Portrayal of Marriage influenced by Love and Social Status in Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby

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Portrayal of Marriage influenced by Love and Social Status in Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby

Note: Quotes have been taken out as I did not know how to translate them.

        In the two novels, Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby, marriage is either influenced by love or social status. The marriages in Pride and Prejudice are mainly stirred by love, for example, the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy, while marriages in The Great Gatsby have been stirred mainly by social status, for example the marriage between Daisy and Tom.

        One of the marriages in Pride and Prejudice that was influenced by love is the marriage between the second oldest sister in the Bennet family, Elizabeth and a wealthy aristocrat, Darcy. When Elizabeth and Darcy first met at a ball, they were not friendly with each other and did not like each other very much. But, after understanding about each other, they began to fall in love with each other. When Darcy saw how Elizabeth took care of Jane when she was sick made him think that Elizabeth was a very kind hearted person and proposed to her later in the novel. Nevertheless, when he first confessed to her, Elizabeth thought that Darcy had separated Jane and Bingley as well as took Wickham’s fortunes, and thus coldly refused his proposal. Still, after the misunderstandings had been erased and when Darcy proposed to Elizabeth the second time, she gladly accepted it. Compared to the marriage between Jane and Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage was due to love built over time. At first, both of them thought that the opposition was arrogant and they would never be dating each other. On the other hand, looking closely, they have similar personalities, such as treasuring their family, caring for their friends and being intellectual. Because of lies and rumors, Elizabeth perceived Darcy as an arrogant and ill-mannered person. Through the rumors, Elizabeth thought that Darcy separated Jane and Bingley because he thought that Jane was unworthy for Bingley. Through the lies, Elizabeth thought that Darcy had taken Wickham’s fortunes because Darcy was jealous of Wickham for getting all the love and fortunes. However, these were just misunderstanding and trickeries. After receiving a letter from Darcy, Elizabeth finally understood the truth about Darcy and starts to fall in love with him. When Lady Catherine urged Elizabeth to refuse Darcy’s proposal if he proposed, Elizabeth claimed that she could not do that. Even though Lady Catherine was a person with great wealth and high social status, Elizabeth realized her love towards Darcy and went against Lady Catherine. In her heart, Elizabeth wished that Darcy would propose to her again. Yet, she thought that a proud, wealthy man like Darcy would not propose to the same woman twice. Nonetheless, few days after Lady Catherine’s visit, Darcy came to see Elizabeth and confessed to her. The love between Elizabeth and Darcy grew over time after they had understood about each other. Consequently, the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy was the result of built up love over time.

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        In contrast to the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy, the marriage between Daisy and Tom from The Great Gatsby had been stimulated not by love, but the social status and wealth. After Gatsby left Daisy saying that he would come back with a higher social status and greater wealth, Daisy promised that she would wait for me. However, she instead married Tom rather that to wait for Gatsby. She had chosen Tom because he was a wealthy aristocrat who, she thought, would make her live a wealthy, comfortable lifestyle. Daisy desired wealth and luxury more that she desired romantic love. This ...

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