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Jessica Kuhn
Professor Loyacano
GENG 236
21 October 2009
Marriage: For Love or Money?
Marriage is a covenant between two people to live as husband and wife. When one thinks
of marriage, love is most commonly the connection between the couple. Yet, love is only the
ideal reason for marriage in the modern world. In the past, reasons for marriage were based on
money and social status. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries include this idea of marriage as
merely a social contract in exchange for economic status. Women had less rights during this time
and needed a husband in order to survive economically. Jane Austen criticizes society’s point of
view of marriage through comic and unhappy characters who believe matrimony is based on
money, while she idealizes a marriage based on love as seen through the character of Elizabeth
Bennet in her novel Pride and Prejudice.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune
must be in want of a wife” (Austen 5). This is the first line of the novel, foreshadowing the
pressures of marriage throughout the rest of the novel. Yet, it does not state anything about love
or attraction; it merely states that a wealthy man is supposed to marry. Is it impossible for a man
to not want to marry? Are poor men unable to want a wife? What does money have to do with
wanting a wife? Karen Newman, in her article, “Can this Marriage be Saved: Jane Austen Makes
Sense of an Ending” ironically explains that within the novel, “it is not the young men who are in
want of spouses, but all those without property” (Newman 2). So, Jane Austen’s first line raises
many questions concerning marriage.
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Mrs. Bennet is one character who, throughout the entire novel, worries only about the
marriages of her daughters to wealthy men. Sandra Cervel, in "Pride and Prejudice: A Cognitive
Analysis," describes Mrs. Bennet as “superficial, an outer Self who only tries to adapt herself to
the conventions belonging to high layers of society” (Cervel 6). She is a dramatic character who
thinks only about wealth concerning everyone in her society, while trying to impress all of those
who are wealthy. As Peter Matthews states in his article “An Open Invitation, or How to Read
the Ethics of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice”, he explains that women, especially the Bennet
sisters, are “faced with the choice of either marrying or facing economic hardship” (2). Mrs.
Bennet is constantly worried about what her daughters will face after their father dies if they do
not marry, due to the entail that will give the entire estate to Mr. Collins. Never once does she
refer to love resulting in the happiness of her daughters. From the beginning, she begs her
husband to befriend Mr. Bingley, a very wealthy, prospective husband. She encourages Jane to
be with him from the start, even before knowing his character. She likes Mr. Bingley because he
is charming and rich and will introduce her younger daughters to other rich men.
Mrs. Bennet is never much worried about one’s character. She is unconcerned and
unpleased with Mr. Collins until he mentions possibly marrying one of the Bennet daughters.
Austen writes, referring to Mrs. Bennet’s opinion change of Mr. Collins, “the man whom she
could not bear to speak of the day before was now high in her good graces” (Austen 72). She acts
similarly to Mr. Darcy, referring to him constantly as disagreeable and exclaims that she “hate[s]
the very sight of him” (323). Yet, as soon as Mrs. Bennet hears that Elizabeth is to marry him,
she says “how rich and how great you will be!...Such a charming man! so handsome! so tall!”
(Austen 365). Once again, her opinion changes solely on the fact that a proposal is made, and the
only thing on her mind is her daughter’s future rich state.
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Mrs. Bennet is in a marriage that represents the mere unaffectionate relationship which
society standardizes. Mr. Bennet is said to have “married a woman whose weak understanding
and illiberal mind has very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. Respect,
esteem, and confidence had vanished forever” (231). It is a very unsuitable marriage lacking love
in every way. She is constantly unhappy and stressed, continuously complaining about nerves
being shaken by her family. She is a typical woman in her society who believes in money over
love for marriage and attempts to force such marriages on all of her daughters.
Charlotte is a standard young girl for her time who feels she must marry because it is
socially accepted. Austen declares that “marriage had always been her object: it was the only
honourable provision for well educated young women of small fortune, and, however uncertain
of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want” (122). Newman believes
that Charlotte is acting in her own interest while understanding the true barriers and difficulties
life presents, yet this interest does not include love, only a comfortable life (Newman 5).
