Jane Austen’s Marital Views in Pride and Prejudice

張梅蘭

Abstract：Pride and Prejudice， an enduringly popular novel， published in 1813 by English writer Jane Austen （1775-1817）. It’s her most popular and best-loved novel. It starts with the well-known acknowledged that “a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife”. The Bennets of Longbourn have five daughters to be married off and single men in possession of good fortunes turn up at Longbourn becoming its neighborhood. Bingley and Jane， the eldest Bennets girl， fall in love with each other. Darcy is attracted to Jane’s sister Elizabeth， but he offends her by his insolent behavior at the ball. The repulsion is increased by the pride of the one and the prejudice of the other. However， pride and prejudice finally is erased on the basis of mutual understanding and genuine love and the story ends with the happy marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth. Austen tends to explore her views on marriage in her novel that happy marriage could thrive without anything but sincere love and prosperity to some extent. Introduction firstly give a general outlook of background involving 1） the life story of the Jane Austen 2） the brief profile of the social settings in Pride and Prejudice and 3） women’s status in the 19th century. This introduction illustrates the relative information allowing for better understanding of Jane Austen’s marital views in that designated period.

Chapter two， the mainstay of this article， mainly deals with five couple’s love story， say， Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet， Lydia and Wickham， Charlotte and Collins， Jane and Mr. Bingly， Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. By contrasting the five couple’s marriages， we conclude that cordial love with proper fortune last eternally while ingenuine ones perishes at a short time.

Chapter three is the last part of this essay. It reclaims the rational marriage is gained from the lover’s mutual esteeming， heartily devotion， reconciliation between each other and some amount of money. And encourage people in today’s society to pursue the pure love.

Key Words：marital views; Jane Austen; Pride and Prejudice

1. Introduction

1.1 The brief introduction of Jane Austen

Jane Austen （1775-1817） was not a Romantic， though she lived and worked in what is known as the Romantic period. She was one of a clergyman’s large and lively family at Steventon not far from Winchester. Her main masterpieces includes Sense and Sensibility （1811）， Pride and Prejudice （1813）， Mansfield Park （1814）， Emma （1816）， Northanger Abbey （1818） and Persuasion （1818）.

Austen passed the greater part of her life in the country parishes at Steventon and at Kent. She had no experience with the great and the conspicuous. And she wisely confined her work to her own little world of country gentlemen and ladies together with snobs， bores and social ‘climbers’. ‘Three or four families in a country village is，’ she said， ‘the very thing to work upon.’ With perfect modesty she called her work ‘small square two inches of ivory’， she always wrote about what she knew and understood; that is， parish life with calls， walks， picnics， conversations， parties， balls and marriages.

Austen’s strength lies in her realism， in her presentation of the actual problems of behavior and sensibility in an actual， concrete society. Longourn is offered as Longbourn， and Hartfield as Hartfield （both Longbourn and Hartfield are names of places in her novel）. She makes her reader acquainted intimately with the way men and women in a particular given situation work out their problems lf living， particularly the problem of marriage. She has a genuine concern for human feelings， which she depicts with intensity and get with detachment just as an admirer of Jane Austen’s art， Sir Walter Scott wrote in his Journal： “that young lady had a talent for describing the involvements， and feelings， and characters of ordinary life， which is to me the most wonderful I ever met with. The Big Bow-Wow strain I can do myself like any now going; but the exquisite touch， which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting… is denied to me， what a pity such a gifted creature died so early，’ Austen remained unmarried until she died at her age of 41 in July 18th， 1817 in Winchester， Hampshire， England.（p146-151）[3]

1.2 General social backgrounds in Pride and Prejudice

The Industrial Revolution firstly broke out in late 18th century. It propelled the rapid development of British economy and its social innovation. It was at this time that the middle class contrived from this tempest. They scramble for proper financial and social status from scratch. Nevertheless， it is impossible for them to level with the upper class and feudal nobles. Hence， they inched and fumbled every ways towards the higher hierarchy. Ultimately， they find that marriage with upper class could be the most convenient and convincing outlet. Therefore， it comes this plot that Mrs. Bennet is yearning to marry off her daughters to Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy who belong to upper class.

