Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen.

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Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1813.  She was born December 16th 1775 in Basingstoke, and died on 18th July 1817 in Winchester. Only four books of hers were published during her lifetime. These are Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma and Pride and Prejudice. This essay is about Courtship and Marriage in her very popular book Pride and Prejudice.  

Pride and Prejudice is about a mother, Mrs. Bennet and her five daughters. Mrs. Bennet's purpose is to marry off her daughters to suitable men. Her eldest daughter Jane, is her pride and joy and she is assured that Jane will gain herself a husband who, may be able to support her sisters as well as herself. The story is told through her sister Elizabeth, who is the only one who wishes to marry a man for love. Her younger sisters Lydia and Kitty are immature and very flirtatious.

There are five marriages in this novel, these are The Bennets, The Gardiners, the Lucas's, the Collins's and the Wickhams. Pride and Prejudice's first sentence, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife", introduces the theme of marriage and money. There are two established marriages in the novel, which are the Bennets and the Gardiners.

The first marriage the reader witnesses, is the unsatisfactory relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. They have been married for twenty-three years, but do not really communicate with each other. They have five unmarried daughters. The Bennets married for money, although they are not very rich. They don't seem to show any love or affection for each other. The main pleasure Mr. Bennet receives from married life, is from teasing his foolish wife and finding amusement at her expense. He pretends not to understand her. He doesn't demonstrate any affection towards his wife and is tired of the way she behaves. Mrs. Bennet doesn't get upset when she is the object of her husband's sarcasm and isn't intelligent enough to discriminate between important and trivial information. Mrs. Bennet doesn't understand Mr. Bennet and whilst her aim in life is to marry off her five daughters, Mr. Bennet is not interested in family affairs and doesn’t seem to think much of his daughters, "They are all silly and ignorant like other girls".  The Bennets are an incompatible couple. Mrs. Bennet is clearly obsessed with marrying off her daughters and local gossip, while Mr. Bennet enjoys reading and the countryside. Mr. Bennet was "Captivated by youth and beauty" of Mrs. Bennet when they first met, but once these attractions faded, Mrs. Bennets weak understanding mind had put an end to any affection Mr. Bennet had for her, early in their marriage. He lost all respect for his wife. Mrs. Bennet was beneath him socially, therefore they weren't matched in character or social background.

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The Gardiners are sensible, lively and an intelligent couple. " Mr. Gardiner was a sensible, gentleman like man" and "Mr. Gardiner whose manners were easy and pleasant". This gives the impression that Mr. Gardiner is a sensible and very down to earth man. "Mrs. Gardiner was an amiable, intelligent, elegant woman, and a great favourite with all her Longbourn nieces". Mrs. Gardiner seems very similar to her husband. They see to love each other and they work well together. Mr Gardiner is Mr Bennet's brother. The couple live in Gracechurch in London. They seem to be better parents to the ...

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