Elizabeth Turns Down Collins As Her Marriage example essay topic

19th century England had some serious social problems left over from the heyday of Royalty and Nobility. One of the most significant of these was the tendency to marry for money. In this basic equation, a person sought a spouse based on the dowry receivable and their allowance. This process went both ways; a beautiful woman might be able to snag a rich husband, or a charring handsome man could woo a rich young girl. In these marriages, money was the only consideration. Love was left out, with a feeling that it would develop as the years went by.

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen comments that marriage in her time is a financial contract, where love is strictly a matter of chance. Lady Catherine states the fact that happiness in marriage is strictly a matter of chance. This holds true in the conception of marriage held in the novel. All of the marriages in the book formed under the bonds of money rather than the bonds of love end up unhappy or unsuccessful.

The whole novel outlines attempts to dance around love for the combination of a wealthy person with an attractive person. The first line of Pride and Prejudice, It is a universally acknowledged fact that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife, sets the tone for the rest of the novel. We interpret it to mean that a wealthy man either actively pursues a wife based on his knowledge that no one would turn down a wealthy suitor, or attractive women use their beauty to their advantage to attract a rich husband. Confident in his knowledge of his own wealth and magnificence, Darcy less than romantic first proposal to Elizabeth is a good example of the first of these truths. Darcy marches into the room, and after stating all the reasons why a wealthy man suc as himself should never marry a socially inferior person such as Elizabeth, he proposes to her. He is totally confident in the knowledge that no woman would turn down marriage to a person as rich as himself, no matter how obnoxious he is.

He seems out rightly stunned when Elizabeth refuses him. This refusal shatters his conception of reality, showing him that money is not all powerful. This is what seems to throw him head over heels in love with Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennett is the embodiment of the second part of the rule.

Her marriage was based on the principal of financial gain, and she desires her daughters to be the same. She was able to attract Mr. Bennett, a seemingly sensible and self controlling man, by, keeping her mouth shut and smiling a lot. Basically stated, she entered their marriage under false pretenses. She had no real love for him, only a desire to gain financially. Every action taken by her in the novel is directly intended to undermine her daughters marriages, guiding them toward financial gain. She is furious when Elizabeth turns down Collins, as her marriage to him would mean the estate would stay in the family.

She found Darcy most disagreeable, but would have been furious if Elizabeth had told her the she had turned Darcy's marriage proposal down. Charlotte Lucas represents the group entirely left out of this equation. She has neither extreme beauty nor wealth. She can not even attract a husband through her wit as Elizabeth does, and so she is basically without hope for inclusion.

Elizabeth is astonished when Charlotte accepts Mr. Colleens marriage proposal, as she does not understand fully Charlottes predicament. She can not hope for a wealthy and handsome husband like Elizabeth and Jane can, as she does not have their particular assets. She can hope at best for security and a degree of comfort. In conclusion, the essential statement made about marriage in Pride and Prejudice is that a marriage for money will end up unsuccessful.

This is proved by examples of unsuccessful marriages formed for money, and successful marriages formed for love.