The Social Institution Of Marriage In Jane Austen’s Society Essay examp

The Social Institution Of Marriage In Jane Austen’s Society In the following essay I am going to closely examine the proposals of marriage Elizabeth by her cousin Mr Collins, and aristocrat Mr Darcy. I am also going to compare and contrast the events of each proposal. In Jane Austen’s lifetime a women’s status in society came firstly from her parents and secondly when she married. Jane Austen shows the marked differences in class frequently, as this was a major feature of everyday life in the 19th century. Men were seen as being far superior to women as they were able to work and thus earn a small, and in rare cases a large fortune. Pride and Prejudice in some ways mirrors Jane Austen’s own life, as her heart was broken at a tender age. Jane Austen gave her undying love to her hero Tom Lefroy, however the match proved incompatible as neither Jane or Tom had a sufficient income to allow them to live as man and wife. At only twenty Jane Austen’s real love had come and gone and she never went on to love anyone else. Pride and Prejudice portrays the struggle for women to find compatible men, that not only satisfied their own need for love and adoration, but also suitors that meet their families’ best interests. In chapter nineteen it becomes clear to the reader that Mr Collins is interested in Mrs Bennet’s daughters. He firstly questions the availability of Jane but is told that she is soon to be engaged to Mr Bingley. After this set back Mr Collins inquires about Elizabeth (the second eldest daughter of Mrs Bennet.) â€Å" May I hope madam, for your interest with your fair daughter Elizabeth, when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning.† Elizabeth tried to inte... ...) within a family could have serious consequences on daughters and their eligibility for marriage. Many would remain spinsters or they would marry outside their usual social circle. It was not unusual for couples to become engaged in their late teens (with the life expectancy at this time of approximately forty years it is perhaps not surprising that couples married young). Today many couples are marrying in their thirties and marriage is not as fashionable or socially vital. In the Bennets’ case as there was no son and heir there was the law of entailment whereby property was left to a male relative. Therefore there was a real pressure for a daughter to marry the inheritor so that property and wealth could remain within the family. Of course laws like this do not generally exist today, and marriages are a union of love rather than a business proposition.