Abstract: Jane? Austin described four different marriages in her novel Pride and Prejudice, which profoundly reflected different views on marriage. The marriage between the heroine Elizabeth and Darcy is a happy marriage that the author wants to promote, and it is also advocated by people in today's society.
Paper Keywords: love; Foundation; Happiness; ideal marriage
Jane? Jane Austen is a famous female writer (1775- 18 17), who was born in Steventon, Hampshire, England. She studied with her father since childhood and read many excellent books in his library. He began to write when he was a teenager. At that time, he only wrote six complete novels for family entertainment, namely Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, mansfield manor, Emma, northanger abbey and Persuasion. Her novels mainly describe the quiet and comfortable rural life of the middle class and the love and marriage of gentlemen and ladies.
Among her works, Pride and Prejudice is the most representative and popular love novel. Focusing on the marriage experiences of Mrs. Bennet's daughters, especially the emotional experiences of Elizabeth and Darcy, this novel shows the marriage situation of the middle class in England in the18th century, and also reflects the author's views on love and marriage. In the author's time, women's social status was lower than that of men and they could not be independent. Therefore, a good marriage is very important for a young woman. At the beginning of the novel, "it is a universally acknowledged truth that a single man in a high position must want a wife" and "a rich bachelor always wants to marry a wife. This is a universally acknowledged truth. On the surface, it is said that men should get married, but in essence it implies the fact that single women must marry a man, especially a rich man. It reflects the actual status of British women at that time: gender inequality, women in a passive position in marriage.
Jane is the oldest child in Pride and Prejudice. Although she was born in a fairly wealthy family, the law stipulates that she cannot inherit her father's property because she is a woman. After the father dies, the property will belong to the nearest male relative. Due to various restrictions, women have no choice. If they want to improve their situation, they must get married, especially to a rich man. So in the novel, Charlotte wanted to ensure her living standard and social status, so she compromised and married a stupid but rich man, who was the representative of women at that time. Jane? Austin has a cynical attitude and a pragmatic view of marriage. In her view, the most important thing in marriage is mutual affection, and love is indispensable to marriage. Through this novel, Austin shows the power of love, which can cross class boundaries, prejudice and other obstacles.
In Pride and Prejudice, Austin describes the marriage of four young couples, which can be divided into three types: those who marry for material wealth and social status, such as Charlotte and Collins; Marry for lust and beauty, such as Lydia and Wickham; On the basis of mutual understanding and respect, Jane married Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy for true love.
Lydia and Wickham's marriage is based on beauty and desire. Lydia is the youngest daughter of the Bennet family. She inherited her mother's beauty, stupidity and vanity. She is unstable, immature, self-centered and lacks good upbringing. Although she is only fifteen years old, all she can think about is romance, coquetry and hooking up with officers. The most interesting thing for her is to sit in an officer's tent and flirt with at least six officers. Wickham is a man with no progress and moral problems. But his handsome appearance and disguised charm attracted Lydia. He chose to elope with Lydia, not out of love, but to avoid gambling debts. Although Lydia has no money or power, and Wickham can't get anything from her, it's good to have a woman with her on the way to escape. Finally, with Darcy's support, they finally got married, but they didn't love each other. "Two people have been moved to the west, looking for a cheap house to live in. As a result, they always spend a lot of money. Wickham soon became indifferent, and Lydia insisted on him a little. " In this regard, the author clearly points out that a marriage based on beauty and desire will not be happy.
Compared with Lydia and Wickham, Jane and Bingley are a happy couple. Their marriage is based on love and mutual understanding. Jane is the eldest daughter of Bennet family, beautiful, gentle and quite conservative at the same time. She likes Mr. Bingley, but she never shows her feelings. Mr. Bingley's kind and easy-going personality makes him popular wherever he goes. He fell in love with Jane at first sight, but he lacked confidence and was not sure whether Jane loved him. Jane has no high social status and wealth, so Bingley's sister doesn't want Jane to marry her brother. Their love suffered many obstacles, but they finally broke through the obstacles from all directions and lived happily together, which shows how great the power of love is.
The marriage between Charlotte and Collins is based on material wealth and social status. Collins is Mr. Bennet's nephew, stupid and arrogant. Because Mr. Bennet has no son, according to the law, he will inherit Mr. Bennet's property. Mr. Collins's own social status is average, but he is good at flattering his patron, Mrs. Catherine, a rich but very arrogant lady. He doesn't know love. He wants to get married, because as a priest, he wants to set a good example in the parish. Besides, Lady Catherine once suggested that he get married. In order to please Lady Catherine, he proposed to Elizabeth. After being rejected, he quickly turned to Charlotte. Compared with Elizabeth, Charlotte is a pragmatic girl. She said to Elizabeth, "All I ask is a comfortable home. Judging from Mr. Collins' personality, kinship and social status, I believe that marrying him can bring happiness, which is as possible as most people boast when they get married. "She doesn't think love is the foundation of marriage. She knew she was 27 years old. If she doesn't seize this opportunity, maybe she will become an old maid and never get married. Although Collins is not a suitable candidate, he is stupid and boring, but he has a small fortune and can afford a house, which Charlotte's parents can't afford. As the novel says: "She doesn't pay much attention to men and married life, but marriage is her consistent goal: for young women with good education but little property, marriage is the only way out;" Although marriage may not make people happy, it is always the most suitable safe for women. She never looked good until she was 27. Of course, having this safe makes her feel extremely lucky. "Charlotte is not happy after marriage. In the fifth chapter of the second volume, Elizabeth comes to their house as a guest. She found that once Collins said something inappropriate and made his wife feel ashamed, Charlotte would wisely pretend not to hear it. She usually avoids sharing a room with her husband. This shows how unhappy their marriage-a marriage based on money and social status-is.
In fact, at that time, women's social status was lower than that of men, and their economy was not independent. This is an important reason for Charlotte's fate. Austin criticized that in a male-dominated society, women have no future, and they must seize every opportunity to avoid a tragic fate.
Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage is based on true love and mutual understanding. They are the happiest couple in this novel. Like other love novels, lovers have to overcome many obstacles to tie the knot, and this story is no exception. Elizabeth is a smart, lovely and charming girl. Darcy is a rich and handsome gentleman. He is an ideal marriage partner for young ladies, but his family background and wealth make him too proud and conceited. At first, he did not pay much attention to Elizabeth. He said that Elizabeth's behavior was disgraceful, but gradually he was attracted by Elizabeth's wisdom, humor and charm. He fell in love with her, but looked down on her family. His arrogance and Wickham's lies led Elizabeth to prejudice and misunderstand him. When he first confessed to Elizabeth, she angrily rejected his proposal and accused him of being arrogant and rude. Later, Darcy realized his mistake, accepted Elizabeth's criticism and became very polite to Elizabeth and her family. When Elizabeth's little sister eloped with Wickham, he helped find them and gave them money for their marriage, thus saving the reputations of the Bennets and Lydia. When Wickham's lies were exposed, Elizabeth realized her wrong prejudice against Mr. Darcy, and she gradually realized that Darcy had noble character and was her perfect other half. They finally overcame all obstacles and lived a happy and harmonious life.