The attitudes towards love and marriage that are presented in the novel

The relationship and then later marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy is the one which Austen and the readers all love. The first time these two characters meet, Darcy’s opinion of Elizabeth is that she is ‘tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.’ This shows us how Darcy judges her straight away before getting to know her. Elizabeth’s response to the claim he made about her was ‘I could easily forgive his pride if he had not mortified mine.’ This show is how upset and hurt she is by what he said about her. Although to begin with Darcy is not attracted to Elizabeth as soon as he starts to get to know her and her personality he tells her ‘You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’ Elizabeth is surprised how much he has changed his mind. So Darcy’s feelings to Elizabeth start off as not even being the slightest attracted to her and then progressed into loving her so much so that he asks her to marry him. The first time he asks her to marry him and her response is ‘I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.’ At this point in the novel we have had many questions about some of Darcy’s actions. Although the very next day Elizabeth is given a letter which explains everything and she realises what he did was perhaps right. Later on in the book the characters if Darcy and Elizabeth tell of there love for the other. Darcy and Elizabeth’s relationship was a love hate relationship. But when they do eventually marry it is for love. Austen shows us through the Darcy-Elizabeth relationship that the best way to be happy in a relationship is if the couple love each other.

The relationship of Wickham and Lydia was really created by Austen’s as it is the worst kind of marriage and the total opposite to Darcy and Elizabeth. The marriage of Wickham and Lydia is one which is frowned upon and is not based upon love. Lydia is a naïve and very silly but also very rude ‘I am sure my sisters must all envy me.’ Both Wickham and Lydia are really not in love with each other so much so, that when we go further past there marriage there relationship fades away. Wickham visits other places alone and Lydia visits her sisters very regularly. The marriage of these two characters shows us what can happen with no love in a marriage. Austen shows us how you should not marry through these two characters.

The marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins is again a bad example of marriage that Austen tries to show. There is no love in there relationship and not really even like in it. With this couple Austen shows us the other reasons for marriage ‘I am not romantic I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; a considering character and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.’ Through this relationship Austen really shows us that some lady’s will choose to be married with security to a man they dislike rather than not being married at all. The readers realize that charlotte will never have a life with lots of happiness.

The marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennet is shown to us as soon as the novel begins. This couple are shown by Austen to be the outcome of marriage for the wrong reasons. Through the characters of Mr and Mrs Bennet we are shown a couple who agree on literally nothing, both have different favourite children a really just do not get along. Mrs Bennet thinks that her husband mocks her ‘You take pleasure in vexing me.’ We see the Bennet couple and people who met when they were young and had lust for one another but not love. There relationship is really also shown through Wickham and Lydia who have the same relationship.

Austen uses the characters through the whole novel to show the readers the issue of love with in that society. Characters such as Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas show us a relationship based on security. Wickham and Lydia shows us a relationship of lust not love. Mr and Mrs Bennet show us the consequences of no love in a marriage. But Darcy and Elizabeth shows us that love in a relationship means total happiness. Also that relationship have to be worked at you do not just give up.