On Jane Austen’s View ofMarriage through Pride and Prejudice英語(yǔ)畢業(yè)論文

On Jane Austens View of Marriage through Pride and PrejudiceAbstract: The novel Pride and Prejudice which was written in 1813 is the masterpiece of the famous English novelist Jane Austen, and it is read widely all over the world. By describing several different marriages among young women of the middle class, the novel reveals that love is the foundation for a happy marriage, which should be based on a large amount of money. It is perfect for young women to enter marriage if they will get love and money at the same time. This is Austens original viewpoint and marital ideal.Marriage and love are eternal topics in our society. Among these works, Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen is welcomed all over the world. In this novel, Jane Austen expresses her own opinions about this problem through the description of four couples marriage, that is: marriage should not be determined by property and family status. It is unwise to marry without money, but it is also wrong to marry for money. The marriage settled by love is happy and ideal. Her views on marriage have great realistic significance to the modern society. This paper sums up Jane Austens views on ideal marriage and its great realistic significance to the modern society from the analysis of four different types of marriage in the novelKeywords: Jane Austen, love, property, marital viewpoint, marital idealContent1. Introduction2. About Jane Austen3. Marriage in Austens time4. About Pride and Prejudice4.1 Introduction of Pride and Prejudice4.2 The influences of Pride and Prejudice5. Analysis of Pride and Prejudice5.1 The marriages Based on Property or Appearances5.1.1 The marriage of William Collins and Charlotte Lucas5.1.2 The marriage of George Wickham and Lydia Bennet5.2 The marriage Based on Romantic Love and Understanding 5.2.1The marriage of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley and The marriage of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy 6. Austens Views of Marriage and Her Ideal Marriage 7. Conclusion1.IntroductionLove is the perpetual theme of art, so that there are countless works about love and so many writers are keen on love stories. They tried their best to create their own story, which can lead readers to get into different romantic world, to enjoy different feelings the characters bring to them. Jane Austen, an English female novelist, had six works published. In her books, love and marriage is the theme. Among all the works, Pride and Prejudice is the most outstanding representative, in which Austen described several different marriages of the middle class women. Since marriage is the topic of the book, Austen had revealed her original marital viewpoint in it. In her idea love is the foundation of marriage, while property is the protection of happy marriage. She also described her marital ideal through her characters marriagethe romantic marriage of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. So if readers can read the book attentively and thoroughly, they can understand Jane Austen much better.What is marriage? Since ancient times people are exploring, but none has been to find an answer, it should be said there is no single argument. Indeed, marriage has always been good or bad has a lot of subjective factors. Outsiders seems painful marriage the parties may feel extremely happy, let them, outsiders seem happy marriage, the parties may have made the suffering. Jane. Austin, in her "Pride and Prejudice" in the show give her marriage to demonstrate her views on marriage. Money and love in the achievements of both marital important one and should not care! However, compared to the achievements of marriage for love is more important on some!2.About Jane AustenJane Austen was born in the village of Steventon, Hampshire in 1775. She was the seventh of eight children. Her father, George, had been a Fellow of St. Johns College, Oxford and lately Rector of Steventon. Her mother, Cassandra, nee Leigh, came from an ancient family, linked to the Leighs of Stonehill. Jane and her sister, also Cassandra, were sent to school in Oxford and Southampton, before attending the Abbey School in Reading, and were encouraged to write from an early age. On her fathers retirement, in 1801, the family moved to Bath. Janes years at Bath were not happy. The family made acquaintances, but few friends. As was the custom, the sons of the family pursued careers (two of Janes brothers joined the Navy), while the daughters stayed at home, awaiting marriage and involving themselves with domestic affairs. A neighbour from their Hampshire days, Harris Bigg-Wither of Manydown Park (Wootton St. Lawrence) asked Jane to marry him in the winter of 1802. Though she initially accepted, a sleepless night saw the poor man turned down the following morning.Some time after the death of Janes father in 1805, the family left Bath to stay with Janes brother, Frank, who was stationed at the Naval Dockyard, in Southampton. Janes brother, Edward, had been formally adopted by a rich and childless relative, which led to his elevation as a country gentleman. He also owned Chawton House, Hampshire and in 1809 offered a home to his mother and sisters on the estate there. The family settled happily and it was here that Jane was to enjoy the success of the publication of her first novel. Initially, the secret of their authorship was kept, the author being referred to only as "a lady", but later, her proud brother, Henry, let it be known and she became instantly famous.Her last completed novel, Persuasion, was not published until after her death. By the time of its completion, she was seriously ill and not expected to live. During the last few weeks of her life, she lived in College Street, Winchester, to be close to her physician. She died in Cassandras arms in Winchester at the age of 41（1817）. The family exercised the right, as members of a clergymans family, that she should be buried in Winchester Cathedral.(Goldwin Smith,2004)Today, the museum at Chawton is visited by Jane Austen admirers from across the Globe. There are many mementoes of her life on display.3. Marriage in Austens time In Jane Austens time, there was no real way for young woman of the “genteel” class to strike out their own or be independent. Professions, universities, polities, etc., were not open to woman. Few occupations were available to them-and those few such as being a governess, i.e. a live -in teacher for the daughters or young children of a family, were not highly respected, and did not generally pay well or have very good working conditions. Jane Austen wrote in a letter about a governess hired brother Edward: “By this time, I suppose she is hard at it, governing away- poor creature! I pity her. They are my nieces.”