Austen defines this novel with satirical touch and hyperbole to present that the marriage at that designated time is determined by estate， possession， property and other factors， as is evident in the beginning ‘ a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife’. Hereby， the true love becomes precious and she advocates that genuine marriage based on both love and fortune.

1.3 Women’s position in the novel

People rush to pursuing property when the Industrial Revolution broke out， which causes them ignoring the education of women， allowing women estranging from better education， in Jane Austen’s time， there was no real way for young women of the ‘ genteel’ classes to strike out on their own or be independent， professions， the universities， politics， est.， were not open to women. What they suffer is inequalities in the educational system， lack of privacy， the burdens of child-bearing， domestic obligations， all in all， a submissive wife and complete devotion to her husband and family. Given all this， most genteel women were willing to marry just because they could not get money except by marrying for it or inheriting it， and since the eldest son generally inherits the bulk of an estate， as the ‘heir’， a woman can only really be a ‘heir’， a woman can only really be a ‘heiress’ if she has no brothers. Unmarried women had to live with their families， or with family-approved protectors. It is almost unheard of for a genteel youngish and never-married female to love by herself， even if she happened to be an heiress. Therefore， a woman who died not marry could generally only look forward to living with her relatives as a ‘dependent’， more or less ， Jane Austen’s situation， so that marriage is pretty much the only way of ever getting out from under the parental roof. Other wise， she would presumably confront the unpleasant necessity of being a governess， who is not highly respected and did not generally pay well or have fine working conditions on one hand. On the other hand， becoming an ‘old maid’ is not considered to be a desirable fate. Then it comes to the author’s view of hunting a happy marriage： permanent marriage consists in full contribution to each other when the lovers fall in love.

2 Stories of five couples

2.1 Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet

Austen directly describes Mr. Bennet in a ridiculous tone at the beginning of the novel：

Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding， little information， and uncertain temper. When she was discontented， she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news （p.6）[6]

Indeed， Mrs. Bennet fails by all relevant criteria according to the standards of society. She is in considerate， ill-mannered， and vulgar. As a parent， she is partly responsible for the superficial characters of her three younger daughters. Mrs. Bennet is simple-minded; her lack of self- knowledge makes quite a few funny mistakes. Different as Mrs. Bennet， Mr. Bennet is an fine-intelligent and witty man whose sarcasm and humor is largely employed in teasing his wife.

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts， sarcastic humor， reserve and caprice that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand. He take refuge in his books and seems to want nothing more than to be bothered as little as possible by his family. （p6）[6]

It seems that it’s ridiculous for these two persons to mate together and provoke us into thinking how could they get married.

Early as the plot depicted， Mr. Bennet elapsed with Mrs. Bennet only as her appealing appearance. They married before they could know well the disposition of each other. Having no common interest， they alienate from each other apparently， as is the apple of the discord why Mr. Bennet shows the apathy to his family. And Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s wrong marriage is so disastrous that it almost ruins the lives and prospects of all their children. Mr. Bennet always shows his contempt t o Mrs. Bennet and his little daughters. As is evident in his words in Chapter 7 when he heard the two youngest daughters were talking about the officers tediously：

‘From all that I could collect by your manner of talking， you must be two of the silliest girls in the country， I have suspected it some time， but I am now convinced.’（p32）[6]

‘This is the only point， I flatter myself， on which we do not agree. I had hoped that our sentiments coincided in every particular， but I must so far differ from you as to think our two youngest daughters uncommonly foolish.’（p33）[6]

Incompatibility leads to irresponsibility. Both father and mother haven’t reared their children appropriately. Austen protests this ill-mated elder Bennet， trying to caution us that unsuited partners have to suffer mental torture resulting from loveless marriage.

