Description of marriage and love

From the end of 18 to the beginning of 19, vulgar and boring "sentimental novels" and "gothic novels" flooded the British literary world, while Austin's novels showed the daily life and pastoral scenery of the British rural middle class that had not been impacted by capitalism at that time. She is "the first novelist who realistically describes the daily life of ordinary people." Her works reflect the comedy of middle-class life in Britain at that time and show the possibility of family literature. She has explored the self-discovery process of young heroines from love to marriage many times. This method, which focuses on analyzing the characters' personalities and the tension between the heroine and the society, makes her novels get rid of the tradition of18th century and close to modern life. It is this modernity, coupled with her humor, that can attract readers for a long time. [1] Although the breadth and depth of reflection were limited, it played a very good role in changing the vulgar atmosphere in novel creation at that time, so Austin's novels played a connecting role in the history of English novel development.

Jane Austen has lived in a small country town all her life. The people she contacted were mainly small and medium-sized landlords and priests, and their quiet and comfortable life was the main observation environment. In her works, we can't see any reflection of the main social contradictions. Interestingly, although Austin never married, the description of marriage and love is the most talked about in her works. She vividly and truly describes the small world around Jane Austen, especially the love and marriage turmoil between gentlemen and ladies, with women's unique careful observation and grasp of delicate emotions.

Jane Austen's six novels are all marriage novels with the theme of marriage. Although her view of marriage is inevitably branded with the times, it is not completely orthodox. The work that clearly shows the writer's view on marriage and love is undoubtedly Pride and Prejudice. This novel reflecting the marriage problem is the author's favorite work and her most popular work. On March 1 2007, World Reading Day, Pride and Prejudice was selected as one of the top ten indispensable books by British readers. The whole work focuses on the marriage experience of Bennett's daughter and the emotional experience of Elizabeth and Darcy, and shows the marital status of the British aristocracy in the middle and late18th century. To some extent, it also discusses the connotation of marriage, so this book also has certain social and practical significance. Mark Shore, a literary critic, once commented on Pride and Prejudice: Pride and Prejudice and Austin's later novels will shock fools. If her point of view can be recognized, this society composed of fools will be completely transformed. ”[2]

Three, three marriages show three realms.

The motive of choosing a spouse determines the standard of choosing a spouse. People's criteria for choosing a spouse will vary with different motives. Since ancient times, people's criteria for choosing a spouse should not only follow the natural attributes of marriage, but also be influenced by the social attributes of marriage. The natural nature of marriage determines that people should consider each other's physical, economic, religious and moral factors when choosing a spouse. It is impossible for a person to have only one motive when choosing a marriage partner, but several motives exist at the same time, but the emphasis is different. And this difference in emphasis is the difference in people's criteria for choosing a spouse.

According to the differences of mate selection criteria, historian Lawrence Si Tong divided the motives of British people in choosing a spouse into four categories in his masterpiece 1500- 1800: consolidating the economic, political or social status of the family; For personal feelings, love and friendship; Sexual attraction; Passionate love. [3] In Pride and Prejudice, most of the marriage relationships created by the author can find corresponding types. For example, the combination of Charlotte and Collins is in line with the type of "consolidating the family's economic, political or social status".

Jane Austen describes a series of activities related to marriage in a humorous way in Pride and Prejudice. How men choose their wives and how young women and their mothers choose their future husbands constitute many wonderful scenes in this novel. In this work about marriage, the author focuses on several different marriage relationships. In addition to the marriage between Charlotte and Collins mentioned above, there are several more important marriages: Lydia and Wickham; Elizabeth and Darcy and so on. Although they all entered the besieged city of marriage, the happiness of marriage is different. This is because Austin's marriage involves not only feelings, but also the economy. "A bachelor with property must marry a wife, which has become a universally recognized truth." [4] The first sentence of this book points out an important factor affecting marriage-money, but is this really the truth? By analyzing the novel, we can divide the marriage in the book into three different realms. By comparison, we will have our own judgment.

