcy, overcome all obstacles to find romantic happiness. The marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth reveals the characteristics that show for a successful marriage. One of these characteristics is that the feeling of matrimony between each other cannot be brought on by appearances, and must gradually develop between the two people as they get to know one another. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of a poor first impression, while Darcy’s prejudice against Elizabeth’s poor social standing makes him unaware of her inner person. This could also be put the other way round to say that Elizabeth has been guilty and prejudiced against Darcy from the start, and that Darcy’s pride has stopped him from getting closely acquainted with Elizabeth. There are many obstacles that have been put in the way of their successful marriage. The first, where Lady Catherine de Bourgh attempts to control her nephew, Mr Darcy, so that he doesn’t associate with Elizabeth because of her middle-class status. Other obstacles were Miss. Bingley’s snobbish behaviour, and Wickham’s deceit. These series of events, which they both experienced, led to both them getting to know each other without intending to. Austen’s views on love are shown independently on the social forces between the characters when Darcy and Elizabeth finally agree to get married. She expresses her opinions of a successful marriage through Elizabeth.
The second relationship that I am going to examine is the one between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. This particular marriage sums up what the novel is about, and how things worked at the time it was written. Mr. Collins is a pompous, generally idiotic clergyman, who stands to inherit Mr. Benett’s property. He is proud of his social status although it is nothing special, but he likes to announce the fact that Lady Catherine de Bourgh serves as his patroness. He is rather over-bearing and self-centred. He married Charlotte Lucas, not for love but purely for security. Charlotte agrees to the engagement as she sees that she has got a chance to become married and financially secured for the rest of her life:
“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.”
This quotation shows that romance didn’t play a part in some peoples’ lives, and that their sole objective in life is to find a suitable partner with decent wealth and good status. Some people ask for more, however in this case, Charlotte accepts Collins for his wealth and position, not taking into account his ridiculous character.
The final relationship I am going to discuss is the one between Miss Lydia Bennet and Mr George Wickham. The theme of reputation is applied to this marriage highly. Their relationship together started with the act of elopement. When the couple eloped, the news was spread and shock was about the community. The only reason that they married in the end was because of a bribe. Obviously, Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is an example of a bad one. Their marriage was based on appearances, good looks, and youthful vivacity. Once these qualities can no longer be seen by each other, the once strong relationship will slowly begin to fade away. As in the novel, Lydia and Wickham’s marriage gradually disintegrates; Lydia becomes a regular visitor at her two elder sister’s homes when “her husband was gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath.” Lydia is more concerned about the fact that she is the first to be married in her family, than the love and devotion she has gained from the successful marriage.
"Ah! Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman."
Although I have not examined Mr. and Mrs. Benett’s relationship, it can be looked similarly to that of Lydia and Wickham. Mr. Bennet had married a woman he found sexually attractive without realizing she was an unintelligent woman. This leads them to thinking very differently in their own ways.
"An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. --Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do."
Mrs. Bennet’s favouritism towards Lydia and her comments on how she was once as energetic as Lydia reveals this similarity. Mr. Bennet’s comment on Wickham being his favourite son-in-law shows the same in the gentlemen too. The effect of the relationships was that Mr. Bennet would isolate himself from his family; his later life consisted of staying in his library and in mocking his wife. Mr. Bennet’s self realization at the end of the novel in which he discovers that his lack of attention towards his family had lead his family to develop the way they are, and that he was too late to save his family. He is Jane Austen’s example of a weak father.
In Jane Austen’s novel, marriage wasn’t like “boy meets girl romance”, which is something that you would expect in a romance novel. Marriage was a complex procedure that was based on almost everything: money, family, tradition, and society. Unfortunately, the feelings of the two individuals involved were not high on the list of qualifications for a good marriage. Few couples were able to resist outside pressures and have their own right of personal choice in finding a lifelong partner. Among those lucky few were Darcy and Elizabeth, and Bingley and Jane. Austen showed that a balance of personality and love existed between the relationships, and the assumption can be made that each couple would be happy in their marriages. Austen continually stresses the importance of love and equality in a as the reader is shown the alternatives and the negative and positive consequences of marriage.