Pride and Prejudice. Mr Collins proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte, but their reactions are very different. What does the behaviour of all three characters, during chapters 19, 20 & 22 tell us about the different attitudes to marriage in the early n

Natasha Kay 10W2

Pride and Prejudice

Mr Collins proposes to both Elizabeth and Charlotte, but their reactions are very different. What does the behaviour of all three characters, during chapters 19, 20 & 22 tell us about the different attitudes to marriage in the early nineteenth century?

In the 19th century, men were rated higher than women in society therefore when it came to marriage, once women were married all of their belongings, earnings and wealth were passed onto their husbands and in return their husbands would take care of them. Men and women back then would very rarely marry for love and happiness but otherwise mainly for money, security and to be higher up in society in some cases. Jane Austin wrote the story ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which deals with some of the most important aspects of adult life in the 19th century and explores the different views of marriage thoroughly throughout the book.

Elizabeth Bennet is the second eldest of the five Bennet sisters and plays a vital part in the novel where she believes that marriage should be about love, equality and respect. Her view is that marriage is to be an equal partnership and a meeting of minds. She is a girl of high principles and her marriage would have been one of equality as she quotes “And if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it” (volume 1 chapter 6 page 15) which shows her determination that she would not marry for money, but only for true love. Marriage today is seen upon by society as a way to be connected to your ‘other half’ forever due to your undying love for each other. Many people get married by choice of the heart which is similar to the way Elizabeth saw matrimony back in the 19th century.

When Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth she try’s to be nice and reject him in a nice way by saying ‘”Accept my thanks for the compliment you are paying me. I am very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but it is impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them” (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) though he does not believe that her means what she says when she refuses him. Therefore Elizabeth ends up saying “I am perfectly serious in my refusal. – You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you do” (volume 1 chapter 19 page 90) and by saying this she is sticking to her principals of only marrying for love. Even though he can save her and her family financially, she is still prepared to sacrifice financial security for personal feelings and freedom. I do admire Elizabeth for this decision because she told him what she honestly thinks/believes. I believe you should only marry someone if you are deeply in love with them and feel that you want to share your life with them.

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Also, Elizabeth does not want to make the same mistakes others have made in past marriage; advised by her father as he does not have true feelings for Mrs. Bennet which makes their marriage very unhappy and uncomfortable. This has probably influenced her decision a lot to decline Mr. Collins because she does not want to end up in the same position as her parents. After many attempts of trying to change Elizabeth’s mind, Mrs. Bennett resorts to saying “You must come and make Lizzy marry Mr Collins, for se vows she will not have him, and if you do not make haste he will change his mind and not have her” (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) to Mr. Bennet because she desperately is trying to marry all off Elizabeth so that she isn’t her responsibility any more. Elizabeth is also getting older and at that time when they got to a certain age and were not married, they would be seen as not eligible for marriage, i.e. a spinster. On the other hand, Mr. Bennet reduced the situation to a joke by contrasting his opinions of the proposal with that of his wife. He ended the situation by saying “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” (volume 1 chapter 20 page 93) because he understands why Elizabeth does not want to marry Mr. Collins, cares more about his daughters happiness than their wealth and does not want to see her end up regretting her married life like he is.

When Mr. Collins is rejected he refuses to abandon his decision to marry. Instead of Elizabeth, he decides to set his sights on Charlotte Lucas and asks her to marry him instead. As soon as Elizabeth found out that her best friend Charlotte was engaged to Mr. Collins, she expressed her surprise by exclaiming “Engaged to Mr Collins! My dear Charlotte, - impossible!” (volume 1 chapter 22 page 104) because she could not come to terms that Charlotte would be marrying this arrogant man. ‘But Elizabeth had now recollected herself, and making a strong effort for it, was able to assure her with tolerable firmness that the prospect of their relationship was highly grateful to her, and that she wished her all imaginable happiness’ which shows us she was pleased for the couple and shows her support for Charlotte by wishing her well. By doing this Elizabeth demonstrates that she will support others if they believe they will be happy despite not wanting to marry for any other reason than love and happiness herself.

The character Mr Collins is a Church of England rector, who inherits Mr Bennet’s estate and his patron is Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Darcy’s aunt). His attitude towards marriage is different to Elizabeth’s as he wants to marry for economical reasons which is clearly shown when he says “Having now a good house and very sufficient income, he intended to marry; and in seeking a reconciliation with the Longbourn family he had a wife in view, as he meant to choose one of the daughters, if he found them as handsome and amiable as they were represented by common report” (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57). Mr Collins himself is silly, pompous and self-satisfied, though he seems to have a significant role as a potential marriage partner, which is unfortunately let down by his lack of care for anyone but himself. He only wants to secure his place in society by marrying as Lady Catherine will promote him which will then move him into a higher class of people.