Charlotte believes that she does not get the choice of being happy, since “Happiness in marriage
is entirely a matter of chance” (Austen 24). This is the social view of marriage being reflected
through Charlotte. While love may happen by chance, marriage is a choice, open to many
possibilities, as explained by Matthews. People are born into class, but they are not born into
marriage (Matthews 3). Charlotte does not seem to think she has much of a choice, though, and
thus, follows the guidelines set by her society. She thinks that since Mr. Collins has money and
connections, she has a chance of being happy with him in a comfortable home.
Matthews says, “the disastrous marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte
Lucas…presents the most immediate stumbling block to an ethics of futurity” (2). Charlotte
believes that in the future, everything will work out for her. Yet, her ethics in the present are not
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properly aligned. Joel Weinsheimer says in his article, “Chance and the Hierarchy of Marriages
in Pride and Prejudice” that Charlottes’ marriage is the most pathetic in the novel. Her ignorance
leads her into her marriage that is based on anything but love and happiness (Weinsheimer 3).
Mr. Collins has a male point of view concerning marriage as a social norm within the
novel. He believes he is supposed to be married and is merely in search of a wife, not love. He
comes to the Bennet house first to marry one of the Bennet sisters because he thinks he is
morally correct, since he is to inherit the estate and would have enough money to support
whoever he should marry. Once rejected by Elizabeth Bennet, he moves on to Charlotte Lucas
just three days later. He believes that, as a clergyman, he should set the example of matrimony.
Also, Lady Catherine de Bourgh recommended that he marry, and since he admires her due to
her high status, he feels he must listen to whatever she says. He is a strange and idiotic character
who never stops talking about Lady Catherine and tries to be accepted by her through everything
he does. He believes that referring to her will help elevate his status. He thinks that with his
money and status, he will be able to provide a comfortable life for Charlotte, even if it does not
include love. While the couple seems content with each other, they live their lives only to please
Lady Catherine, instead of each other.
Wickham is another male character in Austen’s novel who has an interesting point of
view of marriage. Unlike Collins, who thinks he is wealthy enough to provide for a wife,
Wickham has no money and wants to money in order to become wealthier. It is learned that in
the past, he chased after Miss Darcy in hopes to marry and receive her fortune of thirty thousand
pounds. Yet, when he learned that he would not get any of this money, he quickly left her
behind. Elizabeth states that “‘Wickham will never marry a woman without some money. He
cannot afford it’” (Austen 274). This is especially true after he runs up high gambling debts. He
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marries Lydia only because he is bribed into doing so. Wickham runs away with Lydia Bennet,
without intending to marry her. To save her reputation, though, Mr. Darcy pays off his debts and
offers a decent amount of money if they marry. The Bennets agree that “small is their chance of
happiness” (294). Mr. Bennet passionately states that “‘Wickham’s a fool is he takes her with a
farthing less than ten thousand pounds’” (294). The money is more important to Wickham since
his “affections for Lydia was just what Elizabeth has expected to find it; not equal to Lydia’s for
him” (308). As soon as Lydia becomes married to a wretched man through an unrespectable
situation, her legal marital status apparently elevates her social status. Yet, social status should
be based off worthiness, not marital status (Matthews 4). This shows how married women are
more esteemed than those unmarried. While Lydia was blinded by infatuation with Wickham, he
was only marrying her for the money.
Jane and Mr. Bingley marry for love and in return, prove to be decently happy. However,
not everyone agrees that they should be married. Miss Bingley wishes him “to marry a girl who
has all the importance of money, great connections, and pride” (Austen 136). She wants him to
marry Miss Darcy, who has all the proper connections and money for a wealthy man. Miss
Bingley never once considers her brother’s happiness to be based off love.
Jane consistently states that she is so incredibly happy that she thinks she is “‘certainly
the most fortunate creature that ever existed’” (339). She says that Bingley has loved her all
along and that she loves him as well. This is the first couple that actually talks about love and
happiness in marriage. While this marriage seems ideal, it is still based on the fact that Mrs.
Bennet encourages this marriage all along because Mr. Bingley is so wealthy with so many
connections. It is definitely closer to a love-based marriage than any of the previous ones
discussed. However, their relationship still contains self-deception (Weinsheimer 5). Both
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characters are too good-natured to see the evil or truth in anything, and thus, are unable to
overcome any difficulties, which is necessary in a relationship. Unlike Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy,
Jane and Bingley never have to overcome the issue of discovering their true qualities; instead,
they accept each other from the start. Without understanding their flaws, they cannot truly love
and understand each other. These characters appear fake due to their perfection, which makes
their marriage seem unreal. Therefore, their relationship is not quite the ultimate one.
