How Does Austen Present Attitudes To Marriage

739 Words3 Pages
Explore the way in which Austen presents attitudes to marriage In this essay I will be exploring the way in which Austen presents attitudes to marriage in Part I of Pride and Prejudice. This will put into perspective the societal views of marriage in the Georgian era compared to the twenty-first century. The different attitudes I will include are satirical attitude, marriage for love, marriage for money and class, and marriage for fashion. Austen's satirical perspective through omniscient narrator is shown in the quotation 'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' The use of irony in the first sentence of the novel introduces one of the main themes right away.…show more content…
It is mentioned in the novel that some girls thought marriage was more of fashion statement than a proposition of financial support or declaration of love. This is seen in Mr Collins’ speech to Elizabeth when proposing. He says ‘It is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second time, or even a third.’ This infers that girls decline offers of proposal because they see it as a way to be defiant. The way this attitude has been put into Mr Collins’ speech with dialogue, instead of into the narration, manipulates the reader to make that attitude feel more like a character’s opinion than Austen’s; this is a very effective technique. In conclusion, there is evidently a wide range of different attitudes to marriage in Pride and Prejudice. The use of different narrative voices was effective in that different attitudes displayed by different characters is a simple way for the reader to attach a certain attitude to a particular type of

More about How Does Austen Present Attitudes To Marriage

Open Document