A Study of Marriages in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

陈定刚

【Abstract】This thesis is a study of Jane Austen's attitude towards marriage as shown in her novel Pride and Prejudice. The three different kinds of marriage depicted in this novel， i.e. marriage for passion， marriage for money and property and marriage based on mutual understanding， respect and love with consideration of personal worth， are analyzed in detail. Austen's criticism of the first two and her approval of the last are also presented.

The thesis is developed in three parts. The first is a general introduction to Jane Austen and the novel Pride and Prejudice. Part II focuses on the detailed analysis of Jane Austen's attitude towards marriage. Here， three kinds of marriage are discussed in detail. The last part is the conclusion.

【Keywords】A study of； marriages； PRIDE And PREJUDICE

【中圖分类号】I561.074 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2017）38-0086-04

Introduction

Jane Austen， one of the foremost women writers in the history of English literature， was born in Steventon， Hampshire in 1775， the seventh of eight children of Rev. George Austen， quite a learned man himself. Austen started to write stories when still a child. And by the time of twenty-one she had begun First Impressions， which was later to become Pride and Prejudice. Altogether， Austen published 5 novels. They are Sense und Sensibility （1811）， Pride and Prejudice （1813）， Mansfield Park （1814）， Emma （1815）， and Persuasion （1818）.

As an unmarried daughter of a gentlemen of the early 19th century， Austen lived a rather restricted but quiet life within a small world， which includes mainly Steventon and the neighboring villages and towns of Bath， Southampton， and Chawton. The narrow life doesn't restrict her imaginative life and artistic mind， though. In fact， her fictional world is greatly enriched by her extensive network of relations and friends and it is through the contact with and keen observation of them that she is able to gain a clearer and more comprehensive view of the whole respectable upper-middle class to which she herself belonged. The scenes of her stories are laid for the most part in those small Hampshire villages， with which she was thoroughly familiar， and the characters are taken from the middle class and the gentry with whom she was thrown. Simple domestic episodes and ordinary people living a somewhat monotonous and narrow life are proper raw material for her novels （Halleck 385）. With an intuitive insight into human nature and wonderful skills in narration and character portrayal， her novel has a special value in literary studies， despite the narrow range of settings and subject matters.endprint

In her exquisite and graceful description of the domestic life of the class of the minor landed gentry of her time， Austen gives particular attention to the welfare of her young genteel female fellows. As there is no way for them to cut out a life of their own and seek self-fulfillment， for most of her heroines， usually young and educated women of a small fortune， the marriage system is the only means by which they can make a comfortable and respectable life （Marsh 137）， except working as a governess， whose life is regarded by Austen as even more miserable than the slave's. As a result， marriage becomes the center of their life and material interest makes up their major concern if not the ultimate goal in marriage. Besides this， her heroines also experience a long and sometimes even painful process of self-discovery in the course of their search for a husband.

The novel Pride and Prejudice is considered by many Austen's most representative work， although the others also have their ardent admirers. Professor Bailey says of the novel： “Of the brilliance， wit， satire， the entire and never-failing felicity of expression， which are the central characteristics of Jane Austen's art， none of her books has so much as Pride and Prejudice” （35）. But another and more outstanding feature of the novel is found in its theme of marriage.

In this novel， Jane Austen describes the domestic life of the Bennets， a well-to-do middle-class family in the rural area in the late 18th or early 19th-century England. It centers on the love and marriage between the pretty and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy， a rich and aristocratic landowner. Darcy is proud of his rank and fortune， while Elizabeth is prejudiced against Darcy's personalities. It is through a series of clashes that they gradually gain mutual understanding and respect， which inspire their love for each other. Their story ends with a happy marriage.

