Austen uses the relationships of Wickham and Lydia adjacent to Elizabeth and Darcy; to show the contrast between the two, and convey an example of a bad marriage. Their marriage was based simply on infatuation and appearance. There was little ‘understanding’ of one another, no ‘good dispositions’, no similarity in ‘feeling and taste’ and later, no ‘financial security’ either. The marriage was very one-sided, as Lydia’s affections were no comparison with Wickham’s; ‘he was her dear Mr Wickham’. Lydia is too ignorant to realise the shame and disgrace, which she bought upon her family, by her elopement to Wickham. Not only this, but she also boosts that her sisters should ‘look up’ to her because she is a ‘married woman’. Lydia and Wickham’s hasty relationship lacks love, and their first infatuation soon fades. Austen purposely manipulates these two characters to show the reader the outcome of a marriage, which is not based on the grounds of love. Soon after their marriage, the two character’s relationship rapidly disintegrates. Lydia becomes a regular visitor to her elder sister’s house, Pemberly, ‘when her husband was gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath’. Similar to Mr and Mrs Bennet’s matrimony, the spouses stay away from one another as a means to stay content. This demonstrates that hasty marriage without love will lead to unhappiness. Not only does the marriage hurt them both socially, but it also affects the couple emotionally and financially.
Although little is told of the reasons behind the marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennet, it can be correlated to the relationship of Wickham and Lydia. Mr Bennet had married for Mrs Bennet ‘youth and beauty’, passion and her ‘appearance of good humour’, without realising that his wife was one of ‘mean understanding’ and ‘little information’. Mrs Bennet’s favouritism towards Lydia and her comments on how she was also partial for men in uniform and had an obsession with fashionable clothes, shows their similarity. The purpose of this marriage is for Austen to demonstrate to the reader how she views Mr and Mrs Bennet; she displays this through satire, deliberate mockery and irony. In the opening chapter, Mrs Bennet is euphoric by the fact that she has just learnt from her friend Mrs Long that Netherfield has been ‘let’ to ‘a young man of large fortune from north of England.’ She thinks it is ‘a fine thing’ for her ‘girls’. Mr Bennet has a sarcastic humour and often took pleasure in teasing and mocking his oblivious wife about her preparations to make sure the ‘young man’ marries one of her daughters. Unlike Mrs Bennet, Mr Bennet would prefer to have his daughters married to a wealthy and ‘agreeable man’, and he does not care as much about it as Mrs Bennet. He isolates himself in his study to avoid his family, this is the only reason the matrimony is still succeeding; by keeping out of each other’s way. Austen shows that it is necessary to have good judgement in choosing a spouse, or the two people will lose respect and the marriage will be unsuccessful.
Mr and Mrs Gardiner’s marriage is contradictory to Mr and Mrs Bennet’s. The reader does not learn much about these two characters, but their marriage is very admirable. They are both well matched; Mr Gardiner is a ‘sensible, gentlemanlike man’ who is ‘greatly superior to his sister’ and similarly, Mrs Gardiner is ‘an amiable’, ‘intelligent’ and ‘elegant woman’. They are not wealthy, as they live in ‘Cheapside’, the poorer part of London; so this cannot mean that they married for convenience. Their marriage shows what the outcome can be, when both partners respect, love and understand each other. This is one of the ideals, which Austen believes not only the Bennet sisters, but also what everyone else should aspire to. However, Austen’s evaluation of the 19th century society finds their relationship inferior due to its lack of class and status.
Likewise, Jane and Bingley’s marriage is based on love and Jane enjoys financial security. Their ‘tempers are by no means unlike’ and they have the basis of ‘excellent understanding’. Austen shows that respect is another key to a good relationship. Marrying for ‘love and position’ is Jane’s attitude towards Bingley, which demonstrates that they are well matched. Although they do have a flaw: they are both too kind-hearted that ‘nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income’. Although their love will overcome this flaw, as Austen’s point is put across, that the basis of a marriage is love. It becomes obvious when Mrs Bennet does not allow Jane to take the carriage to visit Bingley in Netherfield, that it is evidently strategies of the female in ‘pursuit’ of the male.
