Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Essay -- Jane Austen Pride Prejudice

Jane Austens Pride and PrejudiceIt is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man inpossession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wifeJane Austen used this quote to open her second book, Pride andPrejudice, which was first produce in 1813. This is a story of theattitudes towards love and marriage in the 19th century, throughthe eyes of a number of people in different family situations andlevels of society. It explores what was socially acceptable anddisgraceful at the time, as well as the author, Jane Austens,personal opinion on the matter. This is shown mainly through thecharacter of Elizabeth Bennet, the second of five daughters of Mr andMrs Bennet, inhabitants of the Longbourn estate. At this time, it wasin truth important that young girls of around sixteen and above should aimto marry as soon as possible to avoid becoming broken and unable tosupport themselves after the inevitable death of their father, whoseestate would usually be inherited by the next male heir i n the family.In the case of the Bennets, this is a distant cousin with whom theyhad not been in contact with for some time. His name is Mr. Collins...Another worry for young women at the beginning of the nineteenthcentury was how high a reputation they had. It was unorthodox for afemale to admit, deal Lydia does when in Meryton, that she had comeinto town to find a man, because she would seem very eager and thismay result in people looking down on her. On the other hand, if a ladyacted as though she didnt like a man so that he wouldnt think shewas chasing him, the man might think that she really disliked him anddecide to admire another woman instead. purport could be verycomplicated... ... You know that itis not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself.This makes it perfectly clear that Lizzy thinks that it would beimpossible for anyone, no matter how set-against crunch they are,tomarry someone for a reason other than love. This proves that she is aromantic, and once set in her ways cannot see how anybody could thinkdifferently to her.In conclusion, I would say that Jane Austen looks down upon marryingfor material success or gain, and superficial attraction and mismatchbecause at least one person in the relationship go away end up beingunhappy. She does, however, believe in marrying for love because youwill be able to live the rest of your life happily with a mate youare devoted to. I also think that if you choose to marry, you shouldonly do it for this reason because I believe that all you need islove.