2.2 Lydia and Wickham

Lydia， the youngest sister of Elizabeth， is foolish and flirtatious; she inherits her mother’s vulgarity and ignorance but nothing from his father’s wisdom. What she live for is to flirt with the soldiers stationed at Meryton. From the description of Chapter9， we would see her temperament：

‘Lydia was a stout， well-grown girl of fifteen， with a fine complexion and good humored countenance; a favorite with her mother， whose affection had brought her into public at an early age. She had high animal spirits and a sort natural self-consequence， which the attentions of the officers， to whom her uncle’s good dinners and her own easy manners recommended her， had increased into assurance.’（p51）[6]

She always rushed to them on their sharp arrival. Overlooking her imprudent manner and her own social status， she surfeits herself with social activities at the early age of 15. Her ill conduct renders Jane and Elizabeth ashamed. In the eyes of those gentlemen， she is always pictured as a slut， an educated flirt. This also becomes the causative of her elopement with Wickham.

However， to Wickham， she is just the instrument to obtain the money aid from Mr. Darcy. He enters the reader’s vision with transcendent countenance， excellent man-like figure， genteel temperament and upright behavior. It seems all the good virtues are adhesive to him. Nevertheless， he is a wolf wearing sheep’s clothing. He is a confidence trickster who leaves a sense of debt in Meryton and Brighton， an evil and quite favor in corrupting others in the public if he can assure his security.

He elopes with Lydia without contemplating the ill consequences laid on her and shows no responsibility at all. He finally admits to marry Lydia due to Mr. Darcy’s help of relieving him from undesirable circumstance. Mr. Darcy promises to pay all his debt to secure him commission and furnishes Lydia with another thousand pounds.

Their marriage happens with sexual desire and momentary impulse， showing no evidences of neither economic base nor true love. Austen appears no appreciation towards this detesting marriage.

2.3 Charlotte and Collins

Charlotte is Elizabeth’s intimate friend， who embraces wisdom， intelligence and sensibility but without beauty and a good fortune. She confesses the social reality and indulges herself in seeking a ‘warehouse’ for her rest life. It’s known to all that the development of society imposes the woman in the background of Pride and Prejudice to depend on their husbands for housing and food. In addition， Charlotte is twenty-seven years old with plain looking. Compared to Elizabeth， she couldn’t win a well-fortuned man’s heart by her appearance though she is as sensible as Elizabeth. Otherwise， she would be old virgin or a governess with poor working condition and meager income. Therefore， when she encounters Mr. Collin’s proposal， she jumped to it readily. On the other hand， Mr. Collins， a comic and satirical figure who is not a sensible man and whose society is irksome is legal heir of Longbourn once Mr. Bennet dies. He desires a wife only for the sake of appearance. And his fickle and shallow nature allows him to switch his attachment from Jane to Elizabeth. After the previous refusal， he eventually attaches his eyes to Charlotte. As a matter of fact， his marriage is rarely by his desire to serve， his rich patroness Lady Catherine， to be a paragon in his patron， as is what Lady Catherine requires. We would witness this naked money transitioned marriage with money without genuine love. Meanwhile， it is also the ones Austen loathes， which would presumably lead to unhappy ending. She is just enduring this stupid creature. When Elizabeth visits her after her marriage， she observed that Charlotte turned a blind ear to his husband irksome speech towards her. Instead， she showed Elizabeth to her house， her garden， anything she could appreciate without Mr. Collins. It seems all the gardens， house， social status are her husband but not Collins. Undoubting， she marries them.

2.4 Jane and Bingley

Jane is the eldest daughter of the Bennet. She possesses a mild temperament， easy-going and prudent disposition and overwhelming beauty. She is such a docile girl that she never expects any evil suffused in this world. Just as Lizzy depicts：

‘oh！ You are a great deal too apt， you know， to like people in general. You never see a fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life.’（p16）[6]

