Jane Austen clearly emphasises the importance of marriage in the 18th century in Pride and Prejudice. The first sentence indicates that the novel is very much outlined by the theme of marriage, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” For women, marriage was the only sure way to gain financial security, if, like the Bennets, there were no brothers to inherit the family money. In their case, the estate could only be inherited by a male; this explains why Mrs Bennet is so anxious to marry off her daughters, “A single man of large fortune… What a fine thing for our girls!” This, in particular, also demonstrates Mrs Bennet’s desire for her daughters to marry for money as opposed to love. The marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins is an example of one that is based on economies rather than on love or appearance. Charlotte Lucas presents a pragmatic view on marriage, declaring that “Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” Like many women of the time, Charlotte accepted Mr Collins’ proposal of marriage to gain in establishment and acquire social standing and economic stability, "… Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon the establishment were gained.” Not only did she marry him for these reasons but also for fear of wearing the label ‘spinster’. Her view of marriage represents an unromantic, detached, rational view with which many women shared in that time. It is through Charlotte Lucas that Jane Austen portrays the terrible economic and social dilemma faced by unmarried women in the 18th century. Austen dramatises this form of women inequality, and shows how women who surrender themselves to this type of marriage will have to suffer in tormenting silence as Charlotte does, “When Mr Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed… Once or twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear.” Charlotte wishes a short courtship and a speedy marriage as she has no respect for Mr Collins and distances herself from him whenever possible, such as when she encourages him to take up gardening so as to free herself from his nuisances indoors. Austen shows that women faced the conflict between realism and romance in marriage, as Elizabeth asks "Where does discretion end, and avarice begin?"
Along with marriage, inheritance is another important and key theme that Austen has reflected accurately in her novel. In Regency England, inheritance was bestowed on the eldest son, who relied on this as a means to live. This was common amongst most families at the time. As already mentioned, the Bennet sisters did not have a brother, thus, due to the constraints of Mr Bennet’s will, his estate would be inherited by the closest male relative, who in their case is Mr Collins. Evidently, the Bennet sisters would be left with none of their father’s money. Mrs Bennet is outraged by this, “How anyone could have the conscience to entail away an estate from one’s own daughters, I cannot understand…” Again, it is possible to comprehend Mrs Bennet’s urge to marry off her daughters to any eligible and unknown man; to ensure that the Bennets will not be left destitute at the death of Mr Bennet. Mrs Bennet’s gall is once again provoked when Elizabeth refuses Mr Collins’ marriage proposal. She tries to assure Mr Collins that, upon talking to her immediately, Elisabeth’s mind will be changed, “But depend on it Mr Collins… that Lizzy shall be brought to reason.” She is appalled that her daughter would turn down such an opportunity and attempts to reassure Mr Collins that Elisabeth is “headstrong” and “foolish” in such situations, “…does not know her own interest; but I will make her know it.” This illustrates Mrs Bennet’s desperation to have her daughter save the family from impoverishment. Mrs Bennet’s extreme anxiety is once again shown when she threats Elisabeth, "If you go on refusing every offer of marriage, you will never get a husband… and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead". This predicament was not an unusual occurrence within families that consisted of daughters only in Austen’s time.
Whilst it was the eldest sons who inherited the family estate, the younger sons, and men in quest of building fortunes, could earn considerable salaries in trade, like Bingley and Sir William Lucas in Pride and prejudice. Men could earn a living in law, as does Mr Phillips who is an attorney of Meryton. Alternatively, men like Colonel Fitzwilliam, who was the younger son of the Earl of Matlock, could pursue a life in the military, as does Colonel Forster, the Commander of a militia. Even the church offered a living to second sons, such as Mr Collins. A living was a position in the clergy, worth varying amounts of money, which an aristocratic patron usually gave according to his or (in Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s case) her wishes.
Men could not be considered “gentlemen”, or men of the highest class, until they purchased a large estate and were able to give up working to pursue lives of leisure. However, they were able to leap societal boundaries by earning large fortunes.
Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of upmost importance. As mentioned before, finding a wealthy husband became of primary importance for women pursuing financial security, and in order to attract these men, women were expected to be “accomplished”. This meant having several talents which are reflected in pride and prejudice. As Bingley puts it, to deserve the title of being “accomplished”, a woman “must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word.” As Bingley mentioned, having the ability to dance was certainly a talent worth having to attract men, “To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” These expectations of women are reflected in the novel, whether it is through Elizabeth and Georgiana Darcy playing the piano or the Bennet sisters’ fondness of dancing at balls. Darcy also mentions that a woman must “add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.” We see that Elisabeth is a fond reader herself. Women also had to be well-mannered and pretty to attract men, and a large fortune would have been useful to have.
