Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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Joanna Aldoori

Pride and Prejudice

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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Look closely at the proposals of marriage received by Elizabeth Bennett from Mr Collins and Mr Darcy, considering the following:

  • The character of each man
  • His social and cultural background and how this influences the way in which he proposes
  • The proposal itself
  • The reaction to rejection and subsequent behaviour of each man

Pride and prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen and is probably one of the most famous and best loved novels in the English language. In my essay I shall be comparing the proposals of Mr Collins and Mr Darcy to Elizabeth. A proposal is a declaration of love to one person involving powerful feelings where one cannot imagine going on in life without the other, it is also a great compliment. The central theme of the novel is marriage. As well as the marriage between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy; Austen uses many other marriages within the novel to show and assist the reader in assessing her recommended ingredients for a lasting and happy marriage.

The marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennett is a marriage of disrespect and dislike. Mr and Mrs Bennett got married very young, Mr Bennett was;

‘captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour, which youth and beauty usually give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind, had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect, esteem, and confidence, had vanished for ever; and all his domestic views of domestic happiness were overthrown’

 Mrs Bennett’s main interest and purpose in life has become to marry off her five daughters. Her obsession in marrying her daughters has resulted in all kinds of absurdities for example when Bingley comes to propose to Jane in order to leave them alone she winks at her daughters resulting in further embarrassment for herself and Jane as Kitty asks why her mother keeps winking at her ‘what do you keep winking at me for? What am I to do?’ she is hysterical and always imagining herself ill there are very often mentions of her ‘poor nerves’. Mr Bennett’s intolerance of his wife has led him to be cynical and use sarcastic wit in which to torment his wife we are shown this from the beginning of the book when he teases his wife about visiting Mr Bingley ‘for you are as handsome as any of them, Mr Bingley might like you best of the party.’ Mr Bennett is of course mockingly humouring his wife however his wife takes it literally and replies telling him that ‘I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now.’ Mr Bennett’s irritation of his wife has led him to indirectly neglect his daughters as he spends most of his time in his library we observe a result of his neglect when he allows Lydia to go to Brighton Elizabeth tells him and warns him of the dangers of sending her to Brighton Elizabeth has heard from Mr Darcy Mr Wickham’s character and believes that Lydia will ridicule her family. Mr Bennett on the other hand believes that ‘Lydia will never be easy until she has exposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances.’ Mr Bennett pays dearly for the consequences of his neglect when Lydia elopes with Wickham from Brighton.

In contrast to the marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennett is the marriage of Mr and Mrs Gardiner Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle their marriage is equal and they are both content in their marriage they are very suitable role models for Elizabeth. Even though Mr Gardiner is not considered a member of the gentry as he is a tradesman he represents and displays honesty, sense and true gentility,

‘Mr Gardiner was a sensible, gentlemanlike man greatly superior to his

 sister as well by nature as education. The Netherfield ladies would have

 had difficulty in believing that a man, who lived by trade, and within

 view of his own warehouses, could have been so well bred and agreeable’

 Mr Darcy observes the Gardiner’s sincerity and gentility and acquires an intimacy with the Gardiners which later in the novel we observe when Mr Darcy saves Lydia by paying Wickham to marry her, and Mr Darcy and Mr Gardiner come to an agreement that Mr Gardiner is to take the credit for the settlement in order to conceal Mr Darcy’s role in the arrangements, therefore Mr Darcy confides and collaborates with Mr Gardiner showing a trust and friendship between them. QOTE

Mr and Mrs Gardiner are also the first to witness Mr Darcy’s love and admiration for Elizabeth when they take Elizabeth to see Pemberly and Mr Darcy meets them unexpectedly while walking Mr Darcy invites her uncle Gardiner ‘to fish there as often as he chose’, ‘Mrs Gardiner who was walking arm in arm with Elizabeth, gave her a look of expressive wonder’ the ‘expressive wonder’ was the fact that Mr Darcy had invited her uncle to fish this compliment was paid by Mr Darcy because of Elizabeth who is deeply affected and astonished by Mr Darcy’s sudden change in behaviour and raises questions in her mind ‘Why is he so altered? From what can it proceed? It cannot be for me; it cannot be for my sake that his manners are thus softened’      

When Mr Collins is rejected by Elizabeth he goes to proposes to Charlotte Lucas Elizabeth’s best friend who accepts him. The marriage between them is completely mercenary Mr Collins has been told to get a wife by his patroness Lady Catherine who has told him to get a ‘gentlewoman’ Charlotte’s father mixes with the gentry and has been knighted hence Sir William Lucas this is well enough for Mr Collins. Charlotte on the other hand we are told ‘without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; at the age of twenty-seven, without ever been handsome, she felt all the luck of it’. Mr Collins is not a bad match at all for Charlotte as Mr Collins lives a very comfortable life he has his own parsonage, he is well connected with the family of de Bourgh and will after Mr Bennett’s death inherit Longbourn estate. Mr Collins is therefore a most eligible match for Charlotte who would otherwise be offered very little fortune from her parents and ‘at the age of twenty-seven, without being handsome’ it was very unlikely that anyone else as eligible as Mr Collins would ask for her hand. Charlotte may not love or like Mr Collins but she will be secure in her marriage to him ‘I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am that my chance of happiness with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state’ later in the novel when Elizabeth  goes to visit Charlotte in Hunsford we learn of ways in which Charlotte gets around being or having to be in Mr Collins’s company for example; Charlotte encourages Mr Collins to go in his garden and take regular exercise ‘To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures; and Elizabeth admired the command and countenance with which Charlotte talked of the healthfulness of the exercise and she owned she encouraged it as much as possible’. Although Charlotte is not in love with Mr Collins she will be happy in her marriage as she has secured her place in society and socially improved herself as even though Mr Collins is a complete fool he is a gentleman, also she will have financial stability as Mr Collins owns his own home and will inherit Longbourn estate in the near future.

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In contrast to the marriage of Charlotte and Mr Collins is the marriage between Mr Wickham and Lydia which is full of passion and lust. The marriage is forced upon the Bennett family and their uncle Gardiner but it is really Mr Darcy that takes all the trouble of it, paying off Wickham’s debts and forcing him to marry Lydia, saving her from social ruin. As the marriage is forced this suggest that the marriage will be unhappy and that they are unsuited in marriage, Lydia is still of course only fifteen. They will live a life of financial insecurity ...

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