PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: GOOD MATCHES

The primary concern of Pride and Prejudice is to determine how a young girl of some intelligence and beauty but not much money can enter into a good marriage in Regency England—a time and place in which a good marriage was determined almost entirely by the opportunity for money, status, and “connections” (networking) between families and businesses. Austen criticizes this concept of marriage as financial and social advancement, and instead contends that a good marriage consists of two people who are of similar mind and talents.

In order to understand what is at stake for all of the girls in the novel, it must first be understood that there were very few options available to the daughters of a gentleman such as Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters. Professions for “respectable” women at the time were scarce—the only viable career choice would be as a governess for young children. Since those jobs were few and far between, the most realistic (and sometimes only) option for young women of Austen’s time was marriage. This, of course, made the availability of brides to men plentiful, increasing the anxiety of parents of young girls who did not have enough money, status, or beauty to attract rich young men. Austen addresses the desperation felt by parents who needed to marry off their daughters at the very beginning of the novel: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (1). This spot of humor highlights the major dilemma of not only the Bennett sisters but thousands of girls in Austen’s time—the desperation of parents to marry their daughters off to the first unmarried man with money that comes along.

Austen presents several attitudes toward the problem of attaining a marriage with underwhelming money, status, and/or looks. The first character to marry in the novel is Charlotte Lucas, who demonstrates her opinion on the concept of a good match in her discussion with Elizabeth regarding Jane and Bingley:

“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation, and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life” (16).

Charlotte is advocating not knowing anything about a spouse before getting married because she believes that the less you know, the better. This philosophy, which Elizabeth immediately dismisses as “not sound,” is what leads Charlotte to agree to marry Mr. Collins, a buffoon who will be a constant source of embarrassment and distress to Charlotte. Many characters in the novel, as well as Regency society itself, would consider Mr. Collins a tremendous match for the plain, nearly-spinster Charlotte, who has been previously unsuccessful in attracting a husband. After all, Mr. Collins is a respectable man whose position as a minister for the well-respected Lady Catherine de Bourgh is the envy of many. He will have money and standing throughout his life, and will eventually even inherit Longbourn. It is no wonder, then, that Mrs. Bennett is angry with Elizabeth for turning down an offer of marriage from such an eligible man. However, Austen soon vindicates her heroine because only a few months later, Charlotte is miserable in her marriage despite her social and marital status. Austen demonstrates Charlotte’s mistake in failing to get to know her prospective husband before the point of no return.

Marriage that is based on looks and physical attraction does not work any better than marrying for status. The Bennets, we are told, marry because they were both good looking:

[Elizabeth’s] father, captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humor which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her (176).

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett wed because they are physically attracted to each other, but, like Charlotte and Mr. Collins, learn nothing of their prospective spouse’s personality. As a result, they soon find they have nothing in common and by the beginning of the action of this novel cannot even stand to be in the same room for long periods of time. This lack of understanding and tolerance has a devastating effect on the Bennett daughters, as Mr. Bennett’s intolerance of his wife leads him to leave his youngest three daughters alone, which is why they become so silly. Elizabeth acknowledges this after noting Lydia and Kitty’s vulgar behavior with the militia:

But she had never felt so strongly as now the disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage, nor ever been so fully aware of the evils arising from so ill-judged a direction of talents, talents which rightly used might at least have preserved the respectability of his daughters, even if incapable of enlarging the mind of his wife (177).Mr. Bennett’s loathing of his wife is no excuse for his parental neglect, and he is responsible for not guiding Mary, Kitty, and Lydia properly. Lydia and Wickham are no better off—they foolishly run off to London without knowing much of anything of each other because they too are attracted to each other. Lydia is a carbon copy of her mother, and Wickham, who is far more cunning, soon tires of her. Had they bothered to acquaint themselves with each other, they might have avoided the Bennets’ fate.

Jane Austen’s concept of a good match is more than looks and status—it is a match of character and intelligence. Darcy and Elizabeth are proof of this. Both characters demonstrate their intelligence and wit throughout the novel, often through their verbal sparring with each other. Both suffer from their own pride, as well as the prejudice created by each other’s actions. However, Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy’s comments and actions in the beginning of the novel is much more severe than Darcy’s, which explains why he falls in love with Elizabeth long before she has any interest in him. While Elizabeth’s personality appeals to him, Darcy is convinced that he is superior to Elizabeth because he has the same expectations of a match that those of his society maintain. This sense of superiority is a tremendous offense to Elizabeth in Chapter 34, and she has little trouble rejecting Darcy because he is so rude. Elizabeth, however, is not innocent either, and believes herself to be superior to Darcy because she thinks she is not as rude as he is. The reality of the situation, however, is that Elizabeth is just as dissatisfied with people as Darcy is:

“The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and everyday confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense” (101-102).At this point in the novel, Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth beyond reason, but as this would send him down the same road as the Bennets or the Wickhams, it is insufficient to woo Elizabeth, and thus the proposal cannot be accepted until Darcy learns that Elizabeth is an equal.

Fortunately for both of them, Darcy and Elizabeth come to realize that they are indeed equals. Darcy meets the Gardiners, who demonstrate that Elizabeth’s relations can not only act in a civilized manner, but can actually be a delight to speak to. Elizabeth sees the regard of Darcy’s servants for their master, and witnesses the behavior of the reformed Darcy at Pemberley. Both use their intelligence to see past their own pride and the prejudices that have been formed, and are ready by the end of the novel to be together. However, one last issue remains—the impact of society’s prejudices on Elizabeth and Darcy. When Lydia runs away with Wickham, society’s values at the time would dictate that Darcy end his pursuit of Elizabeth because any connection with a family whose daughter would thoughtlessly run away with a man without getting married would poison that person’s status in society permanently. Darcy sees past this, solves the problem by bribing Wickham (which is a great source of pain considering Wickham’s insidious attempt at elopement with Georgiana). Elizabeth must deal with the venom of Lady Catherine, who makes her prejudices against Elizabeth and her family plain in the rudest possible way. Austen rewards the efforts of Elizabeth and Darcy to see past their own limitations and the limitations imposed by the society around them with domestic felicity, as it is clear at the end of the novel that they are indeed a good match.