(A) Lydia and Wickham's marriage: blind passion for pleasure

In Pride and Prejudice, if you want to choose the most absurd and unpopular marriage, it is undoubtedly the marriage of Lydia and Wickham. The author didn't even describe positively how they got together and then left. Simply let the reader know the general situation through the letters written by Jane and Aunt M Gardner to Elizabeth. It's hard to say what love there is between two people. Even if there is reluctance, it can only be regarded as blind passion produced by "carnal love". Jane Austen is critical of their marriage. Lydia's frivolity, recklessness and ignorance have not changed even at the end of the novel, and Wickham's cunning, ambition and shallowness also disgust us. Reason, emotion and morality can be said to be the most important components in the spirit of marriage, but they have none, and their marriage has long been doomed to failure.

The foundation of marriage is the foundation of marriage, which determines the characteristics of marriage. Western marriage pays more attention to sexual factors. In their view, the combination of men and women "mainly rewards the satisfaction of sexual relations." For a long time, westerners have a concept that marriage is for love and seeking a partner, and some are for sexual harmony and avoiding loneliness. Lydia is used to being fascinated by men, and she always takes advantage of it skillfully. "As long as she is seduced by others, she will take the bait for everyone." For those she likes and dislikes, the only criterion for choosing a man is whether the other person's face is beautiful or not. When a beautiful man appears, her attention will be immediately focused. As for whether she is in love with each other, she doesn't care at all, let alone whether the other party really loves her.

This marriage with distinctive personality based on sex is unstable. Marriage is a personal matter and has nothing to do with others, so it is easier to make decisions and take actions without any restrictions or obstacles. Love itself is unstable and the most elusive part of human emotions. [5] Wei said: "In all love, sex is the strongest, most confusing and most unstable." Therefore, a marriage based on sex always contains a "hidden crisis". [6] Moreover, there is a tendency of "liking the new and hating the old" in human nature, which aggravates the instability of sex-based marriage. Lydia and Wickham's marriage is both personal and rooted in sex, so its instability is inevitable. In addition, the emotional communication between people in western society is relatively limited. In this environment, it is difficult to get rid of the emotional obstacles caused by the contradiction between husband and wife, and it is easy to produce discord and emotional trauma and cracks over time. This emotional scar can't heal and completely collapse. With the disappearance of sex as the basis of marriage, marriage is naturally unnecessary. In the last chapter of Pride and Prejudice, the author implicitly points out the marriage prospect of Lydia and Wickham: "Wickham will soon be relaxed and happy, and Lydia will hold on for him for a while."

The book does not specify why Wickham chose Lydia, but money played an important role in his agreement to marry Lydia. Wickham is a real playboy. Before she eloped with Lydia, she had courted Miss King and Miss Darcy, not for sex, but for money. Wickham's mentality was related to the social atmosphere at that time. /kloc-in the 0 th and 8 th centuries, wealth is still the focus of mate selection for the upper and middle classes in society. As daniel defoe complained in 1727, "money and hymen are still the goals people consider." At the same time, as a lower middle class, Wickham did not inherit a lot of property, which aggravated his greed for money. Finally, Mr. Darcy came forward and paid off Wickham's debts. Besides the money in Lydia's name, he gave her 1000, bought an office for Wickham, and finally promoted the marriage between Wickham and Lydia. "Beauty, like ordinary people, also needs food and clothing." It can be seen that in this marriage, in addition to blind passion, money also plays the role of "Mr. Key". ?

(B) The marriage of Charlotte and Collins: Compromise with reality

In Pride and Prejudice, money, love and marriage are often inseparable. In the novel, when people talk about marriage, there is always a shadow of money, and the most typical example to explain the choice of money for marriage is the combination of pastor Collins and Charlotte Lucas.

Collins chose Charlotte as his wife, obviously not because he fell in love with her. When Collins proposed to Elizabeth, he explained his reasons for getting married: "First, I think every well-off priest (like me) should set an example for the parish in marriage; Second, I believe that marriage will greatly enhance my sense of happiness; Third-maybe this point should be mentioned earlier. The lady I was fortunate enough to be a benefactor specifically advised me to get married. " So when Collins' proposal to Elizabeth was rejected, he turned to Miss Charlotte without hesitation. Collins was in a hurry to get married, not out of personal need, but in order to complete a task entrusted to him by Mrs. Delport (menstruation of Darcy) whom he admired. As long as he got married, he finished the task. It doesn't matter who you marry or whether you have feelings for her. Besides, Miss Charlotte is a lady of noble birth and a suitable person, which is enough.