And yet， theirs is not the only marriage. Actually， the novel has more weddings than any other Austen novels， and most interestingly， almost every marriage here has a different flavor. There are， all in all， three different kinds of marriage： marriage for passion， marriage for money and property， and marriage based on mutual understanding， respect and love with consideration of personal worth. Austen's personal attitude towards marriage is manifest in their description. In this paper， the author will try to present Austen's attitude through a detailed analysis of the three different kinds of marriage depicted in Pride and Prejudice.endprint

Analysis of Jane Austen's Attitude Towards Marriage as Reflected in Her Treatment of Three Kinds of Marriage

In Pride and Prejudice， Jane Austen depicts marriage for passion as the lowest kind of marriage. This kind of marriage is based on love at first sight， where the attention to appearance is more than anything else. A person thus falling in love is blinded by superficial beauty or pleasantness of the partner and he or she has no desire to look into the other's inner heart or nature. Of course， there can be no real understanding between the two， and once the passion runs itself out， nothing sustains. Soon disappointment and disillusionment occur and the dreamed-of personal and domestic happiness turns into tragedy.

There are two marriages belonging to this type in the novel： one is the marriage between George Wickham and Lydia Bennet， and the other， the marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Through the description of these two marriages， with the emphasis on love stories and family life after marriage respectively， Austen lets known her view that such passion is almost equal to imprudence， thoughtlessness and lack of sense of responsibility， and marriages based exclusively on such passion can bring no happiness at all.

It can be clearly seen that the marriage between Lydia Bennet and George Wickham is based exclusively on passion， especially on Lydia's part. The youngest of the five girls， Lydia is a pretty and high-spirited girl spoiled and supported by her mother in her frivolous behavior. She is vain， ignorant， idle and absolutely uncontrolled. Her marriage， or rather， her elopement with George Wickham is largely the result of her passion rather than his. Beginning from the first time she sees him， her Wickham becomes the most handsome， desirable man in the world. As for George Wickham， though seemingly amicable and gentlemanlike， he is actually a selfish， mean and wicked young man. The reason why he would choose to elope with Lydia at all is that he has to escape from some distressful financial circumstances and being such a person， he would pose no objection to having a girl in his company. Lydia's passion for him is such that she can put her family， her future， the established social customs and anything else out of consideration. She elopes with Wickham and lives with him without marriage， a disgrace to every respectable father and family at that time. Although their elopement ends， to her family's relief， with marriage paid and arranged by such nice people as Mr. Darcy and Mr. Gardiner， their passion-inspired marriage is， in Austen's opinion， extremely thoughtless， foolish and selfish， and based exclusively on passion， can bring no happiness at all either to themselves or to others. To these two people， their marriage promises no real and life-long happiness， for their passion soon fades away after the wedding， as described in the novel： His （George Wickham's） affection for her （Lydia） soon sunk into indifference； hers lasted a little longer" （291）. At the same time， their financial situation， which plays an important role in family life， is far from satisfactory---they can hardly support themselves without the help of her sisters. To others， especially to Lydia's family， their marriage means not only a long-term painful suffering but also a lasting stigma， which affects their respectability and， as a result， diminishes the chance of her sisters to get well married.endprint

The other typical marriage for passion is the one between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Their marriage， though perhaps assuming a more respectable and acceptable form， is essentially no better than that between Lydia and Wickham in the eyes of Austen. And their family life after marriage， which is actually a central story of the novel， has no happiness at all. It can be seen from the novel that Mr. Bennet and his wife are two people who have little in common. Mr. Bennet， an intelligent， indolent and prosperous country gentleman， is "a mixture of quick parts， sarcastic humor， reserve， and caprice （3）， while his wife， the daughter of a country attorney with a 4000-pound dowry， is "a woman of mean understanding， little information， and uncertain temper" （3）. Their marriage， which is unsuitable in terms of character as well as property， is largely attributed to Mr. Bennet's once captivation by Mrs. Bennet's "youth and beauty， and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give” （176）. The result of their passion-inspired marriage proves to be disastrous not only to Mr. Bennet himself but also to all his five daughters. On his part， his affection for his wire comes to an end shortly after marriage， when "respect， esteem and confidence soon vanish forever； and all his views of domestic happiness are overthrown" （177）. Quite disappointed with his marriage and family life， he begins to neglect his responsibility at home and in public and adopts the policy of taking refuge in mockery as well as in library. His feeling towards his wife is "very little otherwise indebted， than as her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement” （177）， which is not only unusual but also improper. And things are far worse than that. Given all her imbecility and vulgarity， Mrs. Bennet is totally incapable of acting as a sensible and understanding mother. The result is that the misbehavior of the three younger daughters are encouraged rather than restrained by her. This attributes much to their ill manners and misdemeanors， as can be seen most clearly in the case of Lydia. So， had Mr. Bennet been more prudent and less a victim of passion， he could have gained his share of happiness through marriage and all his daughters could have suffered less from ill disposition and bad manners， and have an easier access to happiness. This is most clearly shown in the love affair of his eldest daughter， Jane. Jane's once disappointment in love is actually due to her nearest relations， that is， her own family， especially her mother and three younger sisters---， for their ill manners are more than enough to be despised by Mr. Bingley's family and friends， and to make Mr. Bingley himself stand aloof.endprint

