Of course, one of the largest themes surrounding Pride and Prejudice is marriage. Marriage is tied to social class, reputation for the families involved, and it appears to be more of something akin to a business transaction rather than a decision made for love and companionship. When Lydia marries Wickham, for example, it was a decision that came about as a result of a mistake. She had to take ownership of it, though, and marry him so as not to damage her family’s reputation. Marriages are often seen as an opportunity to raise a family’s reputation, or to take advantage of the spouse’s money.

One passage that seems to go against all of these presuppositions about marriage’s role in society occurs near the end of the novel, when Elizabeth and her father discuss the prospect of her marriage to Mr. Darcy. Her father wants to ensure that Elizabeth is truly marrying Darcy because she wants to, and not because she feels like she has to. Her father points out that Elizabeth had detested Darcy before. He is sure to outline the positive things that would come with her marrying him, but he then asks, “But will they make you happy?” (Austen 349). Elizabeth then asks him if he has any other objection to their marriage other than her “indifference;” Mr. Bennet replies that he does not. Once she assures him of her love, Mr. Bennet approves their marriage by saying, “If this be the case, he deserves you. I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy” (Austen 350).

This scene is one of my favorites because there’s a whole lot of love in it. Mr. Bennet’s love for Elizabeth; Elizabeth’s love for Darcy. It’s a beautiful scene because it focuses on such love rather than the reputation the family would benefit from. While Mr. Bennet does take note of it, it’s not his concern; rather, Elizabeth’s happiness is what he concerns himself with. The line “He deserves you” speaks volumes. Throughout the majority of the novel, a lot of emphasis is put on whether the Bennets deserve the men (and the families) they are trying to marry into. By putting the emphasis on whether Elizabeth deserves Darcy, Mr. Bennet flips that expectation on its head. Even with how important marriage is in maintaining a social reputation, Mr. Bennet would not let Elizabeth go for someone she didn’t deserve. Such reasoning is precisely why he doesn’t force her hand in marrying Mr. Collins, even going so far as to say he wouldn’t speak to her again if she married him. While Mrs. Bennet, and many others, buy into marrying for reputation, Mr. Bennet appears to want the best his daughters’, and Elizabeth’s in particular, happiness rather than their place in society. He seems to be a very progressive character, which would explain why he and Elizabeth get on so well.

Work Cited: Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003.

It’s hard to look at history and think that there was a time when people married solely for money and status; completely separating love from the equation. Pride and Prejudice examines both marriage and love together, even though many of this time thought it was unobtainable. Jane Austen is known to be a satirical writer. The most obvious point she makes is about marriage primarily for social status. I find it interesting that Jane Austen herself never married in her life. I’ve come to the conclusion that she didn’t marry due to the social norms of her time period. Austen sets up the Bennet family close to what she lived through growing up in the Austen household.  Austen grew up with seven siblings, her sister and herself being the only females. However, just like the Bennet household, her father had no dowry to give to Jane for whenever she was ready to marry. The Austen family was facing financial difficulties. People suppose that this could be a reason why Jane Austen and her young flame Thomas Lefroy didn’t work out: For Thomas would not have to marry down if he truly wanted to be with Jane Austen. Later in Jane Austen’s life, Harris Bigg-Wither proposed to her and after accepting she ended up breaking the engagement. There was much speculation as to why Jane Austen would have ended the marriage, and especially at her age. During the Georgian Era, it was nearly impossible for any woman over the age of 30 to marry. Jane Austen was certainly getting “older” for the Georgian marriage standards, but I believe Jane Austen felt the marriage was forced. Jane Austen society expected her to marry whoever was willing to propose to her, whoever did would know that they wouldn’t get much financially in return. Jane Austen wanted to marry for love and this is why I believe she never married anyone in her life. In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte and Elizabeth share a scene where they talk about the possibility for Mr. Bingley and Jane to be married. Charlotte first gives her opinion:

“But though Bingley and Jane meet tolerably often, it is never for many hours together; and as they always see each other in large mixed parties, it is impossible that every moment should be employed in conversing together. Jane should therefore make the most of every half hour in which she can command his attention. When she is secure of him there will be leisure for falling in love as much as she chuses.” (Austen, 23).

Austen gives the voice of society. Austen’s society believes that one must first claim a man’s attention, and then once he is “secure” or once he is most likely to propose, then they have time to fall in love later. Austen’s society is built on strict social manners and customs that no one would dare to go against (except maybe Austen herself). For example, as seen with Mr. Collins and Elizabeth, it was common for a lady to turn down a proposal and for a man to continue to propose before a lady fully accept the offer. Mr. Collins described this in Chapter 19:

“that it is usual with young ladies to reject the address of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes refusal is repeated a second or even third time.” (Austen, 105).

In response to Charlotte, Elizabeth tells her: “But these are not Jane’s feelings; she is not acting by design” (Austen, 23). Austen is trying to show her audience that there are people who fall in love first before they marry.  Austen wants her society to see that marriage does not have to just be about the cash flow of families or a specific structure to get someone to marry you. Instead, Austen is using Jane and Mr. Bingley’s love to show her audience that people can fall in love with someone for love, and perhaps why this is so significant to Pride and Prejudice overall. For Jane, it worked out that she fell in love with someone who will help her financially in the future, but was not the main reason for why she wanted to marry Bingley.