She loves Bingley at the first sight. However， due to her over prudent disposition that she dare not to convey her love outwardly. Thus， it renders Bingley into predicament that whether she loves him. Resembling Jane， Mr. Bingley is a well-educated， amicable， mild tempered gentleman with a big fortune. He elopes with Jane and considers Jane to be the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld （p12）[6]. Different as Darcy， he attaches little attention to class differences. Jane’s embarrassing family and poor social status are not a significant impediment to his attachment to her. For the sake of Jane’s serenity and self-control just as mentioned above， Mr. Darcy determines that her favor of Bingley is just the conspiracy perpetrated by the Bennets who wants to find a safe economic base. Easily influenced by his friend， Mr. Bingley quits Netherfield for London. Another factor of their separation is that Miss Bingley hopes her brother to marry Miss Darcy， which will be helpful to her marriage with Mr. Darcy. She deceives Jane of his brother’s love with Miss Darcy and persuades his brother to leave Neitherfield.

It’s not until Elizabeth tells the truth does Darcy know Jane’s true feelings. The happy reunion then comes true. Austen compares Jane with Elizabeth to protrude Elizabeth’s the bravery， judgment and courage. Meanwhile， it echoes the theme that the sincere love can tide over every difficulty and finally reach its anticipatory happy ending.

2.5 Elizabeth and Darcy

Elizabeth is her father’s favorite daughter inheriting his wit， intelligence and humors， just as the description in Mr. Bennet’s words ‘Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.’ Austen depicts her as the protagonist of anti-feudal， showing a strong dignity on treating the equality between man and woman， an advocation of equal treat of different social status. Hence， when encountering Darcy， a proud gentleman with superb figure， good countenance and large fortune. She defends her dignity with her disgusting towards Darcy and declination of dance together with him. Nevertheless， Darcy has fallen in love with her black eyes， being attracted by her sense and sensibility and human but perpetrate looking down upon her poor social status. He begins to love her at their second meeting， as described in Chapter6

‘Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball： and when they next met， he looked at her only to criticize. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face， than he began to find it was rendered commonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form， he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable word， he was caught by their easy playfulness.’（p26）[6]

In the following days， Darcy found himself attaching more attention to Elizabeth; finally he can’t resist her beauty， intelligence and wit， allowing him to suggest a proposal. However， Elizabeth is such a perceptive girl to marry a man with perfect temperament that she refuses it. Though in Austen’s day， economic base plays a significant role， what Elizabeth weighs most is a genteel man being congenial in thoughts， emotions and interests. Hereby， she refuses Mr. Collin’s proposal firstly without any hesitation. It is impossible for her to love a sheer stupid， deformed creature. Secondly， she turns down Darcy’s proud though courtesy and honest proposal. In the face of financial status， she does not knuckle under to the snobbish Miss Bingley and never be swayed by Mrs. de Bourgh’s domineeringness.

Elizabeth balances money with love and finally attaches more importance to love and her love with Darcy isn’t broken by this minor obstacles. After Elizabeth’s refusal， Darcy realizes his offending towards Elizabeth and overcomes his disadvantages and eventually wins her heart by his fidelity. They make reconciliation between each other and achieve a happy marriage in the end. This is what Austen longs for. She indicates an ideal marriage of true minds is one whose household becomes a center of friendship， trust and love for husband and wife， who share a warm， mutual esteem.

Conclusion

A perfect match lies with mutual appreciation， equal treatment， and sincere devotion of each other. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ against any party in the marriage will lead to separation. Money， property and estate are exclusions to a happy marriage. Austen portrays her novels as anti-feudalism， anti-convention and pursuing freedom. By comparison among these five couples， we would have a clear， vivid picture of insincere love with accessory would become prevention of perfect match. Austen favors the last two love story while being against the previous three and encourages the lovers with genuine love to pursue their marriage bravely and keep it with their fidelity. This is also the core of Austen’s chief novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’， as a great writer， Austen’s prominence is not just her talents of literature， but her perspectives on women’s marriage is still influential to today’s society， which is full of stink money-transitioned love， propelling people to contemplate the value of the marriage. We still need a pure feeling， transparent feeling just like a crystal that can see each other thoroughly. Only in such case could we be compatible to each other， leading to a solemn marriage and lean each other in this marriage till we are old.

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