Using chapter one as a starting point, discuss Jane Austen's presentation of marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

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DAWN LAWSON    ESSAY 1 PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE

Using chapter one as a starting point, discuss Jane Austen’s presentation of marriage in Pride and Prejudice.

In this essay I intend to discuss Jane Austen’s presentation of marriage in Pride and Prejudice. Marriage is a major theme in the book as we see from the opening line, which gives a clear indication of this.

  In the 1st chapter we meet Mrs Bennett who plays a major part in the theme of marriage throughout the book. She is quite determined to see her five daughters married and we see this straight away in the opening chapter. A wealthy man has come to Longbourn and Mrs Bennett immediately thinks of him marrying one of her daughters, “you must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.” she has only heard of his fortune but this is enough information for Mrs Bennett to know he is good enough for her girls. She is quite desperate for Mr Bennett to visit him, “you must visit him as soon as he comes.” When he says he won’t she gets quite upset, “how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me.” Its quite un derstandable that she reacts ib this way as the Bennetts have no son, therefore no heir to their estate. It will pass onto their cousin Mr Collins when Mr Bennett dies and they will be homeless unless one of the daughters marries well. The marriage of her daughters is very important to her, “ the business of her life was to get her daughters married.”

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   Throughout the book there are four marriages but reasons for these marriages are very different. Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas are the first to marry and their marriage shows a typical marriage of the times. In those days marriage was more for convenience and for economic gain rather than for love. Charlotte is marrying Mr Collins not for love. She doesn’t have any romantic ideas of marriage, “I am not romantic you know, I never was!” she is happy to be with Mr Collins to have her own home and for his connections. Charlotte is 27 years old and ...

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