Collins doesn't know how to love and run a marriage. He looks clumsy, unmanly and conceited. To a certain extent, his marriage followed the popular view of marriage in the society at that time: "It has become a universally recognized truth that all bachelors with property must marry a wife."

Charlotte Lucas in Pride and Prejudice is a thoughtful and rational woman. She was the first to see Darcy's interest in Elizabeth, and expressed her concern about the emotional development of Jane and Bentley to Elizabeth (it turned out that she was right). Charlotte's cleverness is impressive, but what is even more impressive is her shrewdness in marriage choice. She clearly realized the universality of upper-middle class marriage in British society at that time: material factors were an important factor in the marriage life of British society from18th century to19th century. The Lucas family also belongs to the aristocratic class. During the period from 16 to 18 century, British aristocrats "marriage is not a private union to meet personal psychological and physical needs, but an institutional strategy to ensure the permanent existence of the family and its property." [7] The marriage of nobles is largely subordinate to family interests, and they attach great importance to the economic benefits brought by marriage. This is especially true for many nobles with financial difficulties. Therefore, Charlotte, who belongs to a ruined aristocratic family, does not have much dowry, nor can she climb high and ask for expensive things. Being forced to marry Collins is actually a helpless choice. Moreover, at the end of 18 and the beginning of 19, Britain was also a male-centered era, where men and women were unequal and women's social status was very low. According to the law, women have no right to inherit property, and family life is considered to be the most suitable world for women. Marriage is the shortcut and the only way for women to survive and get life security and "economic security". This led to the marriage at that time not only as the destination of love, but also as a means of "making a living", which inevitably produced some seemingly absurd things. "Moreover, Marx (and Bell) once said that the position of women in the relationship with men enables us to judge the degree of freedom and non-freedom in a certain society. [8]

What a clever woman Charlotte is! She had already seen that Mr. Collins was unreasonable and unlovable, and it was really boring to get along with him. His love for her must be "illusory", but she chose him as her husband, because this kind of marriage chosen by Charlotte is always the most suitable for women's safety, which can guarantee that she will not be hungry and cold, and she will not have to worry about her husband's change of heart. As for whether the marriage is happy or not, it is put in a secondary position. So when Elizabeth visited her friends, she found that "Mr. Collins sometimes said something that embarrassed Charlotte very much" and "Charlotte always pretended not to hear it wisely." Moreover, Charlotte didn't take him to heart, and she was very happy to show her sister and Elizabeth around the house alone. It seems that Collins does not exist, and there is really a very comfortable atmosphere. This is the marriage of Charlotte and Collins. Obviously, the key to this marriage is money. For Collins, such a life made him very satisfied and the "purpose" of marriage was realized. And Charlotte "how to control her husband and how to tolerate him, I have to admit, things are handled quite well." Although such a marriage maintained by money and wealth is not perfect, it is still a marriage.

In this marriage, there is no warm and happy feeling between Charlotte and Collins, only an ordinary life. Perhaps only after giving birth to the next generation will they have a kind of love for each other-love for the next generation and care for their children, and then their marriage may not be so boring. Austin doesn't appreciate this kind of marriage, and her satire on this kind of marriage can be felt through the text. But from our modern eyes, Charlotte's choice is also forced by reality. You may delay, but time will not. For an old girl like her, having a home seems to be the most important thing. Of course we won't appreciate Charlotte's choice, but can we try to be more understanding and tolerant of her?

(3) Elizabeth and Darcy: the perfect combination of reason and emotion.

From 16 to 18, the standard of mate selection in British upper class has not changed much. They pay attention to the material basis of marriage, emphasizing the right family, but they don't deny that love and affection are the premise of marriage. Erika Nelson, a historian, inspected the marital status of urban and rural people in Du Ze, England, and affirmed that "love is supreme". MacFarlane's research also showed that love or kinship played an important role in people's marital life at least from the 6th century. [9] The marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy is the most perfect and successful ideal marriage in Pride and Prejudice, and their union is really based on love.

