The women in Sense and Sensibility were more interested in obtaining a husband due to financial difficulties than that of a good education. Gender stereotypes are seen throughout this novel, as educational success was only deemed important for the more superior men. Social orders reflect the differences in social class and gender. We see Austen use the economic position of women to show the powerlessness they had which underlies the pressure of marriage and the vulnerability
Your lively talents would place you in the greatest danger in an unequal marriage’ let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner in life. (Austen, p. 385) Arguably, in contrast to his usual sardonic tone, Austen’s eloquent choice of choice of syntax arrangement delivered a sincere disclosure from Mr Bennet; the realisation and admission of his unequal marriage. Alternatively Austen may be suggesting how a ‘lively’ atypical nineteenth century woman like Elizabeth, ‘may take liberties with her husband’ (Tuite, p. 121) In the context of an unequal marriage, Austen explores parental obligation and responsibility as a concern. Elizabeth Bennet has recognised ‘the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable marriage’ Mr Bennet fails to exert his ‘talents which rightly used might have preserved the respectability of his daughters’ or enlarged ‘the mind of his wife’ (Austen, 1984)
Today, money is seen as a bonus versus a necessity. Most women don’t base a marriage proposal off of wealth, instead for love. More women in the contemporary world have access to opportunities unlike Austen’s characters. Women can hold property, have jobs, and handle their own finances without a husband.
Did you ever see her? A smart, stilish girl they say, but not handsome. I remember her aunt very well…she married a very wealthy man” (Austen 184). Willoughby despite loving Marianne marries Miss Gray for her money because of his financial state. Instead of love, money becomes a determiner for the choice of marriage, making it a commodity rather than a
The thesis statements that appear in the narrative are: the importance of wealth and social status, the marriage of convenience, the pride – depicted by Elizabeth Bennet- and the prejudice -embodied by Mr. Darcy-. She intertwines the critic on the social values of the time with a love story, perhaps in order to make her work more attractive to the public. To my mind, Jane Austen was not only a great author but also a woman ahead of her time. While everyone else was just content with what they had, she was able to see beyond and be critic with her time; a time of change, especially in Britain, an era of constant evolution and transformations determined by
In the novel, Austen presents the marriage between Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins on the basis of convenience and money rather than love and sympathy. Mr. Collins is very arrogant, narrow-minded, foolish and pompous clergyman - he is obsessed with Lady Catherine de Bough and will only marry to please her. Charlotte Lucas in contrast is a very plain and well educated woman however makes a decision to marry Mr. Collins. Although they are an "unsuitable match," Charlotte desires to marry not for love, but simply for security. One of the most important factors of a successful matrimony is understanding your partner and creating a bond. If Charlotte only marries to avoid being a burden and financial strain onto her parents, she will never live
The author tells about how young people leave their families for a wealthy man/woman, marriage is the goal. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” (Austen, 5) Pride and Prejudice is a courtship between Darcy and Elizabeth; this novel is one of the most honorable love stories in the English language. In this love story they have to overcome many obstacles just as any normal couple would. Elizabeth has pride that makes her miss judge Darcy on their first time meeting, but Darcy’s prejudice which makes him misjudge Elizabeth because of her poor society standings.
In the darkest times of sadness, in the deepest confines of human affliction, hope and liberation are found in becoming openly vulnerable to the ones who understand and care the most. This concept is the embodiment of the relationship between Jane and Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice. As Elizabeth’s sole confidante, Jane functions as not only an advocate for trusting openness as Elizabeth’s sister and best friend, but as a representation of societal norms and a foil character to Elizabeth’s judgmental nature, aiding the triumph over Elizabeth’s constant battle with pride and prejudice . With only Jane to confide in, the moments shared between the two sisters hold immense importance throughout the novel. It is in these moments which Jane’s function as a confidante transforms from sister to best friend, even bordering motherly.
Jane Austen’s Romanticism in Pride and Prejudice The four marriages Through the novel Pride and Prejudice, we can see that Jane Austen, besides of mainly concentrating on modeling the characters Elizabeth and Darcy and portraying the complicated love and marriage between them; also pays much attention to depicting many other roles and three other marriages. In each of these marriages, properties, status, love, beautiful appearance exert different influence and these four marriages are combinations for profit, for moral, for lust and for love. Firstly, let’s come to see the marriage for profit. In this novel, Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas is the first couple.
In the case of the Bennet daughter’s, their father had a small yearly income, therefore, being less favorable to marry to a higher social class. The first paragraph in the novel, “Pride and Prejudice” it is states that (a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.) (3). Women of this period, didn’t have fortune, nor could they possess property, therefore, becoming someone’s wife would assure them a future.
During the 19th century, marriage was generally based on social standards and materialistic commodities rather than sentimental attraction. Pride and Prejudice is a novel that analyzes women and their contradicting attitudes towards marriage. Charlotte Lucas is a character that believes happiness is not a necessity as long as she is financially stable. Similarly, Jane Bennet is practical about her economic state while still recognizing the value of true love. In contrast, Lydia Bennet is young, immature and blinded by the idea of being admired.
Finding a partner for marriage during the Regency era was through courtships, and courtship were more based on the money and same social classes. Do not considered as marrying below themselves. When Lady Catherine heard about her nephew Darcy fall in love with Elizabeth which she was in the lower social class as him, she told Elizabeth, “My daughter and my nephew are formed for each other. They are descended on the maternal side, from the same noble line;”. Lady Catherine’s metaphor demonstrated that she thinks Elizabeth is too poor to marry Mr Darcy. And her daughter, which in the same class with Mr Darcy, have the right to marry him. Through this business of marriage, Lady Catherine and her family will become richer and have a step higher
The idea of life without having a financial support is a matter of great consternation, especially for 2 women. Thus, as illustrated in Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, many people are taken in low esteem and in high esteem just on the basis of financial condition and women are suffered badly in this era. In these three popular novels, the heroines of Austen are facing the harsh realities of the deprived society. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood were deprived of their manor by their uncle after their father’s death and then they are left with little money.
Jane Austen lived in a period at the turn from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century, which was a period of mixed thoughts, which conflicted all the times. Among all the conflicts, the most important one was the disparity in social status between men and women. Not only men’s status was in the center of the society but also common people thought it was right that men were much more important than women were. In those days girls were neither allowed nor expected to study much because they did not have to work for a living. They were supposed to stay at home and look beautiful in order to get suitable husbands.
They were not entitled to become educated or employed and instead had to spend all of their time training to become the ideal domestic wife, through sewing or playing the piano to prove their worth. With this disadvantage, financial stability was the top and most important quality when finding a man to marry since they could not attain that independently. The women in Pride and Prejudice were competitive to win the best man they could find, which created the plot for this novel. Writer Daryl Jones described them as, “feisty, intelligent heroine in financially straitened circumstances [that] overcome the opposition of a backward-looking tradition and authority, as well as the preconceptions about class and money to which her own sceptical intelligence has initially predisposed her, to win the hand of a man who is effectively the richest man in England.” (Jones pg. 93).