Nahedeh
2005-11-04
English HL
Universal Truths
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a
single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife
There are many women and men in this world that state that they don’t need bind in holy matrimony in order to feel complete or happy about their lives. Obviously, these women and men don’t live in the world of Pride and Prejudice. Even the opening line declares a subtle truth so well that it get you thinking. At first one sees it as an ironic statement trying to open the book’s comedic and love-related atmosphere. However as one digs deeper you see there is more to this line than what meets the eye.
This sentence can sum up the goal of many women in this novel who are in search of a single man in possession of a good fortune such as Ms Lucas, as it does sum up the plot in many ways. As it states that men must be in want of a wife, it subtly hints that the women in the novel are most likely looking or are in desperate need of a [wealthy] husband. This line also sets out little hints as to who are these men in search of these women? If one reads on the same page as this line is printed on, one notes that Mr Bingley, who has just recently moved into Netherfield, is one of those men "Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England… . This quote states that Mr Bingley is a man of large fortune which is similar to good fortune, in fact even better. The meeting of each new male central character is attached to a descriptive sentence of his wealth and background. As we read along the novel we see that most of the women in the novel notice this wealth and also notice that these men are in fact looking after wives to wed and share their life with.