Jayson Karuna

Pride and Prejudice Essay

A well-known aphorism states, “marry first and love will follow.” During the Victorian
time period, very few marriages started with love. Women played insignificant roles in society,
and primarily were uneducated and had no occupation. Hence, a woman’s goal was to wed in a
prompt and timely manner to a man who can provide for her, the rest of her life. Unfortunately
this quick manner, prevented couples to develop love, which diminished their contentment in
the future. Several marriages in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice have no basis of love when
developed, but at the same time a couple of marriages are bounded together with the mutual
affection deriving from the spouses. The choice between a marriage of love or a marriage of
prompt creates an internal conflict amongst characters in the novel. Though published
centuries ago, Austen poses a question with great meaning: Should marriages develop from
love or should people get married for the sake of getting married? In a time where certain
cultures and traditions demand holy matrimony in a timely manner, Pride and prejudice offers a
reader a poignant view of emotional effects from marriages. In her novel, Jane Austen
condemns marrying before love has been mutually acknowledged by the two companions.

Relationships in Pride and Prejudice that develop with love and affection before
marriage produce ultimate contentment. Austen’s novel is packed with numerous relationships.
There are only a few that show promise of happiness in their future. Elizabeth and Darcy’s
initial relationship was tarnished because of excessive pride and misunderstanding. Once both
individuals came to a common understanding, one could truly see the sparks flying. After Darcy
and Elizabeth become engaged, Elizabeth opens her heart to Jane that same night. Jane is in
utter disbelief that Elizabeth is engaged with the man that she used to despise. Jane doubtingly
exclaims her uncertainty. Then Elizabeth retort, “Perhaps I did not always love him so well as I
do now… [but] it is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the
world” (355). The relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth truly grows a tremendous amount
since their first exchange. Time is the largest factor that leads them to their success. Love is a
process. It takes time, trust, and knowledge from two parties to fully become intact. A quick, or
arranged marriage, fails to build love. It forces people to show fake emotions due to their
relationship status. Raw emotion develops after knowing an individual for an extensive amount
of time. This is why; Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage is an accomplishment. Through time, they
have already overcome obstacles and indifferences. After this period of time they mutually
agree with the intellectual decision of marrying each other. They do not have to start their
marriage with a fresh slate, but instead, an aged slate with prior knowledge of each other’s true
character. This everlasting love will provide joy for the outlook of the beloved couple.
Furthermore, the marriage of Jane and Bingley also provides a great model of a marriage with
satisfaction. Unlike Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley never had detested one another in
the novel. Similarly, they were involved in a large misunderstanding. This misunderstanding was
that Jane did not share the same love for Bingly, as he does for her. Fortunately for the both of
them, this confusion eventually comes to an end. Following Bingley’s proposal to Jane, Jane
becomes ecstatic. The narrator proclaims, “Jane… was the happiest creature in the world”.
Then Jane exclaims, “Tis too much!” she added.” By far too much. I do not deserve it. Oh! Why
is not everybody as happy” (330). Jane and Bingley share divine love for each other since the
beginning of the novel. There love becomes tested when they are separated, and have no
formal contact with each other. Throughout this period Jane was clearly broken and even
attempted to catch his attention for her own heart’s sake. Although Bingley’s temperament was
not really shown, clearly it affected Bingley a great deal also. A reader knows this because he
proposed almost instantaneously after their misinterpretation was cleared up. This unbreakable
requited love they have had since their initial meeting will be the number one factor for their
happiness for the rest of their lives. Contentment is one of the several products of true love.
True love, can be distinguished from its unbreakable bond. Even through heartbreak, faults, and
sorrow; real love stands strong. A moment of truth arises when obstacles cannot break a
relationship. This truth can tell partners if they have a genuine connection. The obstacle in Jane
and Bingley’s relationship was their separation because of Darcy’s false insight. A reader can
conclude that, by Darcy attempting to break them apart; they were coming closer together.
From the examples of these two relationships, Jane Austen depicts marriage as a result of love,
rather than love a result of marriage.
