Education for men and women in the 1980’s was the same. This allowed many people to grow up to be individuals and independent thinkers. This level of education changed the career expectations and opportunities for women. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’, if a women didn’t marry a man of wealth then they would have to rely on their skills from their education. This would give them only a few career prospects. These would involve needlework, embroidery, dancing and possibly childcare. Hardly anything to build a successful career or life on. Hence why marriage was such an important factor at that time. Career expectations for women in the 1980’s were exactly the same as men. Women could become anything they wanted to be, yet still they found it hard getting some jobs due to chauvinistic males who didn’t believe in women being of equal ability to men. Yet despite these facts women are still financially dependant on men in various ways.
Money is not mentioned in ‘Language’ as it is not an important theme that people focus on in these times. This is because all people are seen as equal and everybody has rights and regulations. Yet in ‘P and P’, everybody is obsessed with the factor of vast wealth and estates. This is because money in the 19th century was all that people talked about, and what drove the world. The women in ‘P and P’, who did not have an education nor the possibility for any career, were usually frowned upon or belonged to very wealthy families. This is shown in ‘P and P’ very well, this is because many of the women, especially Mrs. Bennet, are not very intelligent and don’t have many skills. They are shown as ‘gossipers’ who are mentally stimulated by talking about others wealth and others upset. These women rely too heavily on financial support from either their families or husbands. This is due to their lack of education and if they did not have money they would have nothing.
This is why marriage was so important in those times for women. They didn’t have the intellect and skills to create a career out of anything, nor did they have any money of their own. They relied heavily and solely on the husband to provide. That is why in ‘P and P’, the wealthier you were the more attractive you became, and if you were good looking it was a bonus. Marriage was never entirely for love. This explains many peoples view on marriage in ‘P and P’. This is the view on marriage in the case of such people as Charlotte Lucas, and Mr. Collins. They married each other for support and inheritance. Mrs. Bennet’s attitude is that to get all of her daughters married off to men of vast fortune in order to better the family and for great living. On the contrary, Lydia Bennet’s view to marriage is wholly different to that of other families. She ran away with a poor man for love and nothing else. This worries and upsets Mrs. Bennet, not because she ran away but because she believes that word would spread and every fine gentleman would not consider the Bennet sisters, due to their reputation. Marriage in the 20th Century is not that important in the sense of support and estates, yet some people still marry for this reason. It is more so to depend on the undying love for two individuals who show this vow as a contract of love for each other. This is why in ‘Language’; Rita is acting this way at the end of the story. She went into denial due to her obsession and love. This is also why her husband leaves her. He finds someone else who loves him and he loves her back. His love for Rita is lost. There are no reasons to stay; she has a job and can provide income for herself, and he is leaving for love not for wealth.
In ‘P and P’. Charlotte Luca tells Lizzie her views on love in marriage. She admits that she is not a “romantic” in the sense of love, and that all she is after in her marriage is a comfortable home, “ to consider Mr Collins character and his connections,” in other words, to grow to love him and his situation in life. She finishes by saying that she believes her chance of “happiness with him is fair”. This shows that Miss Lucas know that marriage is “not for love” at the beginning, but is convinced she will grow to love him. Lizzie and Jane feel differently to Miss Lucas about the prospect of love and marriage. They believe in loving the person you wish to marry before you do so, “I will have to consider him.” Yet they also view marriage as a viable prospect for financial support, with love as an over riding factor, “ I should find myself in good fortune to have this manor to call home.” They will not grow to love within a marriage, but still the gentleman must be of “ fine status and position.” Hence why Lizzie grows to love Darcy towards the end of “P and P” before eventually marrying him, “the gradual change which her estimation had undergone”.
The state of Rita and Tom’s marriage is that of an awkward state. This is due to many reasons, they rarely speak to each other, and when they do it is either commentary on their actions, “an early night for me”, or informing each other, “He means”. They have both fallen into routine so there is no real interest in their lives anymore, “avoid the bedroom routine”. They also have no comfort around each other and no affection. This is not a proper marriage in the sense of love and care. They were not always like this however; they used to be all over each other. Rita seemed to “enter a magnetic field” whenever thy came close to each other, “ parts of her body could not be prevented”. But that all changed, tom became uncomfortable with all the love and comfort Rita was showing him, and this is the reason I think Tom leaves her, due to her wanting of him and over loving nature see had towards him. I think that is a worrying fact that in this day and age people are leaving each other due to over loving and being too affectionate toward one another. The other woman Tom found, probably some time ago, would be a traditionalist in the aspect of love and sex. This is much like the view in “ P and P”.
Both ‘P and P’ and ‘Language” have cases of sexual impropriety. One view on this in ‘P and P’ is when Lydia runs away with Wickham. The Bennet family all like Wickham so there is nothing wrong with the man she chose, and loving him so much she did this act of insanity is not too frowned upon either. It was the fact it was very unorthodox to do so in those times. Nobody of that class and stature did anything remotely obscene in the act of love. This is because to be seen as an orthodox and traditional family was a positive thing to be. This way people could expect only the best from you and your family, which would heighten ones reputation. It was not the law or rule to act as such, but it was what people expected and tradition to do so. Anything remote from the nucleus was obscene. This view is lighter in the time of ‘Language”, yet Tom’s clandestine behaviour is what people believe to be immoral. People still do it, so it’s not entirely astonishing, yet it is still looked down upon. Rita reacts to this event in an entirely unorthodox manner. She spray paints the walls of her neighbours houses with comments she thinks about Tom for doing this to her. She also goes into denial and blanks him out of her mind. Rita’s response shows us that 20th Century views on sexually explicit behaviour are common enough for her neighbours not to really care and come out to help her in times of distress and insecurity, and for Rita to consider doing these acts of vandalism. In ‘P and P’, the woman would have gone directly back to her family and cried. The man would have a foul reputation but nothing more would be done. This shows us the extremes between the two stories and peoples reactions at the time.
