In the book Pride and Prejudice, it talks about marriage. For example, Lydia Bennet married Mr Wickham and Elizabeth Bennet married Mr Darcy. The book starts with the sentence, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." With this, Jane Austen is setting the tone for the rest of her story. It explains why Mrs Bennet was excited about Mr Bingley going to Longbourn and why Mrs Bennet was excited about the marriage of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, even though she didn’t like Mr Darcy.
Back when the book Pride and Prejudice was written, the ladies were required to be more formal than we are today. That was why when Elizabeth got to Netherfield, Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley judged her because of her appearance. The requirements for girls in Pride and Prejudice say that girls or women must not wear dresses or skirts above the ankle. Elizabeth’s dress was torn and dirty when she got to Netherfield. As the requirements also say that a man must walk on the outside of a woman on a street so she is protected from harm, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst also made fun of Elizabeth with that.
When Lydia got married to Mr Wickham, she said that they would enter before Elizabeth, Jane and Kitty. In Pride and Prejudice, there is an indication of power or privileges to people in different status. A married couple has more power than people who are not married. We know that a Lord and Lady like Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Lord de Bourgh would have more power than Mr and Mrs Bennet. It is the same case with a married couple and people who were not married. As Sir William Lucas is a Sir, the eldest son he had would get his title when he died. When the eldest son died, the second eldest son would inherit the title. Lords or Sirs are gained by doing a great deed for their country.
The inheritance regulation is different from the present. Mrs Bennet had many children because she wanted a boy, but she didn’t get one. In the end, she ended up with five girls who could not inherit her land and money. A boy could get married and when Mr Bennet died, he could get his property and share it with his family. Girls could at the very most get married. When their husband’s father died, they would get some of the money.
In conclusion, the book Pride and Prejudice talks about marriage. I think that this book was a really interesting book. In it, I got to read about all the different marriages and why Mrs Bennet wanted her daughters to get married so badly. Back then, I think it was unfair for girls and women. They could not walk across streets by themselves or even introduce themselves. As Mrs Bennet did, girls were forced to get married out of their will just because the wrong request to the women, wrong power or privilege and wrong inheritance regulation. Like Austen herself, today we can choose to get married and not be forced to do it.
Commentaires