Naturally， these two marriages of passion both end with a miserable family life. Through their stories， we can see that Austen strongly believes that marriage based on passion can never last long. By their stories， she intends to give her view that marriage for passion is imprudent， unsuccessful and even disastrous. And the impacts of these two marriages on the relatives and friends involved show clearly that very often this kind of marriage will also become an everlasting source of suffering to everyone around them. Austen's disapproval is thus very obvious.

Marriage based only upon consideration of money or property is more complicated than the above analyzed one. In Austen's novel， it has much to do with the economic status quo of women at that time. Without right to property， women believe that "material comfort as well as personal feelings， realism as well as romance matter in the choice of a partner” （Jones 47）. And a respectable life for a marriageable woman depends on the economic strength of the man she marries. This seems a rational reason enough for matrimonial consideration. But as a marriage devoid of love and sympathy， it leaves much to be desired for. Such a union is simply co-existence.

In Pride and Prejudice， marriage based exclusively on this reason is best shown in the match between Mr. Collins and Charlotte Lucas. Mr. Collins， a conceited， pompous， narrow-minded， silly man， is a newly promoted well-to-do clergyman， who will inherit Mr. Bennet's estate， Longbourn， after the latter's death. For him， love and marriage should follow careful and conscious calculation and reasoning. He has good reasons to make a well-asserted marriage， as stated by him when he proposes to his cousin， Elizabeth Bennet：" [F]irst， that I think it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony in his parish. Secondly， that I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness； and thirdly it is the particular advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honor of calling patroness” （80）. And he also has good reasons to choose a wife among the five Bennet's sisters for he regards it as a plan of amends—of atonement—for inheriting their father's estate. And he thinks it an excellent one， full of eligibility and suitableness， and excessively generous and disinterested on his own part. He also has good reasons to change for three times his partner in marriage in a period as short as twelve days. He first selects Jane Bennet， for she is the eldest and prettiest of all the five girls. Being told by Mrs. Bennet that Jane is “ikely to be very soon engaged” （53）， he changes his partner to Elizabeth in the instance when “Mrs. Bennet [i]s stirring the fire” （53）. When he proposes to Elizabeth， he has no doubt of the success of his proposal. When rejected by Elizabeth， he has good reasons to make another proposal three days later to Charlotte Lucas， Elizabeth's best friend， because she is probably the first and the last woman who would give him encouragement.endprint

As for Charlotte Lucas， she has equally good reasons to marry Mr. Collins. A plain girl of twenty-seven， she has nothing but a very small portion of money and is in danger of remaining a spinster all her life. So， it is only too natural for her to adopt a pragmatic view on marriage. “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony， marriage ha[s] always been her object” （93）. And she declares to her friend： “I am not romantic， you know. I never was” （95）. Although fully aware that Mr. Collins surely is neither sensible nor agreeable， his society irksome， and his attachment to herself imaginary， she still agrees to marry him， for he can provide “the pleasantest preservative”， which is all she expects of marriage. As she tells Elizabeth， “considering Mr. Collins's character， connections， and situation in life， I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair， as most people can boast on entering the marriage state” （95）.

