Pride Prejudice ESSAY
Bidushy Sadika
English 110, Section 4
Franchis Zichy
February 5th 2015
Courtship & Marriage in Pride and Prejudice: From the Males’ Perspective
Universally known and acknowledged, courtship and marriage are the two inseparable aspects of life and are interconnected with each other. These aspects stem from the desire of many people that is widely common - love. In Pride and Prejudice, the author Jane Austen talks about how the four male characters in the novel, Darcy, Bingley, Wickham and Collins persuade the daughters of the Bennet household Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia and Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte. The author traces their respective journey of how they find the love of their lives and describes the kind of situations they faced during this. The men in the novel, Darcy, Bingley, Collins and Wickham are in want of a wife for the reasons that suit their perceptions. Darcy wishes for someone of his social standard as his partner; contrasting to that, Bingley simply desires for a wife whom he likes. On other side, Collins wants a wife for his happiness and also because his patroness Lady Catherine has told him to do so, and Wickham wants a partner who will provide him financial pleasure.
Fitzwilliam Darcy is the son of a well-established family and the master of Pemberley, and his behaviour depicts that he wants a wife who matches with the class he belongs to. Despite this attitude, he is attracted to Elizabeth (59), the daughter of a common household, at the first meeting, out of all women in the assembly. In an attempt to hide it, he states that she is merely tolerable, [but] not handsome enough to tempt him (13). It clearly shows that he is too proud to accept his infatuation at the first meeting. He rather projects himself to be considering her as someone below his “class”. As Leo Rockas, the professor of University of Hatford, says in his article that his rejection at the first meeting is more of an effort.1 He further states that Darcy has looked at
English 110, Section 4
Franchis Zichy
February 5th 2015
Courtship & Marriage in Pride and Prejudice: From the Males’ Perspective
Universally known and acknowledged, courtship and marriage are the two inseparable aspects of life and are interconnected with each other. These aspects stem from the desire of many people that is widely common - love. In Pride and Prejudice, the author Jane Austen talks about how the four male characters in the novel, Darcy, Bingley, Wickham and Collins persuade the daughters of the Bennet household Elizabeth, Jane, Lydia and Elizabeth’s best friend Charlotte. The author traces their respective journey of how they find the love of their lives and describes the kind of situations they faced during this. The men in the novel, Darcy, Bingley, Collins and Wickham are in want of a wife for the reasons that suit their perceptions. Darcy wishes for someone of his social standard as his partner; contrasting to that, Bingley simply desires for a wife whom he likes. On other side, Collins wants a wife for his happiness and also because his patroness Lady Catherine has told him to do so, and Wickham wants a partner who will provide him financial pleasure.
Fitzwilliam Darcy is the son of a well-established family and the master of Pemberley, and his behaviour depicts that he wants a wife who matches with the class he belongs to. Despite this attitude, he is attracted to Elizabeth (59), the daughter of a common household, at the first meeting, out of all women in the assembly. In an attempt to hide it, he states that she is merely tolerable, [but] not handsome enough to tempt him (13). It clearly shows that he is too proud to accept his infatuation at the first meeting. He rather projects himself to be considering her as someone below his “class”. As Leo Rockas, the professor of University of Hatford, says in his article that his rejection at the first meeting is more of an effort.1 He further states that Darcy has looked at