Discuss how society viewed the ideas of love and marriage in the early 1800’s Essay

Jane Austen was born in 1775 and spent most of her life in the countryside in a village called Steventon, Hampshire. She was the daughter of a clergyman, Reverend George Austen and her mother was called Cassandra Austen. She had a brief education starting at the age of seven and ending at eleven, when she settled at home. Like women in Austen’s society, she had little education due to the beliefs at the time; the only education she would have received would likely have been to up her social status, through marriage. She wrote â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† to portray society’s views of love and marriage to the reader and to shoe that marriages take place for different reasons. We see throughout the novel the excessive number of marriages and courtships that take place. The opening sentence â€Å"It’s a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in the possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† introduces the theme of love, marriage and money in an ironic way. The irony is contained in the fact that marriage is meant to be about love and happiness but clearly revolves around wealth and social standing. In the novel we see two established marriages take place; The Bennet’s and the Gardiner’s. Throughout the novel four other marriages take place; Lydia and Mr Wickham, Charlotte Lucas and Mr Collins, Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Mr Bingley. The marriage between Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas is purely based on financial and social security not love or appearance, It was extremely common fro women in Austens era to marry and save themselves from spinsterhood and social security and to gain, the above mentioned, financial and social security. In this type of marriage Austen illustrates that women who submit themselves are largely willing to suffer emotional distress in silence. â€Å"†¦ Mr Collins to be sure neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be a husband†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This reflects the social beliefs of, at least, the middle classes at the time. Evidently all that Charlotte wants out of life is a comfortable home and enough wealth to sustain this. † I’m not a romantic girl you know. I never was, I only ask for a comfortable home †¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The use of the word â€Å"only† emphasises the fact that Charlotte wants this and nothing else. The consequences of her not marring well would be to severely limit her options i.e. she would have to become a governess or an old maid for a wealthy couple, but this would not support her once she had reached an age at which, she could no longer work. When Charlotte Married Mr Collins she seemed happy in their relationship, even though its not based on love :- she has all that she wants out of marriage. She does however ignore her husbands silliness and does not have any bad words to say about him. † When Mr Collins said anything of which his wife might reasonably, which certainly was not unseldom†¦ once of twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general Charlotte wisely did not hear†. From this we gather that the orthodoxy of society has been embedded in her behaviour. She possibly perceives that she is happy because society deems that now she is married she should be happy. The marriage of Mr and Mrs Bennet was a stereotypical marriage of the time. The marriage was based on initial beauty and physical attraction plus the fact that they where matched financially. The family life, was also typical of the 1800’s, they had five daughters, and Mrs Bennets aim in life was to marry her daughters of in as quick a time as possible, this compares with Charlottes views of marriage as a step up the social ladder. â€Å"†¦A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!† Showing that she is considering the monetary aspects of a possible marriage. â€Å"†¦It is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes† Mrs Bennet mentions fleetingly but without conviction, she is mostly interested in trying to marry of at least one of her 5 daughters. Mr Bennet however constantly mocks his wife. We are made aware of this in their first dialogue † Do you not want to know who has taken it?† cried his wife impatiently. † You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hear it†. This is a perfect example of Mr Bennets sarcasm and unconcerned attitude towards his wife and their family affairs. Mr Bennet is the complete opposite to Mrs Bennet in the way in which he thinks, about the new gentleman in town for example † How so? How can it affect them?