How does Jane Austen present the themes of love and marriage in Pride and Prejudice through Elizabeth and Darcy and Mr and Mrs Bennet?

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How does Jane Austen present the themes of love and marriage in Pride and Prejudice through Elizabeth and Darcy and Mr and Mrs Bennet?

In the 19th century within English society, a woman’s main aim/purpose in life was matrimony. This was even more so for young girls like the Bennet sisters. The entailment of their father’s estate left them in a poor financial state, which is probably why Mrs Bennet’s “business in life” was to get her five daughters married.

We as the reader can tell from the opening sentence of the novel, what Jane Austen’s views on marriage are. She states; “it is a truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” However this is an irony, almost mocking those who think in such a frame of mind, for example people like Mrs Bennet. Austen believed that marriage should only be for love and affection, not wealth and greed.

Austen’s views on love and marriage are shown through Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of the novel. She is twenty years of age and is the second oldest of her five sisters. Elizabeth is strong minded and a quick judge of character, and also has her own views on marriage that are different from other young women in the novel. She believes love should be the firm foundation of marriage, and that without it, a marriage cannot be successful. This is in contrast to Charlotte’s view that “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance”.

This is why Elizabeth turned down Mr Collins when he impulsively asked for her hand in marriage, after realising her elder sister, Jane, was to be engaged. “Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth - and it was soon done -” This shows Mr Collins’ insincerity and also how selfish he was, as he later told her one of the main reasons he wanted to marry was for his own happiness. Elizabeth, from the first mention of Mr Collins and after reading his letter, thought there was “something very pompous in his style”, and she questioned whether he could be a sensible man at all. In my opinion, Mr Collins tries to be humble but because of his excessive flattery – from furniture to Lady Catherine de Bourgh, we as the reader, and most probably Elizabeth, find him to be totally the opposite – obsequious. Her response to Mr Collins’ proposal was of course, a rejection. She refused five times, in a very clear and polite manner; “but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline.” His ignorance and pride becomes obvious to Elizabeth and the reader when he laughs and says Elizabeth is just refusing to prolong the suspense.

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Elizabeth’s pride is wounded at the Meryton ball, where she and Darcy become first acquainted. He insults her by saying to his close friend, Bingley, “she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” He is condemned by the society and described as “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world...”, and from the moment Elizabeth overhears his conversation with Bingley, she is prejudiced towards him. The first impressions she has of Darcy is apparently all she needed to know of him. The same prejudice and pride in her own judgement leads her to accept Wickham’s flattery and ...

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