Some women married because it was the only legitimate route to financial security. This idea is explored when charlottes views are voiced in the novel “without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object”, she was desperate to get married even if her husband was going to be Mr. Collins! Charlotte who finds consolation in “her home & her housekeeping” is not condemned because this would have been a true dilemma in reality.
Jane & Bingley on the other hand were supposed to get married before Darcy made sure that this would not occur. “Would tempt me to accept the man who has been the mean s of ruining my beloved sister’s life perhaps forever” portrays Elizabeth’s idealism & belief in real love and equality in morals & intelligence.
During the regency period, women of the genteel class were conventional and pragmatists so when Elizabeth refuses Mr. Darcy this shows that she wanted to change e the way society saw marriage as & Austen waned this to be something that others could aspire to do. Darcy made it very clear that she would not be accepted into his family because she had no money and was therefore inferior compared to him; “you will not be mentioned amongst my relations”.
Later when she accepts his offer, the marriage is now based on love and equality. Many readers by now will be taking a liking to the character Elizabeth because of her determination to be in a marriage with someone who will fulfill her happiness.
Austen juxtaposes the refusal & acceptance of Darcy to show that Elizabeth is not seeking a marriage proposal to save her family but instead wants the happiness that she deserves. Austen questions what marriage is & mocks the way people were desperate to get a proposal. The amount of money you had & the land you owned decided your status & how much you were respected so “I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship” conveys that this is true to some extent.
Austen shows the range of attitudes society had towards marriage, satirizing the character Mrs. Bennet for the way she was desperate for her children to marry well. Austen conveys the use of dialogue portraying the depth of what the characters are feeling. She is trying to express fully the dilemmas that women of the regency period faced, for instance when Elizabeth is furious with Darcy because of his involvement in the breaking up of Jane & bingley.
In contrast to this Jane Austen utilizes the pragmatist & conventional character Charlotte Lucas to juxtapose the refusal & acceptance of Mr. Collins.
Austen portrays that charlotte seeks “a comfortable home” & believes that “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance”. Elizabeth feels as though charlotte has made the wrong decision accepting Mr. Collins & therefore cannot possibly be happy with him. During the regency period the majority of a woman’s wealth depended on how well she married. This conveys that charlotte at the age of 27 already felt like a burden to her family.
The character, Charlotte Lucas is perceived as a plain & ordinary person & therefore the reader may empathize towards her. In comparison to charlotte, Elizabeth is witty, unconventional & an idealist.
Austen satirizes different attitudes towards marriage & love through the characters Elizabeth & Charlotte. The unique determination that Elizabeth has to be able to refuse the very wealthy Mr. Darcy because of his arrogance shows that she is unconventional.
Austen utilizes dialogue to portray the true desperation, women of the regency period faced to get a good marriage proposal. Austen satirizes, humorously how desperate women of the middle class were to marry well, even if they were stupid like Mr. Collins. So yes money was everything!
To recapitulate, the novel ‘Pride &Prejudice’ explores the concepts of marriage. The didactic of the novel is not to have a revolution but to keep stability, peace & harmony in society without marriage being “the only allowed route to financial security”. Austen is advocating change. This is why she chose to write about two, completely different characters to reflect the choices women had to make & what the consequences were. Women would throw themselves at the feet of wealthy men with a high status & men would try to marry women with a large dowry.
So Jane Austen, revolutionary? Well maybe a little bit!