Oral on Pride and Prejudice

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                                                        Cordelia Manley F6

Oral on Pride and Prejudice

Written by Jane Austen and published in 1813 Pride and Prejudice is still to this day considered a classic for its sparkling social comedy and portrayal of human relationships. I have chosen to do my oral today on a the importance of marriage in society in the early 1800’s as this is one of the many relevant issues that lie at the heart of Pride and Prejudice.

P5: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife”

The very opening of P+P already indicate the importance of marriage to both men and women in the early 1800’s. Marriage based upon its profits is a concept that has its roots in the upper class nobility of England; however, as seen in this book, it can severely affect the lower nobility as well. Marriages in the eighteenth century were ones of convenience and were more similar to business arrangements than the union of two inseparable souls. Women and men were sought after according to their wealth and eligibility. Women especially spent their whole lives preparing for marriage. At this period in time women had very little chance to be independent. There were very few professions open to them and therefore the ways in which a women could obtain money and status were generally limited to marriage or inheritance (which was also highly unlikely as the eldest son generally inherits the bulk of an estate, therefore a woman can only really be a "heiress" if she has no brothers). When married a women’s possessions and money immediately became the property of her husband , thus making rich and single women the most eligible bait for men. An example of this can be seen in the book when the despicable Mr. Wickham tries to elope with the young and impressionable Georgiana Darcy, whose inheritance was 30,000 pounds , a massive amount in those days.

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 Young women of this day were introduced into society at an early age this being an indication of their availability. The activities in which they were educated such as reading, singing and horseback riding all contributed to increasing their potential for ‘snagging’ a rich husband.  Un-married women were not only shunned and considered social rejects but were also condemned to live with their parents or relatives until a husband was found as living alone in these times was practically unheard of.

Given the already mentioned it is very logical that a large percentage of women, who were obviously considered the ...

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