This essay will argue why Jane Austen`s Pride and Prejudice does not support the idea of a companionate marriage. The novel does not support a companionate marriage because it involves characters marrying for the economic realities of marriage and for the benefit of their social class rather than for love and equality. Marriage in the novel can be seen as more than the act of falling in love and making the most serious commitment in one`s life. It requires characters to enter a legal contract, not just for the economic realities that come with a marriage but because society requires them to make this commitment. Firstly, this essay will argue that finance becomes a crucial issue in the arrangement of the marriage of Charlotte and Mr. Collins
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Wickham is arranged to avoid social disgrace, despite the initial impression than money plays a role in the arrangement. Pride and Prejudice introduces the idea of a marriage that is “not merely personal but social” (Fraiman 87) in the pairing of these characters. Wickham eloped with Lydia as a way out of his debts to salvage his wealth. Mr. Darcy arranged the marriage so that Wickham would be provided with money to repay his debts, as the Bennet family were of a lower class and did not have extravagant sums of money. Despite the narrator`s depiction of him as being the man that “will never marry a woman without some money” (Austen 192), Wickham sees the act of marriage as being the sole way to improve his finances and gain the respect of society he needs by having a …show more content…
The novel “cannot be dismissed as a Cinderella `someday my prince will come `” (Pinion 95) type plot. It is evident that much of the characters in the novel do not marry because they have found their true companion. Instead, the text becomes a story about the “failed mutuality” (Tanner 10) of most couples. Pride and Prejudice does not support the idea of a companionate marriage simply because the characters get married for two principle reasons: finance and social class, as argued in this
Wickham is arranged to avoid social disgrace, despite the initial impression than money plays a role in the arrangement. Pride and Prejudice introduces the idea of a marriage that is “not merely personal but social” (Fraiman 87) in the pairing of these characters. Wickham eloped with Lydia as a way out of his debts to salvage his wealth. Mr. Darcy arranged the marriage so that Wickham would be provided with money to repay his debts, as the Bennet family were of a lower class and did not have extravagant sums of money. Despite the narrator`s depiction of him as being the man that “will never marry a woman without some money” (Austen 192), Wickham sees the act of marriage as being the sole way to improve his finances and gain the respect of society he needs by having a …show more content…
The novel “cannot be dismissed as a Cinderella `someday my prince will come `” (Pinion 95) type plot. It is evident that much of the characters in the novel do not marry because they have found their true companion. Instead, the text becomes a story about the “failed mutuality” (Tanner 10) of most couples. Pride and Prejudice does not support the idea of a companionate marriage simply because the characters get married for two principle reasons: finance and social class, as argued in this