Pride and Prejudice is a novel that was written in the Regency Era by Jane Austen. The story circles around a woman named Elizabeth Bennet and her life as a character being pressured to find a high-class husband. While Elizabeth herself is from the middle class, her mother aims to search for a wealthier man that Elizabeth can wed. She eventually meets a man named Mr. Darcy, who she first despises due to his arrogant personality. However, she slowly begins to fall for him, and eventually marries him after a few problems are solved. While they are engaged, other problems arise. Darcy is from the richer class, so he is expected to marry a woman from his own rank. They also have to combat the embarrassment from Lydia, one of Elizabeth’s sisters, marrying Wickham, Darcy’s godson. Elizabeth must also fight to prove her worth and wits to the families who decide to judge her based on her class. There are multiple themes portrayed in this story, such as social status, manners, marriage, and the difficulties of being a woman.
As it has always been, the rich marry the rich while the poor marry the poor. If this does not happen, they are shunned and judged. In this novel, there are expectations given to the families with wealthier titles. For example, Darcy is expected to wed a woman with a grand inheritance, namely his cousin, Anne de Bourgh. She is the daughter of Catherine de Bourgh, who is known for her respectable position. Both households are very wealthy, and to tie the money together, their mothers planned to have them married from their birth. However, both children disagreed, resulting in them doing what they best saw fit and leading their own lives. One similarity between these two people is that they were born rich. They did not have to toil all through their life to gain their status. However, there are people that must rise through the hierarchy to make a name for themselves. For example, some people marry their way into the richer class. Take Jane and Elizabeth for example. They decide to wed men with money so they do not have to live a lesser life. Then, there are the people who work for the benefits. This is the case for the Bingleys, and Fitzwilliams Collins. They toiled all through their life for a better future. Another social climbing group is the heirs to major fortunes. Miss King can prove this with her wealth from her deceased family. However, the climbers can be looked down on, for there are people who despise the lesser groups. For example, the marriages will be disgraced by the rich, for Darcy should have married another woman of status. Their abnormal marriage will hold the judging eye of everyone, as they search for any flaws that prove the failure of the match.
Manners are very important for people who intend to present themselves in a better light. During these times, proper etiquette was very important, mainly in women, in order to impress an interested groom. However, many people do not try enough to fully impress everyone, just the ones they want something from. For example, Mrs. Bennet is only interested in getting her daughters respectable husbands. She is a brown nose to everyone with a bit of wealth. The younger Bennets also have terrible manners. Just one example is Lydia, the wife of George Wickham. Lydia married George believing they were in love, however, Wickham only married her because he was forced to. Not long after their marriage, Lydia comes waltzing back to Longbourne demanding Jane’s spot next to their mother because she is married. Now that she has no other problems in her life, Lydia believes that she can do whatever she wants. Another foolish person is Mr. Collins. He seems to believe that his connections put him well above his true status, and in doing that, makes an embarrassment out of himself multiple times. Take the time he was at a ball with the Bennets. As it has always been, the poor should not try to mix with the rich unless they are invited. Blatantly ignoring this, Collins goes up to Bingley, and introduces himself, not understanding that he is acting as a fool. This behavior reflects back not only on him, but the Bennets, but Collins still believes he is good enough for the upper class groups, and portrays a fine example of terrible manners.
Marriage is the main goal for any woman or man in the Regency Era. For women, they are expected to marry a rich man who is well known. Charlotte Lucas follows this rule when marrying Mr. Collins because she makes sure that Collins has money and connections. Without those, Charlotte most certainly would have refused his proposal. There are many other reasons for matches though, and a couple more are love and shameless desire. Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy for love, even though their marriage is looked down upon by some. Even with a rough start to their relationship, Darcy and Elizabeth quickly fall for one another, resulting in a perfect match. However, love is not always the main factor in a marriage; desire is the replacement. During the first few months of being together, a couple may mistake their desire for love. This results in them being in denial and getting married, a mistake that can last a lifetime. One couple is the perfect example of this, and it is Wickham and Lydia. They run off together disregarding how they are going to live or stay connected with their family. If a marriage begins like this, it is bound to end terribly, for they will lose respect for each other, and quickly realize their mistake. This is also the problem of being a female. They do not understand whether their love is from their heart, or lust. The social values that are put on women and men force them to make foolish decisions.
There are many different types of love visualized in this story, even from the secondary characters. For example, relationship between Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley portrays a more traditional and idealized form of love, characterized by mutual respect, kindness, and compatibility. In contrast, the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins illustrates the pragmatic aspects of love, as Charlotte prioritizes financial security and social standing over romantic affection. Even through Wickham and Lydia, a foolish lust is exemplified and proven. Through these contrasting relationships, Austen emphasizes the importance of genuine emotional connections and shared values in love and marriage.
This is how social status, manners and marriage are all very important in the Regency Era. Social classes hold power, as they are what separates the different people from another. Any mixture vastly shakes up the order, and is judged by the others. Manners are proof that order is needed to rank higher, and that only the ones with the best manners are good enough to rise higher. Finally, marriage is the most important piece to life because it is the key for a group of people to get along together. Pride and Prejudice proves all of these points in the story, and more, which proves its validity of Victorian and Regency Era life.
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