So， both have his and her own practical intention and calculation， and their marriage is based totally on reason and takes the form of sheer business-dealing. Through marriage， Mr. Collins gets an obedient wife who can accompany him and take care of his house， while Charlotte gets a comfortable home and a respectable social position. They both achieve their basic goals in marriage.

Obviously， such marriage as based only on money and property does not gain the approval of Austen， who believes that love， or at least， affection， is indispensable to marriage. She even expresses the idea that only the silliest person would do such a thing. Her opinion of such an “unsuitable” match is clearly shown in the remarks of Elizabeth Bennet， “she （Charlotte Lucas） would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage. Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins， was a most humiliating picture！ ... It was impossible for that friend to be tolerably happy in the lot she had chosen” （96）.

However， Austen is first of all a woman of sense and ration. If she despises business-transactional marriage popular at her time and condemns it as demeaning the sacredness of marriage， she also understands the reason behind such marriage： the real condition for women at the time. When there is no respectable profession open to them and they have no right to inherit property， they are usually financially dependent on their fathers before marriage and husbands after marriage. In hunting for a good husband， economic condition of the man is of great importance. That's why most women take no consideration of mutual understanding or love， or personal merits. It was a main trend among women at the time， a practical attitude.endprint

So， with a full understanding of the dilemma faced by young and educated women of middle-class， Austen does not condemn it totally. It is the way it has to be. Take Charlotte for example. To her， marriage is the only respectable and allowable route to financial security， so she is willing to many from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment. Besides， one call not positively say that marriage brings her no happiness at all. We are told that “Her home and her housekeeping， her parish and her poultry， and all their dependent concerns” （162） which are brought by marriage remain pleasant and enjoyable to her， and “When Mr. Collins c[an] be forgotten， there [i]s really a great air of comfort throughout” （118）. That is to say， except for her husband， everything else about her marriage is delightful.

The last kind of marriage described in the novel is one based on mutual understanding， respect and love with consideration of both the personal and economic aspects. To be both rational and passionate， and to look rationally at the passions： that is Austen's notion of a happy marriage.

In the novel， the marriages of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet are considered ideal. As many people claim， there are always reasons for love in Jane Austen's world. This is indeed true when one thinks about the marriages of the two sisters， especially of Elizabeth. In their love affairs， emotions are amply bred by consciousness and love actually follows calculations and reflections.

For Jane， it is understandable and natural for her to fall in love with Mr. Bingley， who "is what a young man ought to be ... sensible， good humored， lively and I （Jane Bennet） never saw such happy manners！ — so much ease， with such perfect good breeding！”（9） And most of all， he is "a single man in possession of a good fortune ... in want of a wife”（1）. To Bingley， Jane is charming and attractive because she is radiant with beauty， all sweetness and good manners. Their love， especially the love on Jane's part， proves to be enduring enough to form a solid basis for a happy marriage.

The course of Elizabeth and Darcy's love is， however， much more strenuous. Elizabeth， a pretty， lively and intelligent girl， is a daughter of an ordinary country gentleman who has， unfortunately， some “inferior” relations， and Darcy is a proud aristocratic landowner. Their difference in terms of fortune and status is great enough to make their marriage unthinkable to many people. It is rational love that finally overcomes all these barriers and brings them together.endprint

