‘The ideal state’ is shown by Elizabeth and Darcy. Their relationship is one that is ‘rationally founded’ and based on ‘excellent understanding’ with a ‘general similarity of feeling and taste’. Elizabeth is the second daughter of the Bennet family, and by far the cleverest and sharpest. She is fun loving, witty and proud of her upbringing, although she has a strong tendency to judge too quickly. Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, comes across as being arrogant and reticent. He is the son of a very well-established family, and the master of Pemberley, an immense estate. He also inclines to judge people ruthlessly, and his background and assets make him excessively proud and aware of his social status. We see this when ‘he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said: “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men…”’ This line shows such incredible self-righteousness and that he sees himself well above the likes of Lizzy. In retaliation, Lizzy judges Darcy and believes him to be rude and haughty. Rather than getting to know him herself, she listens to other sources, such as Wickham, that prove her opinion to be correct. However, throughout the novel Darcy finds himself falling in love with Elizabeth and all obstacles that may have been in their way, led them to getting to know each other without meaning to and we find the moment of true connection between the two characters in Chapter 43 where ‘their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of each were overspread with the deepest blush’. These series of events, which they both experienced, led to both them getting to know each other without intending to. Austen's views on love are shown independently on the social forces between the characters when Darcy and Elizabeth finally agree to get married. She expresses her opinions of a successful marriage through Elizabeth and her relationship with Darcy shows how Austen really feels that marriage is not based on first appearances.
Jane Austen’s ‘ideal state’ is also shown through the relationship of Bingley and Jane. This marriage was one for physical attractions as well as love. This is first portrayed to the readers during the early stages of the novel where Bingley states at the ball, ‘she is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld!’ This obviously typifies his attraction to Jane, and his love for her is made stronger by her beauty. The love between them is shared equally as Jane’s idea of marriage is to find someone who loves her and respects her as much as she does him so Jane married Bingley for love. Their marriage was a perfect match and their feelings for one another were undeniably from the heart, thus showing that if Jane and Bingley had married only for attraction, their bond would not be as strong. Again, Austen understands that Jane and Bingley must have a compatibility of interests, character and astuteness for their marriage to be successful.
Another type of marriage presented in the novel is ‘the mercenary marriage’. This is demonstrated by Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas’ relationship. Their marriage was one for convenience. Collins was in need of a wife whilst Charlotte had always been pessimistic about finding happiness in marriage anyway so she believes she may as well marry for security. For someone without personal fortune, this was obviously an attractive reason. This particular union sums up how things were expected to work at the time it was written. Mr. Collins, a snobbish and foolish clergyman, is about to inherit the property of Mr Bennet. We see that Charlotte agrees to the engagement only for security during a conversation between her and Elizabeth where she explains to her that she asks "only a comfortable home; and considering Mr Collin's character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast." This quotation proves that romance did not play a part in many marriages, and that finding partner with wealth and good status was far more important than finding the ‘ideal state’. Like many others, Charlotte did not need romance to make her happy, and considered her reason for marriage was as logical as Elizabeth’s.
Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is ‘based solely on passion and physical attraction’. ‘Their elopement had been brought on by the strength of her love, rather than his’. This extract shows that Lydia believed that a man like Wickham should not be overlooked and was instantly attracted to his charms. She wanted to wed him because she found him incredibly handsome, and she believed this was reason enough to tie the knot. The main reason that Wickham married Lydia was for her money, but he also thought that she was good looking. He is also not a man to resist the opportunity of having a wife with such a high position as Lydia. ‘Wickham’s affection of Lydia… not equal to Lydia’s for him’ shows us that Lydia is a lot more openly attached to Wickham than he is to her. The success of such a union can be judged by looking at the development in the relationship between Mr and Mrs Bennet. Once the excitement of youth and beauty had faded, the two people found that they did not understand or even like each other. Mr Bennet was captivated by Mrs Bennet’s youth and beauty and married her without realising that she lacked in intelligence. Affection had worn off between the two early on in their marriage because of this, and we see this where it states, ‘he had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem and confidence had vanished forever.’ We can see that Austen does not approve of marriage for physical attraction and lust as she depicts these two marriages as unsuccessful and lacking in compatibility.
As the story unfolds, the voice of Austen becomes much clearer to the reader. By finishing with the two perfect marriages of Lizzy and Darcy and Jane and Bingley, she suggests a true happy ending will only come to a couple if they share a connection that is beyond physical lust and economic necessity. This belief is contrary to most people of her time who believed that love and understanding was inferior to wealth and social status.