 Relationships in Pride and Prejudice that don’t develop properly and attempt to build
love and affection after marriage turn out to be the relationships that are discontent. Mr.
Collins is one of the most peculiar characters in the novel. He has somewhat of an obsession
with Lady Catherine, his whole demeanor is quite absurd, and he clearly had one reason to
marry Elizabeth Bennet. This reason was so he could better his chances of claiming Mr.
Bennet’s inheritance. When this attempt failed, he moved on to the next best thing in a split
second. The next best thing was Charlotte Lucas. Unlike Elizabeth, Charlotte is very much
practical when it comes to love and marriage. Due to her being pragmatic she kindly accepts
the marriage proposal from Mr. Collins. When Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins
household they stroll in their garden. The garden is well cultivated and laid out by Mr. Collins.
The narrator states, “To work in his garden was one of his most respectable pleasures, and
Elizabeth admired the command of countenance with which Charlotte talked of the
healthfulness of the exercise, and owned she encourage it as much as possible” (151). Charlotte
deliberately encourages Mr. Collins to use the garden just so she can avoid him. This tells us a
lot about their marriage. The aphorism says that love will come after marriage. Although, by
marrying first with no love ever expressed makes the task of showing love in the future
impractical. How could the marriage of Mr. Collins and Charlotte ever become affectionate if
one of the spouses hardly wants to see the other? Charlotte already told Elizabeth that the
reason she accepted Mr. Colins’ proposal is because she would finally have her own home and
would get out of her parent’s hair. If someone goes into a marriage with this kind of mentality,
they aren’t expecting happiness in their future. In other words if one doesn’t expect or hope for
contentment, they shall never receive any. Even if Mr. Collins releases his sensitive side and
divinely loves Charlotte, the love will be unrequited. A marriage cannot be satisfactory with
disproportional love between spouses. Thus, the remaining years of their marriage shall be dull
and distant. In addition, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet presents another example of an
unhappy married couple. The Bennet parents like others in the Victorian age did not marry for
love, but attempted to marry and then love. Mrs. Bennet has quite the persona as a loud,
overbearing, foolish wife and mother whose sole purpose in life is to marry her daughters. Mr.
Bennet is a man who often uses sarcastic humor and withdraws from his family often. From
these descriptions, a reader can see how the puzzle pieces don’t fit. When most of the Bennet
daughters have been married off, Mr. Bennet is forced to tolerate Mrs. Bennet’s ridiculousness
all by himself. This is why when Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet’s favorite daughter, moves in Pemberly,
he takes advantage of the situation. The narrator proclaims, “…his affection for her drew him
oftener from home than anything else could do. He delighted in going to Pemberly, especially
when he was least expected” (366). Although, it seem Mr. Bennet is drawn to Pemberly
because of his affection towards Elizabeth. A reader can infer that Mrs. Bennet’s irrational,
absurd behavior drives him away. Clearly, Mrs. Bennet constantly vexes Mr. Bennet throughout
the novel. These constant annoyances cause him to leave her countless times. In reality, if
someone annoyed you that much why would you marry that person? This is why relationships
cannot go that fast and needs to be a process. If Mr. Bennet got to know Mrs. Bennet more,
and saw the ridiculous, illogical side of her things could have been different. He could have
moved on and married his ideal wife. Relationships that have spouses, who do not even fully
know each other, will always be failures. Knowledge is a key factor when it comes to a
marriage. Mr. Bennet never had time to read his soon to be wife fully, because of the
abruptness of his marriage. Thus, he has discontentment in his future because he married
without developing the quality of love.

While in certain cultures marrying is a more important than love itself, Jane Austen
teaches the reader that people need to be fully in love with each other before they commit to
become married. Primarily through the multiple relationships in the novel, the reader perceives
relationships with love before marriage and relationships that married before love. The
marriages who ended up being content are the ones that have mutual love before they planned
to obligate. The marriages who married with no love end up being dissatisfied with their
relationship in the future. Austen’s lesion is clear: love first before you marry. The modern
reader would be wise to heed this lesson despite their values being contorted by others and
their hasty decision making skills. Through Austen’s words in the text she really exhibits her point of
view and how it affects her characters in the novel.