The story of Elizabeth and Darcy begins at a ball with pride on his part and prejudice on hers. Darcy， too proud to be willing to dance with Elizabeth， considering her to be only “tolerable”， hurts the lady's feelings and gives her a very unfavorable first impression. Later， Darcy finds himself attracted by Elizabeth's intelligence， beautiful dark eyes， light and pleasing figure， and easy playful manners. Totally unaware of all this， Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy is deepened first by Mr. Wickham's lie about him and later by the report that it is actually Darcy， not Miss Bingley， who makes every effort to separate her beloved sister， Jane and Mr. Bingley. So， although flattered by Darcy's proposal and fully aware of his large fortune， Elizabeth has the least intention of accepting the proposal and is actually offended by his pride and his confession of degrading himself to be connected with her family. She refuses him flat， much to Darcy's surprise. It is only after she reads Darcy's letter that she begins to remove her prejudice against him and understand not only his real character but also， more importantly， her own. The letter is considered to be the beginning of her self-discovery. But by this time， her feeling towards Darcy is far from love. It is true that she is ashamed of her unjust accusations of him， but she still resents his manner of proposing， and doesn't regret having turned him down. It is in Darcy's beautiful grounds at Pemberley， as she herself later confides in Jane， that she begins to fall in love with him. This does not necessarily mean that Elizabeth is either mercenary or shallow. Rather， the beauty of the estate as well as the interior decoration and furniture， being an index to the owner's taste and personality， first makes Elizabeth feel that "to be mistress of Pemberley might be something"（181）. And Darcy's housekeeper's praise of him and Darcy's altered and improved behavior towards her people are also to his favor. With a better understanding of his real character and emotions， Elizabeth cannot help respecting him for his noble qualities. And besides respect， there is gratitude — gratitude "not merely for his having once loved her， but for loving her still enough， to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection”（196）， and gratitude for "such a change in a man of so much pride”（197）， which must be attributed to love， ardent love. It is not until she is convinced that Darcy has given up all thoughts of her （after learning Lydia's disgrace） that she first finds herself in love with him， as stated in the novel：“[N]ever had she so honestly felt that she could have loved him， as now， when all love must be vain”（205）. And she comes to comprehend that “he [is]s exactly the man， who， in disposition and talents， would most suit her”（232）. So， the whole process of Elizabeth's realizing her love for Darcy is actually a long and gradual one of her self-discovery. Here the love and marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy developed by Jane Austen once again illustrates and explores this important theme： "mutual respect and affection constitutes the best and safest basis for marriage" （Gooneratne 96）， and the marriage of this kind is not only natural but also noble and ideal.endprint

The marriages of the elder Bennet girls have happy endings. They live happily from then on and create a satisfactory environment for their friends and relatives. They are Austen's proof of her own ideal of perfect marriage： rational love is love at the highest level. Based on mutual understanding， it is an integration of passion， reason， trust， responsibility， affection and esteem and can bring true and permanent happiness in marriage.

Conclusion

From the several marriages depicted in Pride and Prejudice — typical respectively of marriage for passion， marriage for money and property， and marriage based on mutual understanding， respect and love with consideration of personal worth， we can sum up Jane Austen's attitude towards marriage. Being a rational and sensible lady herself， she criticizes the first kind as irrational， irresponsible， and short-lived. She acknowledges the second as rational and practical， but at the same time points out that it is a marriage without real union of hearts， without domestic warmth and love. However， considering women like Lucas are product and victim of the social tradition and political system， the ending she gives to them is not too bad. But， of course， the most ideal and approved-of kind is the third， a marriage based on both passion and ration， a marriage built upon mutual love， understanding， and respect as well as consideration of economic situation.

What kind of marriage do we want today？ Obviously， most of us would prefer the last kind， where you have all you can desire for. However， it is， at the same time， too dream-like， too idealized and perfect to be wished for. Mutual understanding and respect is important， but no perfection is possible. A man like Darcy — with his social position， his high moral integrity， his intelligence， his capability for genuine love， and his great wealth too — is hard to find. What's more， today's condition for women has changed. Their higher social status has made it possible for them to live an independent life， and marriage based only on money and property is dying out.

References

[1]Austen， Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York： Bantam Books， 1981.

[2]Bailey， John. Introductions to Jane Austen. London： Oxford University Press， 1931.

[3]Gooneratne， Yasmine. Jane Austen. London： Cambridge University Press， 1970.

[4]Halleck， Reuben Post. Hallecks New English Literature. New York： American Book Company， 1913.

[5]Jones， Vivien. How to Study a Jane Austen Novel. Basingstoke： Macmillan Education LTD. 1987.

[6]Marsh， Nicholas. Jane Austen： The Novels. New York： St. Martin's Press， Inc.， 1998.endprint