Theme of Love and Marriage in "Pride and Prejudice"

 Q: Marriage is the focal point of Jane Austen’s works. Discuss in reference to the novel “Pride and Prejudice”?

Gist:

This novel is considered a flagship work by Austen due to the versatility of its themes. It was written in 1797 under the title 'First Impression,' but later on, it was published under 'Pride and Prejudice.' Some critics think that Pride and Prejudice is simply an account of love and affection between the opposite gender. But upon deep analysis and evaluation, it depicts an objective picture of the society during Austen's time.

Theme of Love and Marriage:

One of the most striking aspects of 'Jane Austen's writings is her emphasis on the concept of love and marriage. To have a deep insight regarding this, we need to see things in a historical context.

Regency Period:

Marriage was a great issue of that period. Parents from inferior classes mostly wish their daughters to get married to men from the upper class due to better economic prospects. It is, in fact, an irony of that time that even inferior classes don't prefer their respective classes. The other reason is that an evil of prostitution had aroused. So, to avoid any shameful situation, parents want their daughters to get married as soon as possible.

Pride and Prejudice and Theme of Marriage / Love:

The novel's opening lines are the epitome of the core theme, i.e., marriage.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of wife."

It is probably the best opening sentence found in any fictional work, announcing that the novel will be a masterpiece of irony. If we analyze these lines, the apparent meaning is that a wealthy man needs a wife. But in reality, this is an ironically comic statement which means a single wealthy man must be a target for the woman of the society of that time.

Now let's analyze this concept in the light of the marriages in the novel.

i)              Marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy :

Their relationship is not based on sudden affection; rather, they had to pass through a period of apathy and hatred. Their journey starts with 'Pride and Prejudice' and ends with love. So their relationship is the ideal one. In the beginning, both of them had low opinions about each other.

"She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me."

"the last man in the world, whom could ever be prevailed on to marry."

But afterward, both of them surrender their pride and prejudice against each other. Later on, we see transformation in these characters, and both Elizabeth and Darcy show love, affection, and sincerity towards their relationship.

"I never saw such a woman, I never saw such capacity and taste and elegance, as you describe united."

"She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man, who in disposition and talents would most suit to her."

ii)             Marriage of Jane and Bingley:

Like Darcy and Elizabeth, the marriage of Jane and Bingley is also an example of a successful marriage. This marriage depicts true love and affection without any greed for materialistic possession. They were attracted to each other soon after their first meeting; both have a lot of respect. Mrs. Bennet says about them,

 "You (Jane and Bingley) are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income."

So, their marriage is in between success and failure. Marriage between these two also benefits the Bennet family's economic state.

"The advantage of families of a good match could be considerable."

iii)                Marriage of Lydia and Wickham:

The marriage of Lydia and Wickham was based on worldly things. They both preferred appearances, sexual feelings, outer beauty, and timely emotions. If these qualities were missing in one of them, their so-called relationship could fade away. Lydia becomes a daily visitor at her sister's house, and her husband is always out of town.

"Her husband was gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath."

In this way, we can say that their marriage is an example of bad and hasty marriage based on superficial things.

"They were always moving from place to place in quest of a cheap situation and always spending more than they ought. His affection for her lasted little long." 

iv)                Marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet: 

In the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, we can see the reflection of Lydia and Wickham's marriage. It was also a mismatch; Mr. Bennet got married to Mrs. Bennet based on sexual attraction. But, later on, he realized that she was an unintelligent woman. Through Jane Austen's terrific way of contrasting the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, we get a clear picture of both the characters. 

They are different in terms of their temperament, emotions, and understanding. Through this marriage, Austen tried to give us an insight into the compromised marriages at that time. Couples usually have to compromise with each other because divorce was considered to be a 'forbidden tree.'

"Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts sarcastic humor, reserve and caprice." 

But, Mrs. Bennet was different,

"She was a woman of mean understanding, little information and uncertain temper." 

The following comment from Mr. Bennet shows the crux of their marriage,

"My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect your partner."

v)                  Marriage of Collins and Charlotte:

This example of marriage is different from others. Like other typical women, Charlotte has also viewed marriage as the source of gaining higher status in society. They did not have any special attraction for each other; rather, they married each other due to worldly gains as Collins accepts her proposal owing to economic hardships. Such marriages are a part of normal routine during the regency period, where materialistic gains are on priority rather than love. As charlotte says about her relationship:

"I am not romantic, you know, I ask only as comfortable home."

·      Conclusion

The way Jane Austen presented these five marriages in her plot, one can easily conclude that marriage based upon haste, appearance, or economic deal can not go longer. While marriage is based upon true feelings, affection and love leads to happiness. Jane Austen as a realist depicted a true, rather objective picture of society during her time. Her work has universal appeal, i.e., it means that this theme can be comparable to the current social setup. The purpose of focusing on this theme is to expose the cheap mentality of the lower and middle class.

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