(Austen 204). And the patronizing Mrs. Elton in Emma is “astonished” that Emmas former governess should be “so very lady-like. quite the gentlewoman”, as opposed to being like a servant in the general view.Therefore most “genteel” woman could not get money except by marrying for it or inheriting it. And since the eldest son generally inherited the bulk of an estate as the “heir”, a woman could be an “heiress “ only when she had no brothers, Besides, only a rather small number of woman could be called professionals, who through their own efforts earned an income sufficient to make themselves independent, or had a recognized career. Jane Austen herself was not really one of these few women professionals-during the last six years of her life she earned an average of a little more than 100 pounds a year by her novel writing, but her familys expenses were four times amount, and she did not meet with other authors or move in literary circles. And unmarried women also bad to live with their families, or with family-approved protectors-it was almost unheard for a genteel youngish and never-married female to live by herself, even if she happened to be an heiress. As Lady Catherine says in Pride and Prejudice:“Young woman should always be properly guarded and attended, according to their situation in life”. (Austen 165). Even Queen Victoria had to have her mother living with her in the place in the late 1830s before she married Albert though she and her mother actually were not even on specking terms during that period. Only in the relatively uncommon case of an orphan heiress who had already inherited, i.e. who had “come of age” and whose father and mother were both dead, could a young unmarried female set herself up as the head of a household, and even here she must hire a respectable older lady to be a “companion”. Hen a young woman left without the approval of family or the relatives or family-approved friends or school where she had been staying, her act was always considered very grave-a symptom of a radical break, such as running away to marriage disapproved husband, or entering into an illicit relationship, as when Lydia leaves the Foresters to run away with Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, a woman who did not marry could generally only look forward to living with her relatives as a “dependent”, more or less like Jane Austens situation. So marriage was pretty much the only way of getting out from the under the parental roof- unless, of course, her family could not support her, in which case she could face the unpleasant necessity of going to live with employers as a “dependant” governess or teacher, or hired “l(fā)adys companion”. Some woman were wiling to marry just because marriage was the only allowed route to financial security, or to escape an uncongenial family situation.Marriage at that time was indeed a shortcut for woman to extricate themselves from predicaments, but economic considerations should not be neglected because a marriage without financial security could only put woman into another difficult situation, in which they might suffer poverty again, and even disagreeable husbands as well.4.About Pride and Prejudice4.1 Introduction of Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice, published in 1813, is Jane Austens earliest work, its very popular and has been read widely all over the world for nearly two hundred years. Austen began writing the novel in 1796 at the age of twenty-one, under the title First Impression. The original version of the novel was in the form of the exchange of letters. By describing different marriages in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen expressed her view that the different ways in which the young ladies treated their marriages reflect their attitudes towards love. It mainly delineates four marriages: Elizabeth- Darcy, Jane- Bingley, Charlotte- Collins and Lydia- Wickhame. The core plot is the love and marriage between Elizabeth and Darcy."Pride and Prejudice" in describing a variety of marriage, Jane and Bingley, Darcy and Elizabeth, Wickham and Lydia, and Charlotte Collins, pastor. Lucas . . Charlotte and Lydia on behalf of two extremes, the former only the pursuit of "reliable storage room, the future will not be cold by the hunger": the latter is purely for sexual impulse, totally unmindful of the consequences.Charlotte has been through the marriage house, small yard, furniture and other furnishings of a comfortable small home, but ironically, in her happy life after marriage but not the husbands status. "As long as Collins forgotten, and the rest everything is harmonious and comfortable," Lydia was a little girl confused by the rhetoric of Wickham, Wickham Living as one with no thought of the future life would be no protection.Wickham Darcy through marriage to extort at least 10,000 a property. Their married life, the authors do not describe too much, so we can not imagine life without love What is the. Marriage is based on love, no love, a rare happy marriage.In Pride and Prejudice, we can always see country squires leisu-rely life with calls, walks, picnics, conversations, parties, balls and marriages. And Austen filled her work with thoughts of marriage and her understanding of a successful marriage. She thought the marriage only for possession and social status is senseless, but also foolish to ignore those elements. Therefore, she was against the fortune-oriented marriage and on the other hand, she also disapproved to take marriage as a playgame. She emphasized on the importance of an ideal marriage and considered love as the foundation of an ideal marriageVivid reflection of the works of the 18 th century to the early nineteenth century in conservative and block state of the British town life and ways of the world. The society at that time if not only is picture novel attracted broad readers, the reality is, still give readers to this day with unique art enjoyment. She was the first to describe reality daily in the ordinary life ordinary grace novelist, in the British novel history up connecting link between the preceding and the role. Austins novel although subjects, narrow story quite dull, but she