Elizabeth is the second child of the Bennett family. Although she doesn't have Jane's pretty face, she is also very graceful. What's more commendable is that she is not only smart, lively and lovely, but also clean as mud, full of personality and connotation. Elizabeth realized the social atmosphere of talking about marriage based on wealth and social status at that time, and her best friend's marriage was not based on love, but she did not lose herself, but chose to continue to pursue her love bravely. It was Elizabeth's extraordinary speech and noble sentiment that attracted Darcy and made him fall in love with her gradually. This also reflects the traditional British concept of mate selection, because in addition to beauty, descent and wealth, the upper class of society has always paid attention to character and virtue. For a long time, British codes of conduct and folk customs have emphasized a person's inner qualities and importance in marriage.

It stands to reason that the combination of Elizabeth and Darcy is a match made in heaven, and there should not be too many twists and turns. But they have their own weaknesses in personality: Elizabeth is a middle-class lady with secondary education and the daughter of a gentleman. However, compared with the aristocratic class, her family status is still low, her relatives and friends are not educated, and she often makes many rude behaviors in public, which makes her feel ashamed, which lays the foundation for her prejudice in character. Darcy, on the other hand, is introverted and doesn't like talking to strangers. Coupled with his family background and huge wealth, it is inevitable to give people the impression of arrogance. When they first met, they didn't have a good impression of each other. But with the increase of contact, he was gradually moved by Elizabeth's beauty and cuteness, especially her clever mind and humor. Although he felt that Elizabeth's birth was not noble, he looked down on her family and decided that he had lowered his requirements and violated his will, reason and even personality. He thinks that Elizabeth, who comes from humble origins and lacks money and wealth, will be ecstatic to express her love for her noble son. However, when he "thought he would get a satisfactory answer, … but his face showed a certain look, it aroused Elizabeth's disgust, flatly rejected his proposal, and mercilessly accused him of being arrogant and rude. This shows the lofty significance of love to marriage: even if you are Gao Fushuai, it is difficult for them to have love if you treat each other with a condescending or even "arrogant" attitude. Without love, there will be no marriage. Later, Darcy gradually realized his shortcomings. He accepted Elizabeth's accusation and corrected his arrogance and conceit. Moreover, after Darcy came forward to solve the "marriage crisis" between Lydia and Wickham, he won the respect of Elizabeth and gradually accepted the "repented" Darcy. Finally, they developed sincere feelings and finally formed a happy marriage.

Bacon believes that people should not pay too much attention to wealth, beauty, interests, nobility and so on. When choosing a wife, we should consider "her pious quality in thought, her parents' honesty, her virtue, her housekeeping ability and her kind temperament." Although Elizabeth does not have the objective condition of "her parents' honesty", she has all other requirements. It is precisely because of this that Darcy will strive to overcome his "arrogance" and really treat love. "Even if narcissism is really arrogant at first, it can become a healthy and commendable attitude towards life. This happened to Darcy in Austin's Pride and Prejudice. This conceited person, although seemingly pretentious and self-pitying, can still observe himself through other people's eyes. " Elizabeth finally formed a happy marriage with Darcy. It is her sincere love for the reformed Darcy, not the money and status that Darcy already has. In fact, at this time, even if Darcy does not have huge wealth, Elizabeth will still marry Darcy, as Engels said: "Marriage without love is immoral."

Money is everywhere in Pride and Prejudice. Even in the love between Elizabeth and Darcy, there is a little money. To outsiders, Elizabeth seems to have found a gold ingot, just as Mrs. Bennet shouted, "She earns 10 thousand pounds a year, maybe more!" As rich as a maharaja! "The previous dissatisfaction and anger with Mr. Darcy have long been forgotten. I support my second daughter's marriage with both hands. If possible, I'm afraid this lovely lady can't even lift her feet. However, the reason why Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage surpasses other marriages described in the book is that they are not only noble in character, but also truly in love.

