How is the central theme of 'marriage' presented in 'Pride and Prejudice'? How has your knowledge of the social/historical contest of the novel contributed to your understanding of the motivations of its various characters?
The book 'Pride and Prejudice' begins with the line 'it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.' this is saying that all rich men are wanting a wife.
Women, in Jane Austen's writing, who were not to inherit anything from their parents, were out to find a husband with wealth; whereas today you are more likely to marry for love. The man was more dominant and if the wife misbehaved then he could divorce her, a woman had no say and had to stay loyal to her husband for wealth purposes. For women, marriage was often the only means of social status improvement. Marrying for money may seem unromantic but for most women it was for safety so they had something to live for.
Put most bluntly, her father or her husband defined a woman's position in life and she was expected to be modest, submissive and incapable of independent thought. With few exceptions, their education was lower than their husbands or their male contemporaries. It is easy to laugh at Mrs Bennet's 'fidgets' and her wild changes of mood but she remains 'a woman of mean understanding' who is incapable of exercising any moral prejudice. Lydia's 'animal spirits' are likewise linked to the fact that she is 'vain, ignorant, idle'. Mrs Bennet has solid practical reasons for desiring these marriages though, even if she sets about it in such an irritating manner. She cares about her daughters because, when their father happens to pass away they have no security or get any benefit from him, their house is going to be given to Mr Collin's and they have no wealth security either.
Jane Austen was born in a period of time of political confusion, for most of her adult life Britain was at war with France. In the entertainment area, the Romantic Movement, which stressed the importance of imagination and personal emotion, was approaching its height. There is no hint of these confused times in Jane Austen's writing however. She much preferred to examine the emotional ripples within a fairly settled and familiar society.
The book 'Pride and Prejudice' begins with the line 'it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.' this is saying that all rich men are wanting a wife.
Women, in Jane Austen's writing, who were not to inherit anything from their parents, were out to find a husband with wealth; whereas today you are more likely to marry for love. The man was more dominant and if the wife misbehaved then he could divorce her, a woman had no say and had to stay loyal to her husband for wealth purposes. For women, marriage was often the only means of social status improvement. Marrying for money may seem unromantic but for most women it was for safety so they had something to live for.
Put most bluntly, her father or her husband defined a woman's position in life and she was expected to be modest, submissive and incapable of independent thought. With few exceptions, their education was lower than their husbands or their male contemporaries. It is easy to laugh at Mrs Bennet's 'fidgets' and her wild changes of mood but she remains 'a woman of mean understanding' who is incapable of exercising any moral prejudice. Lydia's 'animal spirits' are likewise linked to the fact that she is 'vain, ignorant, idle'. Mrs Bennet has solid practical reasons for desiring these marriages though, even if she sets about it in such an irritating manner. She cares about her daughters because, when their father happens to pass away they have no security or get any benefit from him, their house is going to be given to Mr Collin's and they have no wealth security either.
Jane Austen was born in a period of time of political confusion, for most of her adult life Britain was at war with France. In the entertainment area, the Romantic Movement, which stressed the importance of imagination and personal emotion, was approaching its height. There is no hint of these confused times in Jane Austen's writing however. She much preferred to examine the emotional ripples within a fairly settled and familiar society.