is good at in daily ordinary things to create the vivid characters, whether Elizabeth image and darcy that the author thinks deserves affirmation characters, or WeiKeHan, Collins such was the object of sarcasm, write real moving. At the same time, Austin language is a temper, she in the dialogue on exquisite humor, irony art, often in funny witty language foil characters characteristics. This kind of art innovation made her works have their own characteristics. Pride and prejudice is the magic words with the sublimation best. Feelings If say the dream of the red chamber "is the east ladylike." pride and prejudice "is the western and comely with the wind4.2The influences of Pride and PrejudiceEven today, some situations still exist in our modern society, such as the marital ideal is still the dream of a large amount of young women. Because the drive for a happy marriage is the perpetual pursuit of most people.In Englan,an agency has been investigated in 2004,in the eyes of the modern British women, top 1 of “the dream man for dating” is Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice. In 2005, BBC Radio4 has made a research too, which is about the literature works which had made great effect on females world view (especially for the marital view). Pride and Prejudice is the top1.(Wu,2005) From these research we can say Pride and Prejudice have made great influences among people since it was published.5.Analysis of Pride and Prejudice5.1 The Marriages Based on Property or AppearancesIn Pride and Prejudice, Austen described several marriages. From their different endings, we can find out Austens martial viewpoints and martial ideals.5.1.1The marriage of William Collins and Charlotte Lucasmarried. Her husband was the cousin of Elizabeth BennetWilliam Collins, whose character was “altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.”(Austen,2001:79) Their marriage was just protection of latter part of Charlottes life. She accepted him “solely from the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment.”(Austen,2001:140) All she wants was a comfortable home. As for William Collins, the reasons for marrying are: first, “a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”(Austen,200 Among all the young women of the novel, Charlotte Lucas was the first one to get 1:3) This is the truth universally acknowledged. He deservedly should comply with it. Second, he thought it is a right thing to set the example for matrimony in his parish. Third, he got advice and recommendation from his patroness. From all the reasons above, we can realize that love never exists between this couple. Charlotte was Elizabeths closest friend. She was a sensible, intelligent young woman. She knew it clearly that she was at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome. She also knew it very clearly that “Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honorable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasant preservative from want.”(Austen,2001:141) Such humorous and piercing description tell readers that in Austens time, many Lucas-like women had no other way to improve their social position except to marry a husband with a good fortune.(Huan,2002:30)And how could a marriage based on sole and naked money-transaction to go forward? The author gave us answers in the following chapter when Elizabeth went to visit Charlotte after they got married. In Parsonage, Charlotte enjoyed everything her marriage bringing to her, but her husbandMr. Collins had nothing to do with it. He just would say something his wife might reasonably be ashamed, And Elizabeth also found that “When Mr. Collins could be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlottes evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten.”(Austen,2001:182) 5.1.2 The marriage of George Wickham and Lydia BennetThe marriage of George Wickham and Lydia Bennet could be taken as another example to illustrate that a marriage lack of love would not be a happy one.George Wickham, can be considered the villain of this book. From Wickhams appearance, we can know that he was very handsome and charming, like a real gentleman, but as the development of the novel, his true colors came to light. Actually he was so depraved; he was extravagant and always in debts for gambling. He was good at speaking honeyed words, with his gentlemanlike appearance. He got attentions of many young ladies, even our intelligent lady Elizabeth, had had admiration to him.Lydia Bennet was a stout, well-grown girl. Because of the favor with her mother, she had been brought into public at an early age. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence. For Lydia, her biggest interest was to take part in ball, which would invite many young officers, and in those occasions, her easy manners help her get the favor of the officers.The marriage of Wickham and Lydia was an exaggerated comedy. Because of the superficial love, Lydia ran away with Wickham, without thinking about the influences to act on her families. In the end, Wickham agreed to marry her, in order to receive financial help from Mr. Darcy. After their marriage, because of extravagant life, they went into a difficult position. Wickhams affection for Lydia soon sunk into indifference. There marriage was a bargain for Wickham, an impulse for Lydia. In Austens opinion,their marriage was also a breach of duty for their family. Because of her impulse and giddy attitude, Lydia had to taste her own bitter consequence. Soon after their marriage, their love had gone, Wickham always went to enjoy himself, and because of their extravagant behavior, Lydia had to learn to tolerate poverty. Naturally, the shameless couple were willing to ask help from their rich sisters, and brought troubles to their family. We can get a lesson from this kind of marriage. that a marriage is not just the business of the couple, it would also affect our family and society.5.2 The Marriages Based on Romantic Love and Understanding Jane Bennet and Elizabeth Bennet can be considered the happiest girls in the book. They are beautiful, kind and intelligent. They can marry their beloved men, and live a happy life in the end.5.2.1The marriage of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley and The marriage of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam DarcyAs the second daughter of the Longborn Bennets, Elizabeth is an intelligent and sensible girl who is also self-dignified and prone to hasty judgements. She values ones character