Mr Collins reasons for wanting to marry one of the Bennet sisters is ‘This was his plan of amends – of atonement – for inheriting their father’s estate; and he though it an excellent one, full of eligibly and suitableness, and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part’ (volume 1 chapter 15 page 57-58) which means as he is inheriting their fathers land, he thinks he can make things better by marrying on of them however despite him thinking this is a very good idea, he is not in love with any of them.

Whilst Mr. Collins is in search of a wife; his first choice is Jane, but learning of her likely engagement to Mr. Bingley, he switched his attention to Elizabeth. I believe that this sudden change is consistent with everything we have learnt about Mr. Collins. Although whilst on one had his intentions appeared honourable i.e. he wants to marry one of the sisters in order to re pay them for inheriting their fathers land , the fact that he is willing to marry any of them without loving them, demonstrates his ultimate lack of regard and respect. It also highlights his underlying reason to marry in order to accumulate more wealth and social status.

Next, the way Mr. Collins proposed to Elizabeth was excessively formal and consisted entirely of reasons why he should marry. His starts off with mentioning “Almost as soon as I entered the house I singles you out as the companion of my future life” (volume 1 chapter 19 page 88) which is a complete lie as we all know his first choice was Jane. The order in which he gives his reasons for marrying is interesting too as he mentions he wants to set a good example, how it will make him happy and the fact that Lady Catherine had told him to get; all before he even mentions love! His proposal shows only concern for himself and his standing with Lady Catherine who seems to be the only woman he does care for. Apart from being incredibly long-winded, his speech sounds like a business deal without any suggestion of romance which probably turns Elizabeth off him even more. When Mr. Collins says “I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long” (volume 1 chapter 19 page 89) means he is then dismissive when Elizabeth turns down his proposal assuming that she really means yes, when she is saying no and thinks that all young women react in this way initially when asked for their hand in marriage. Again, this shows us that he is pretty arrogant, doesn’t take Elizabeth seriously – or any other women for that matter and thinks that he will marry Elizabeth in the end despite what she is saying.

Amazingly, Mr. Collins is very fast to change mind from Elizabeth to Charlotte which tells us he has no intention of stopping until he is married and he would happily marry a woman who does not love or even like him. He barley knows Charlotte, yet he is willing to spend the rest of his life with her and he will not be grateful that she is his wife but grateful they are married because then he is seen higher in society. Although he may have said he had feelings for Elizabeth, they way he was able to move onto Charlotte so quickly also enhances our thoughts of him being selfish. By doing all of this, he is quickly showing that he only has a heart for himself therefore he will never love any woman or find true love and no woman will ever be able to love him back.

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

medbh4805

14th of Sep 2012

Quality of writing

The quality of writing in this essay is good. The essay shows a clear structure and the line of thought it easy to follow as it moves through events chronologically as the happen in the book. However, the essay could benefit from a stronger conclusion summing up the arguments put forward in the essay. SPG is generally of a high standard, although there are a few mistakes here and there, e.g. ‘she try’s to be nice’. It is important to proofread your work before submission to avoid losing marks for silly mistakes such as this.

Level of analysis

The level of analysis here is good, showing a good understanding of the characters of Elizabeth and Mr Collins. The candidate uses ample quotation from the text to back up his or her points and is able to draw logical conclusions. There is an appreciation of the difference in motives in regard to marriage between Elizabeth and Mr. Collins, and the candidate engages personally with the text by offering his or her own views on marriage, ‘I believe you should only marry someone if you are deeply in love with them and feel that you want to share your life with them.’ The candidate is able to contrast modern views on marriage and those of the regency period. However, although the candidate discusses the Bennets’ financial situation briefly, perhaps the candidate could have discussed in more detail how financial pressure played a role in marriages at this time, and how rebelling against this pressure made Elizabeth a very exceptional woman indeed. Although a modern reader can emphasise with her, it might improve the essay and show a deeper level of understanding if the candidate had emphasised further how unusual Elizabeth’s views on marriage were, and contrasted them with the more conformist attitudes of Charlotte (after all the question is about attitudes to marriage in the early 19th century). As mentioned above, Charlotte is not discussed in any great detail, but ought to have been.

Response to question

This is a good essay which successfully analyses how different attitudes to marriage in the Regency period are illustrated through the words and actions of Elizabeth, Mr. Collins and Charlotte. There is much direct reference to the text and an appreciation of the historical context of the text throughout the essay, and the candidate shows an awareness of how social mores in regard to marriage have changed throughout time. However, although the prompt mentions Charlotte, the candidate does not really discuss her or her actions in any great detail. In order to get top marks, it is important to address all areas that the question has highlighted.

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