† Mrs Bennet is immensely annoyed by this but does not possess enough wit to retort. For Mr Bennet this mockery of his wife seems his way of dealing with being stuck in a loveless marriage. In Jane’s era divorce was not an option, people had no choice, they were devoted to that one person fro life. The Bennet’s estate is entitled to the nearest male heir which, was common practice at the time, leading to very limited options for the daughters in the family. The marriage between Lydia and Mr Wickham was mainly for desire and attraction even though they were not financially matched. This itself was frowned upon by society and exacerbated by the fact that their courtship was very short, unorthodox and kept a secret. Marriage of their type shows the results of not following society’s rules. Society viewed this as dishonesty and because of this their reputation would be severely tarnished. â€Å"That the loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable†¦ and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the understanding of the other sex†. Lydia’s damaged reputation would also affect her families reputation, unless they disown her. † she has no money, no connection, nothing that can tempt him she is lost forever†. The word no emphasises the fact that she has absolutely nothing and no-one. For Wickham, on the other hand, the slight on his reputation is less so, although still noticeable; â€Å"†¦ She was a surprise- all astonishment that Wickham should marry a girl whom it was impossible he could marry for money; and how Lydia could ever have attached him, had appeared incomprehensible†. Here we see that what would have been scorn when aimed a Lydia is mere surprise when directed at Wickham, this is due to the fact that in Jane Austens era the gentleman naturally had a higher social standing; just because of their sex. The Gardiner’s, along with the Bennet’s are the established marriages of the novel; but unlike the Bennet’s the Gardiner’s are a sensible, lively and intelligent couple who love each other and work well together. They always agree † in talking over their route the evening before, Mrs Gardiner expressed an inclination to see the place again. Mr Gardiner declared his willingness†. Jane Austen here is being an omniscient narrator . The Gardiner’s are in a harmonious relationship, a marriage that creates a positive image towards its readers. They are described as a † sensible-gentle like man† and an â€Å"amiable intelligent women† who are encouraging role models fro the Bennet children due to the poor quality of Mr and Mrs Bennet’s marriage. As we can see this is an example of one of the rare happy marriage of the time. In general people strove towards this, but most did not find it due to the fact that society dictated that once married you were in love. Jane and Mr Bingley engage in a courtship that occupies the central place in the novel. They first meet at Meryton and enjoy an immediate mutual attraction. They are spoken of as potential couple throughout the book, long before anyone imagines Darcy and Elizabeth might marry. Their marriage was one for physical attraction and love, Jane is the most handsome of the five Bennet daughters who looked for a man who is sensible, humorous and lively. † Is he married or single?† this shows an automatic interest in young wealthy men. Women in the early 1800’s married mainly for wealth and social status however this marriage illustrates that that is not always the case. Bingley’ love for Jane is strengthened by her beauty and the love between is equal. Jane’s idea of marriage is to find someone who loves her and respects her as much as she does him. The marriage between Jane and Mr Bingley set ‘s a standard for the rest of the Bennet daughters, † It was moreover, such a promising thing for her younger daughters, as Jane’s marrying so greatly must throw them in the way of rich men†. Here their marriage is reflecting society’s views of love and marriage as if a member of the family is married into a family of a higher status, then the rest of the daughters would be regarded as more eligible to be associated with higher status, wealthy, respectable men. The word greatly show that Mrs Bennet believes that Jane had chosen accurately and it displays society’s beliefs as to what constituted a very good match for Jane. Elizabeth is an intelligent and spirited women who passes a keen wit and enjoys studying people’s characters; on the other hand Fitzwilliam Darcy is a wealthy, proud man with a generous, thoughtful nature beneath his somewhat stiff demeanour. Elizabeth’s pride makes her misjudge Darcy on the basis of poor social standing blinds him, for a time, to her many virtues. Darcy and Elizabeth’s realization of a mutual and tender love seems to imply that Austin views love as something independent of these social forces, as something that can be captured if only an individual is able to escape the warping effects of hierarchical society. † In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you†. Here he speaks well however, there are other feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed. The narrator relates Elizabeth’s point of view of events more often then Darcy’s, so Elizabeth often seems a more sympathetic figure. The reader eventually realises however, that Darcy is her ideal match. Intelligent and forthright, he too has a tendency to judge too hastily and harshly, and his high birth and wealth make him overly proud and overly conscious of his social status. When he proposes to her, for instance, he dwells more on how unsuitable a match she is than on her charms, beauty, or anything else complimentary, â€Å"not handsome enough†. Here Darcy is reflecting society’s views of love and marriage because many people married for higher social status and financial status rather than for love and beauty. Pride and prejudice is a love story but does not reflect the romantic side. It gives the reader a sense of all the different kinds of relationships, none of them are the same. It shows that the ideal couple is difficult to find, the established marriages in the book being The Bennet’s and the Gardiner’s.