Jane Austen’s novel 《Pride and Prejudice》 is a classic piece of literature that explores the pressures and expectations on society about marriage in the 19th century. The novel's famous opening line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," demonstrate the main idea that runs throughout the book. Jane Austen uses the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as an example to show how marriage at their time has effects on one person.
The society in Pride and Prejudice is all around the idea of a perfect marriage. Marriage is like a business transaction instead of love and respect. At that time, marrying a rich man is the only option for a woman to have a high social status. The main characters Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, who have totally different points of view on marriage can be an excellent example of a negative marriage in the story. Mrs. Bennet has described as a desperate housewife because she is always obsessed with the marriage of her five daughters to a wealthy man. And Mr. Bennet finds his wife's obsession stupid.
Their daily dialogues are full of sarcastic and mean comments about each other. The biggest problem in their marriage is a lack of communication. Mrs. Bennet is always excited and she talks a lot but Mr. Bennet answers with cool and cold. For example, in the story, Mrs. Bennet says, "Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!" To which Mr. Bennet replies, "How so? How can it affect them?" Then he goes mock her about her "poor nerves."
Their jokes in their conversations reveal problems in their marriage. Mrs. Bennet is like a silly and stupid woman. Mr. Bennet, compared with his wife, is intelligent. Mr. Bennet married Mrs. Bennet because he finds her fun and Mrs. Bennet sees him as a financial security. It shows the lack of a bad marriage.
Their differing opinions of marriage are made by their different life experiences and personalities. Mrs. Bennet's obsession with marrying her daughters to a wealthy man is because she married Mr.Bennet for love and now she gets upset. So she wants to find a wealthy man to give her daughters a comfortable life. Mr. Bennet’s bad attitude toward marriage is caused by the unhappiness of marriage and the expectation to marry for financial gain. In the relationship of Mr. and Mrs.Bennets, they are both using each other as a tool to get their own benefit.
However, even though the novel tells a story about the societal pressure and expectations on marriage but we can tell that the author, Austen believes in the importance of true love and respect to create a successful marriage. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's marriage is the opposite example.
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