In the Georgian era, lots of etiquette was involved in finding a suitable spouse, thus it was rare for people to begin relationships for love. Charlotte and Mr Collins’ marriage was an example of a typical marriage in the 19th century. Charlotte presents a pragmatic view on marriage, declaring that ‘happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance’. Mr Collins’ character is conveyed through his absurd emotions and swift change of mind from Elizabeth to Charlotte. He cannot be in love with Charlotte if only moments before, he had proposed to Elizabeth. Mr Collins marries to appease his patroness whilst Charlotte marries for practical reasons: to gain financial and social security. She is pressured by her family and feels that Mr Collins is her only option. Through Charlotte, Austen is able to represent the dire economic and social predicament faced by the unmarried women of the 19th century. Charlotte and Mr Collins’ marriage shows the outcome of placing practicality before romance, she tells Elizabeth that she is ‘not a romantic’ and never has been. She states clearly that she only married Mr Collins for a ‘comfortable home’. Unlike Elizabeth, it seems that Charlotte can endure the pompousness of Mr Collins. The reader soon realises that Charlotte will never have a life of complete happiness because she married for convenience which did not consist of love.
Throughout the novel, Austen subtly, criticises aspects of 19th century’s marriage and society, which she disagreed with. She directs the reader to disapprove of the marriage market. Austen tells the reader that, ‘the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune’ was to be married to a man. From her example of this, through Charlotte and Mr Collins, the end result was an unsuccessful marriage. Austen’s style involves satirical humour, without any excesses of rhetoric or verbosity. She retains her narrative technique; the language of love is refined, free of passion and emotion, until the confrontation of Elizabeth and Darcy. Characterisation of the major characters and irony is used to portray social faults and vices due to a flawed society.
The 19th century law of entailment, led to another aspect of marriage, which is explored by Austen. Females simply needed the status of a marriage to survive the harsh society, which is forced upon them. Arranged marriages were sometimes arranged to keep money within the family. Lady Catherine de Borough and Darcy’s late mother, ‘from their infancy’ that Darcy and Anne should have been ‘intended for each other’. This is a match, which is far from romantic, therefore, it is powerfully satirised by Austen. Mrs Gardiner’s warning to Elizabeth, to not ‘involve’ herself in ‘an affection which the want of fortune would make so very imprudent’. From this, Austen clearly depicts through satire that arranged marriages is another which is doomed to failure. Caroline Bingley is also subject to satire, in her desperate ‘condescend to employ for captivation’ of Darcy. Darcy’s awareness and sharp replies, that ‘whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable’, leaves Caroline speechless.
Jane Austen has conducted and directed the reader so they agree with her attitudes about marriage. Through the characters in ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Austen has expressed the issues concerning love and marriage, she is both critical and supportive of the marriages. She criticises Lydia and Wickham because they are an example of a shallow marriage, with the result of misery. In contrast, the relationship of Elizabeth and Darcy is the ideal marriage. It represents true love without the immediate physical attraction or financial reasons which Austen supports and agrees with. The reader realises that happiness in a marriage can only be achieved through this. The use of satirical devices regarding Mrs Bennet, and her ‘mean understanding’ and ‘little information’ about marriage demonstrates the outcome of an unpleasant marriage. Mr Bennet has no other options, than to hide from his unfortunate choice of companion, in his study. The union of Mr Collins and Charlotte demonstrates a typical marriage of social contract and convenience; whereas the union between Elizabeth and Darcy shows one of compassion and mutual love. Lydia’s marriage to Wickham shows the darker side of society and how an unscrupulous character can easily take advantage of an innocent and foolish child. Therefore, whatever the reason of marriage, personal, social, financial or security, Austen has clearly depicted, with examples of four main courtships in the novel, that without love, the marriage is destined to failure.
