How is the theme of marriage explored in Pride and Prejudice? The importance of the theme of marriage in Pride and Prejudice is clear right from the famous opening sentence. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ Of course, Austen is not really being serious here; she is being ironic. In fact, the opposite is true – a single woman without a fortune wants a husband. Exactly why people married, and what they wanted out of marriage is explored in the novel.
He appears to be suspicious that she may be going to meet another man and this rapid change of mood indicates an element of unease and tension in their relationship. We are quickly made aware of Eddie’s apparently contradictory feelings for his niece; he is proud of the way she looks, "like one of them girls that went to college", but becomes upset that her skirt is too short and accuses her of "walkin’ wavy". As her guardian, he clearly takes pride in seeing her develop into a young lady, but at the same time is alarmed by the fact that other men are starting to notice her. There is a fine line developing between his feelings of protectiveness towards her and possessiveness. Eddie apparently finds it difficult to accept the fact that Catherine is growing up - referring to
“The Duchess is pleased with a bough of cherries just as much as she was to her Husband” (Mitchell 75). The way that she felt made the Duke feel insulted that a man of his social status was compared to slaves and sunsets. The Duke is very jealous that his social status and he are on the same level as a white mule to his Duchess. The things that the Duchess loves anger the Duke because he thinks
Though Heathcliff and Catherine become the best of friends, Hindley does not take kindly to Heathcliff becoming part of the family. When Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw die, Hindley takes over Wuthering Heights and makes Heathcliff a servant, degrading Heathcliff. Meanwhile, even though she truly loves him, Catherine sees Heathcliff as beneath her in society and social class. When Catherine meets Edgar she is impressed with his manners and wealth is then promised to be married to Edgar. It's hard to settle such an intense love with the choice she makes, but somehow she is able to work out the reasoning in her head; “I've no business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it.
Your place in society was extremely important and made a huge impact on who you married. Upper and lower classes were not to be mixed and if done so, you were looked down upon. This concept is shown when Lady Bracknell interviews John before allowing her daughter, Gwendolen, to be with him. She has no interest in approving of John until she finds out that he is in fact from a very wealthy background. Wilde also does a good job of mocking the way men and women think of each other.
In this regard Mr. Collins is a true production of this society. He wants to “make amends” to the Bennets girl for the entail on the property by marrying one of them. It is very ridiculous that in such a matter of marriage, he is considering only the “property” not his own prudence whether the Bennet girl is fit for him or the marriage will be a proper one. When we look at another character of this novel namely Charlotte Lucas, we see that she is also going on the same path of the society. The union between Charlotte and Mr. Collins is a good example of this marriage that brought about entirely for economic reasons.
In his message, Franklin advises his friend that marriage is the best solution not for only sexual desires but also the undisputable source of solid happiness. Having suspicions that his friend would not follow his guidance, Franklin recommends him to choose older mistresses instead of younger ones and lists eight valuables reasons to better support his argument. Franklin commences his essay by presenting advantages of the marriage. He says ‘’ I know of no medicine fit to diminish the violent inclinations you mention…Marriage is the proper remedy. It is most natural state of man and therefore the state in which you can are most likely to find solid happiness’’.
Right from the start of the novel irony is present in the opening line, as we're told "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" Not only does this highlight the impact social conventions on individuals yet Subsequently we become acquainted with the fact that it isn’t the man who's in desperate need of a wife yet it's the woman and her mother who are constantly searching for a rich, wealthy man to secure their futures. The line establishes a humorous tone to the novel, preparing us for Mrs. Bennet's foolishness and small mind. Early in the novel she tells Mr. Bennet about Mr. Bingling arrival in town; she states, "A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!" This reinforces the idea that middle class families tried breaking social barriers with the upper class members of society and strove to attain the same social eloquence and status as those with high monetary seemed to be Mrs. Bennet's only goal and biggest priority in life, which really does say a lot about her character.
She was "in love" with Algernon who was acting as if he was Earnest(i.e. he was not, because Jack was indeed named Earnest), Lady Bracknell opposed to her and Algernon getting engaged but then changed her mind because she found out that Cecily was a very wealthy person. another way that i feel like oscar wilde represented the victorian era is how he related his character as having complicated points of view and issues with their emotions about love and marriage. i feel like on the book
Desiree eventually grows up into a beautiful and tender young woman. Eventually a young man named Armand falls in love with Desiree and asks her hand in marriage. He knows of Desiree's past but is in love and does not care of it. Complications start to arise when Madame Valmonde noticed the baby's mixed ancestry, exclaiming out loud at first sight of him "this is not the baby,” Desiree thought she was mentioning how big the baby had grown. Madame Valmonde knew her influence would not