The marriage between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is Austen’s idea of an ideal
marriage in the novel. While Mrs. Bennet believes “‘there will be leisure for falling in love”
(Austen 23) after being married, Elizabeth clearly states this is not her plan. Elizabeth is an
independent, intelligent young woman who is determined to not let society’s point of view affect
her happiness. While the relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth begins unsteady and
without any sort of likeness on either end, they each overcome their prejudices and realize the
true beauties each one bestows. While Jane Austen has created some characters to criticize him
constantly through the book, she manages to explain all of his many good qualities that were
misunderstood during his first impression to society. While he is full of pride, he manages to
overcome such pride in order to love Elizabeth. He believes that she is the only woman who
could have taught him such a thing.
Once their affection towards each other is understood, “it was evident that he was very
much in love with her” (257). He professes his love for her multiple times, including throughout
his first proposal. He even ignores the disapproving opinion of his beloved aunt, Lady Catherine,
which seems to be very opposite of Mr. Collins, who accepts her opinion on everything.
Elizabeth finally admits her love of Mr. Darcy to her father, who only wants to make sure that
she is truly happy. He knows that Elizabeth would be miserable in a marriage without love and
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equality, as stated in his discussion with Elizabeth concerning the proposal: “I know that you
could neither be happy nor respectable, unless you truly esteemed your husband” (364). So,
while Mrs. Bennet can only talk about how rich Elizabeth will be, Elizabeth is only worried
about how happy she will be. She never even discusses the money involved. Elizabeth says that
she is even happier than Jane by marrying Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth even begins to love Miss Darcy
and the rest of Mr. Darcy’s world. They both prove to be legitimately happier than they ever
imagined. In their case, love has conquered both the pride and prejudices they both had, which is
more than can be said for any other marriage in the novel.
Newman explains that because of all of Elizabeth’s traits, including “her poverty, her
inferior social position, the behavior of her family” and her two refusals of marriage, Elizabeth
should ideologically die in the end rather than marry (Newman 6). Austen distorts the social
views of marriage by marrying Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy (6). Elizabeth overcomes all of the
social objections to her marriage to Darcy because she loves him, and he loves her. In the end,
love conquers all. Everything that Elizabeth has to overcome, including her rejection of Mr.
Collins, is all part of her path towards true love (Cervel 10).
So, Jane Austen believes that happiness in marriage can only come from true love, such
as the love between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Yet, this true love is not a requirement in
Elizabeth’s society. Marriage and money, not love, are necessities. Most of the marriages within
the novel do not display true happiness and thus are failed attempts in Austen’s eyes. Through all
of the other marriages, the characters become indifferent with their spouses and begin to live a
life of social standards. However, Mr. and Mrs. Darcy begin to live a life of fulfillment, without
relying on money to make them happy. Austen’s moral is simple: love brings happiness in the
end; nothing else is quite as successful.
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Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Noble Classics). New York: Barnes & Noble
Classics, 2004. Print.
Cervel, Sandra Peña. "Pride and Prejudice: A Cognitive Analysis." Cuadernos de Investigación
Filológica. 23-24 ( 1997): 233-255. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed.
Russel Whitaker. Vol. 150. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 233-255. Literature Resource Center.
Gale. James Madison University. 21 Oct. 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=viva_jmu>.
Mathews, Peter. "An open invitation, or how to read the ethics of Austen's Pride and Prejudice."
Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal. 29.(Annual 2007): p245. Literature Resource
Center. Gale. James Madison University. 25 Oct. 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=viva_jmu>
Newman, Karen. "Can This Marriage Be Saved: Jane Austen Makes Sense of an Ending." ELH.
50.4 (Winter 1983): 693-710. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy
D. Darrow. Vol. 207. Detroit: Gale, 693-710. Literature Resource Center. Gale. James
Madison University. 25 Oct. 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=viva_jmu>.
Weinsheimer, Joel. "Chance and the Hierarchy of Marriages in Pride and Prejudice." ELH. 39.3
(Sept. 1972): 404-419. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Kathy D.
Darrow. Vol. 207. Detroit: Gale, 404-419. Literature Resource Center. Gale. James
Madison University. 21 Oct. 2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&u=viva_jmu>.