Elizabeth receives three proposals of marriage in Pride and Prejudice Essay

The first sentence of the novel Pride and Prejudice states, â€Å"It is the truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.† This clearly demonstrates how important marriage was in the Victorian age and to the Bennet girls. Using this as the first sentence of the novel reinforces the theme of marriage from the very start. The plot of Pride and Prejudice is centred on four relationships with all of these resulting in marriage. The first relationship was between Charlotte Lucus and Mr Collins which resulted in a marriage of convenience as neither party showed any affection and thought of marriage as merely a contract that would help both sides. The second couple was Miss Lydia Bennet and Mr Wickham. In the novel Lydia and Wickham eloped and ran off to London. Mr Wickham was paid by Mr Darcy to marry Lydia. The third was between Miss Jane Bennet and Mr Bingly which was a relationship of true love. The relationship encountered many ups and downs but eventually true love triumphed. The fourth was between Mr Darcy and Miss Lizzy Bennet. This was an unusual couple as they came from very different classes in Victorian society and their marriage very nearly did not happen. This marriage was based on love. The Bennet girls had limited options in life. The first was to get married and love honour and obey their husband. The second was to become a spinster and live off her male relatives. To be a spinster you were regarded as a social outcast in society. The third was to be a governess. To get married was seen to be by far the best option for women in the Victorian age. Women had few rights. The Bennet girls had the unfortunate coincidence of being five girls in their family. This meant that they would only have a small dowry, as all money had to be split five ways. Extra pressure was mounted on the Bennet girls’ shoulders through Mr Collins. If Mr Bingly died the Bennet girls would have been thrown out of Longbourn in favour of Mr Collins’ as their house was entitled to ‘heirs male’. Miss Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine of the novel. Elizabeth has several character traits, which make it somewhat less difficult for her to refuse her first proposal from Mr Collins. These include; her perceptiveness, which enabled her to easily manipulate Mr Collins. Lizzy is very witty and we know this because it says in the text that, â€Å"She has more of a quickness than her sisters†. In the last paragraph of the proposal scene we see that Lizzy puts an emphasis on the personal pronouns â€Å"we† and â€Å"I†. This shows that she is as proud and self interested as Mr Collins. However, Elizabeth lacks self-awareness – she is proud and prejudiced. Elizabeth wants to be seen as an intelligent, educated woman. She wants a marriage but only if it is based on love. She will not settle for merely a business arrangement. The novel of Pride and Prejudice has two comedy climaxes and both have connections with Mr Collins. The first is Mr Collins’ proposal. Elizabeth is genuinely shocked and embarrassed by this proposal. She nearly bursts out laughing when he says that he was â€Å"Run away with by my feelings†. Humour is achieved by Mr Collins’ manner as Austen satirises the role of a traditional clergyman. For example, he is supposed to put others first yet through the first paragraph of the proposal he uses the personal pronouns â€Å"I†, â€Å"me† and â€Å"my† thirteen times. Elizabeth is clearly affronted by the fact that Mr Collins believes that he is dong her and her family a service by making his proposal of marriage. He believes that Elizabeth and her family should regard him as an exceedingly good â€Å"catch†. Elizabeth, however, with her strong intellect does not regard Mr Collins as her equal or as her superior. She can hardly contain her fury when she replies sarcastically, â€Å"I am very sensitive of the honour of your proposals but it is impossible for me to do otherwise other than to decline them†. Her temper rises when Mr Collins persists with his proposal as he believes it is customary for prospective brides to reject a proposal â€Å"a second or even a third time†. Elizabeth, in exasperation, does her utmost to convince Mr Collins that marriage to him is completely out of the question, â€Å"I am perfectly serious in my proposal. – You could not make me happy.† This is the basis of Elizabeth’s refusal – she wants a marriage based on love and respect which will lead to happiness. She regards Mr Collins as beneath her in intellect and sensitivity. In her eyes, he is a pompous fool with an over-inflated sense of importance. She does not love or respect him. She feels that she would be compromising herself by accepting him his proposal and she is totally frustrated by his apparent in ability to accept her refusal. In this proposal we see that there is a character contrast between Elizabeth and Mr Collins. Mr Collins obeys orders. He admits that to Elizabeth he is following Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s instruction to marry when he says, â€Å"It is the particular advice and recommendation of a certain noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness.† Lizzy, however, will not be swayed by the opinion of others whatever their social status. During his proposal Mr Collins reminds Lizzy that he is, â€Å"To inherit this estate after the death of your honoured father.† This shows Mr Collins’ lack of understanding of Lizzy’s love for her father. This is juxtaposition between the theme of love and marriage and the death of Mr Bennet. This is very amusing for the reader. The second proposal that Elizabeth receives is from Mr Darcy. The title of this novel, Pride and Prejudice is a metaphor for Elizabeth’s relationship with Mr Darcy. Mr Darcy is seen by Elizabeth to be too proud. Mr Darcy is a lot further up the social strata than the Bennet family. He thinks that he would be degrading himself to marry her. â€Å"He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.† Elizabeth is prejudiced against Darcy. Elizabeth has been fooled by Mr Wickham’s stories of Mr Darcy. Elizabeth believes that after the death of the late Mr Darcy, Mr Darcy threw Mr Wickham out of his father’s house and failed to adhere to his promise of a family living. However later on in the novel this is confirmed to be not the case. Through the plot line we see how Austen has created hostility between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth. At their first meeting, Mr Darcy does not endear himself to Elizabeth and her family because of his superior attitude. He says of Elizabeth, â€Å"She is tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.† This dislike of Mr Darcy is increased through his interference in the relationship between Jane and Mr Bingly. He admits to Elizabeth that â€Å"I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister.† Elizabeth was very astounded by Mr Darcy’s first proposal. Her prejudice against him increased due to the manner in which he made this proposal. He explained to her how she had struggled with himself but was unable to stop himself from telling her, â€Å"how ardently I admire and love you†. However, Mr Darcy made the mistake of dwelling on what he perceived Elizabeth’s inferiority. Elizabeth could see that, like Mr Collins, Mr Darcy expected her to accept his proposal and it had not crossed his mind that she would do otherwise. Elizabeth’s anger increases because she can see that Darcy arrogantly assumes that she will marry him. ‘Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment’. He openly tells her that he has tried to quell his feelings for her because a marriage to her would be degrading. This arrogance and sense of superiority and pride infuriates Elizabeth. Although she is flattered by his proposals, her prejudices make it impossible for her to accept it. She does not want to be seen as a charity case. Also, she does not want to be seen to condone what she perceives to be his ungentlemanly past behaviour towards Mr Wickham and her sister. She declares that from the very beginning she despised his â€Å"arrogance†, â€Å"conceit† and selfish disdain of the feelings of others†. The third proposal that Elizabeth received was again from Mr Darcy. However, by this time Elizabeth has heard the truth about Mr Wickham and his atrocious behaviour. Her regard for Mr Darcy has grown through her understanding of the part that he played in resolving the problems with Lydia’s elopement and eventual marriage to Mr Wichkam. At the time of the second proposal Elizabeth’s prejudices against Mr Darcy have disappeared. Indeed she cannot wait to express her thanks for the part that he played in helping Lydia and ultimately her family. However, Mr Darcy tells Elizabeth that her family owe him nothing and he only cares about her. On her return to London, Lady Catherine De Burgh called on Mr Darcy to obtain the promise from Mr Darcy which she had not got from Elizabeth. She told him of her visit to Longbourn and her conversation with Elizabeth and how she had refused to promise that she would not accept a marriage proposal from Mr Darcy. The effect of her visit, â€Å"had been exactly contrariwise†¦It taught me to hope†¦I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that had you been absolutely irrevocably decided against me you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine frankly and openly.† He humbles himself when he openly, for the second time, declares his love for Elizabeth and openly outlines his inferior traits. He confirms that he has been â€Å"a selfish being all his life†. He as an only child her was spoilt and not taught to control his temper. He also says admits that he was â€Å"almost taught to be selfish and overbearing, to care for no-one beyond my own family circle†. He tells Elizabeth that that it is she who has brought him humility. In my opinion it was not only Elizabeth who was prejudiced but Darcy too as he is prejudiced about her place in the social hierarchy. It is also not only Darcy who is proud but Elizabeth is too. She will not lower her standards and complies with the conventions of the day by consenting to marry just to please her mother or other members of society. She is determined to hold out against all the odds and marry only for love. At the end of the novel Elizabeth achieves her goal of marrying someone who will truly make her happy. This could be seen as a reflection of Jane Austen’s view on marriage, that is, that a good marriage is one that is based on love and mutual respect. â€Å"Do anything rather than marry without affection.†