Fourth, the eternal topic: the pursuit of a beautiful marriage

Jane Austen's opening design "This is a universally acknowledged truth, and a single man in a high position definitely needs a wife" has far-reaching significance. The author does not deny that money and marriage are inseparable. To ensure the happiness and well-being of a family, the most fundamental thing is to need wealth as the foundation. Austen is critical of the view that money dominates marriage, but she did not expose the essence of society as a social critic, nor did she adopt the extreme methods of radical artists. Her satire is pungent and humorous, profound and natural. Through the description of several marriages, she revealed the important role of money interest in marriage at that time, and people's feelings would be controlled by it. Lydia and Wickham's marriage was not only completely influenced by money, but also their marriage was initially attracted by vulgar sensuality. Such a marriage will not only bring misfortune to oneself, but also bring harm to their respective families. Jane Austen is most opposed to such a combination. The author also disapproves of the real marriage between Charlotte and Collins. However, through the description, we also realize that in the social environment at that time, people's feelings had to be subordinated to the helplessness of money (isn't it true in today's society? )。 Let readers understand and tolerate them a little more. As Marxist critic David Marx said when talking about the economics of human behavior, "Jane Austen is an earlier Marxist than Marx in a sense."

Is marriage really measured by economic factors? Someone asked Socrates if he wanted to get married, and the answer was "No matter what you do, you will regret it." [1 1] Jane Austen takes the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy as an example and gives a negative answer. Of course money is important. "Marriage without money is stupid." Without a certain amount of money as the foundation, even sincere feelings will be tested and even broken in a long time. But the author also points out that "you can't get married without love", and the marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy is undoubtedly "the marriage model advocated by Austin". In the book, the author not only gives them a happy ending, but also emphasizes that many people have changed through this marriage, such as Mrs. Bennett, who became a reasonable, amiable and well-informed woman in the second half of her life. Although the marriage created by Austin has some idealistic colors, nothing in the world is perfect. However, it is through this that she shows her views on which is more important in marriage-love is more important.

Austin's time has passed, but people's pursuit of a beautiful marriage has not changed at all, and it is getting stronger and stronger. The concept of marriage in Pride and Prejudice is not completely divorced from our reality, but also brings some enlightenment to modern people. At the beginning of 2005, a survey conducted by BBC4 among readers also confirmed this point: Pride and Prejudice ranked first among the literary works that had the greatest influence on women in British society and changed women's world outlook (mainly their views on love and marriage). Similar to the plot created by novels, people in modern society are weighing love and money when they talk about marriage. In the face of marriage, people always have their own choices, their own judgments, and their own plans for future life. People in modern society are as addicted to passion and pursue temporary happiness as Lydia and Wickham. Or settle for the status quo and live a boring life like Charlotte? Or boldly pursue your own love, strive to build a happy family, and become "Elizabeth" and "Darcy"? Different people have different opinions. No matter what you choose, you may have your own reasons. This may be an eternal topic left by Austin through Pride and Prejudice.

Where to? thank

The paper is finally finished. At this moment, I have many ideas. First of all, I want to thank my tutor, Mr. Hou Cuixia. In the process of writing my thesis in the past few months, I got careful guidance from Mr. Hou Cuixia, gave me some suggestions on key points, and gave me great help when consulting the materials, so that my thesis could be successfully completed. Secondly, I also want to thank my classmates. Every group discussion, they gave me a lot of suggestions and opinions, broadened my thinking and gave me great inspiration. In short, the completion of this article depends not on my own efforts, but on everyone's joint efforts!

refer to

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[2] Bloom Harold. Jones Austin's Pride and Prejudice. Oxford: Oxford University 200 1, 7:5

[3] Lawrence Si Tong, Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500- 1800[M]. Penguin Books,1979:181~183

[4] Austin Jane Pride and prejudice [M]. Sun Zhili, translate it. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 1990: 1

[5] Li Guimei. On the basis of modern Chinese and western marriage [J]. Ethical research, 2006, 7:8

[6] Wei. China wisdom [M]. Changchun: Jilin Literature and History Publishing House, 1988:250.

[7] Keith Reithzen, British society 1580- 1680[M]. Rutgers University, 1982:80

Louis althusser. [M]。 Tang Zhengdong, Jason Wu, translated. Nanjing: Nanjing University Press, 2005:3 14.

[9] allen mcfarlane, Marriage and Love in Britain: Forms of Expression [M]. Oxford basil Blackwell,1986:156 ~158

Owen singer. [M] Gao Yuanbao, translated. Guangxi: Guangxi Normal University Press, 200 1: 150.

[1 1] Kierkegaard. [M] Yan Jia et al. Shaanxi: Shaanxi Normal University Press, 2002:40.

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