Furthermore, there were unwritten rules of behaviour and manners by which women were expected to follow. Stepping outside the social standards made a woman vulnerable to being excluded from society. This is reflected in Pride and Prejudice, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield and arrives, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley and her friends, with a muddy skirt and shoes, “…and her petticoat; I hope you saw her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, I am absolutely certain…” Throughout the novel, Mrs Bennet displays poor-mannered and ridiculous behaviour, giving her a bad reputation with the more refined and snobbish Darcys and Bingleys. Jane Austen seems to lightly make fun of the snobbish characters in her novel like in these two examples; however, she treats the theme of reputation much more seriously when Lydia runs off with Wickham to live with him out of wedlock. By entering such a relationship in this way, Lydia visibly places herself outside of the social boundaries, and her dishonour threatens her entire family. The shame that Lydia has brought upon the Bennets has condemned the other Bennet sisters to spinster lives, which explains why Elisabeth is so distraught on reading the letter from her sister Jane about the scandal.
It was expected that women of a lower class must accept the ideas of the upper class women and respect them. Austen uses Elizabeth to refute this idea and often allows Elizabeth to speak her mind rather as opposed to bottling up her feelings, as she admits herself, “I always speak what I think.” Speaking one’s mind would have certainly been frowned upon and a woman doing so would be considered to be acting out of her place. Elizabeth’s mother is also aware of her daughter’s lack of manners in company, “remember where you are, and do not run in the wild manner that you are suffered to do at home.” A primary example that depicts Elizabeth’s outspoken mannerisms is when Lady Catherine attempts to sabotage any marriage prospects between Elizabeth and Darcy. Despite Lady Catherine being of a higher class than Elizabeth, Elizabeth does not defer to her, “…nor will such behaviour as this ever induce me to be explicit.” However, although Lady Catherine has the appearance of being dignified and of a higher class than the Bennets, she demonstrates ill-bred manners and hypocritical moral and ethical standards throughout the novel, particularly in this scene, “I will not be interrupted! Hear me in silence.” Whilst trying to interfere with Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship, she calls Elizabeth an “Obstinate, headstrong girl!” Lady Catherine then continues, “Is this your gratitude for my attentions to you last spring?” I came here with the determined resolution of carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded from it.” Ironically, Lady Catherine is the stubborn and selfish character who shows no sign of gratitude at any stage in the novel and yet accuses Elizabeth of ingratitude. Elizabeth controls her temper and manners towards Lady Catherine, considering her rudeness, “That will make you ladyship’s situation at present more pitiable; but it will have no effect on me.” It can therefore be said perhaps, that Austen has used Lady Catherine to illustrate the decline in the standards and behaviour of the previous century. Because the old status is breaking down, Lady Catherine tries to assert her fading authority in rude behaviour.
From reading Pride and Prejudice, it is evident that Jane Austen has reflected many aspects of life in her period of time. She greatly uses the social context of the 18th Century to distinguish between internal merit (goodness of a person), and external merit (rank and possessions). Whilst she pokes gentle fun at the snobs throughout the novel, for example the Bingley sisters, she also satirizes the poor breeding and misbehaviour of those on the lower social scale like Collins. However, members of the lower class do not appear in Pride and Prejudice, with the exception of the maid at Pemberley, who seems satisfied with her lot. The fact that Austen has only reflected the lives of the upper classes is evidence in itself that English society at this time were unaware of the less satisfying lives of the lower classes. It also demonstrates that people of 18th century England were only concerned with people of their own rank. Therefore, I believe that it is fair to say that Austen does criticize class structure in this novel, but only a limited slice of it.
Austen clearly demonstrates the dire economic and social plight faced by unmarried women in the 18th century, through the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Collins. Conversely, she also illustrates that marriage where physical desire outweighs reason, will inevitably become flawed. Lydia and Wickham and Mr and Mrs Bennet for example, are both examples of relationships that lack decency and good sense, with their passions stronger than virtue. Austen’s view of the ideal relationship is reflected through the marriages of Darcy and Elizabeth and Bingley and Jane. Theirs is a relationship balanced by romanticism and rationalism - of mutual respect and love, while possessing economic wealth and status.
Furthermore, Austen reflects the unjustness of inheritance in her time. She seems to refute the idea that only men were able to inherit the family estate, and emphasises this idea by using the comical character of Collins as closest related male of the Bennets. It seems unfair that he should inherit the Bennet’s estate and this explains Mrs Bennet’s deep desire to marry her daughters off well. A situation like this was not uncommon in English society in Regency England.
Finally, Jane Austen reflects how women of her time were expected to behave. She also demonstrates the certain skills women were expected to have in order to become “accomplished”. It can be seen that being “accomplished” was important for women to succeed in life, as it was the only way of attracting a husband. Yet Austen appears to put across her view that the actions and manners of women in her time were becoming a thing of the past. She uses Lady Catherine to show the decline in values of the previous century, and the dramatic changes brought into the lives of people.
Although Jane Austen clearly reflects the social context of her time in her novel, she does not seem to mention anything in the historical context. England was going through many changes at this moment in time, such as the Napoleonic War and the French Revolution, yet there is no evidence of this happening in the novel. This could be due to the fact that people of the higher classes were scarcely affected by the changes in politics and the new religious urgency.
In conclusion, Jane Austen effectively reflects the social context of her time in Pride and Prejudice, through the characters and there actions, yet does not seem to mirror the historical context.
