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1. Introduction
Known as “the most perfect female artist in the British,” and “the most popular writer,” she is Jane Austen. Austen (1775-1817) once described her works as “a three inch ivory carving”. She started to write about the age of 11 or 12, and she published six novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Among these works, Pride and Prejudice is the most popular one and wins universal praise. Maugham listed it as one of the ten novels over the world. It is a rare masterpiece in the history of literature.
Similar to other novels of Jane Austen, the theme of Pride and Prejudice is love and marriage without a doubt. This novel mainly describes humorous love stories of Bennet’s several daughters. Mr. Bennet is an English gentleman living in Hartfordshire with his overbearing wife. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five daughters: the beautiful Jane, the clever Elizabeth, the bookish Mary, the immature Kitty, and the wild Lydia. Unfortunately for the Bennets, if Mr. Bennet dies, their house and property will be inherited by a distant cousin whom they have never met, which leads to the family’s future happiness will rely on their daughters making good marriages. So, Mrs. Bennet, a foolish woman who is obsess with getting her daughters married with rich men.
2. Literature Review
Ma Lijuan analyzes the theme of Pride and Prejudice and states that Jane Austen puts forward a brand new marriage view through the description of four different marriages of young people in detail. The view is that it is stupid to marry only for fortune and social status, and it is also stupid not to consider other factors. Ma also says that the view of Jane Austen of love and marriage which reflects the social criteria of spouse in old Britain still has certain principle and positive guidance today.
Cui Lihua holds the view that Jane Austen is a realistic novelist who has romantic tendency. She thinks that in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the realistic writing styles also reveal endless romantic feelings. Jane Austen portrays many characters in the romantic form of art and technique of expression. She idealizes character, and advocates happy and perfect marriage and yearns for natural and peaceful idyllic life. All of these deeply reveal the tendency of “rational external but romantic internal” of Austen and her work.
3. Four Different Marriages in Pride and Prejudice
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen narrated four couple’s love and marriages humorously and vividly, and reflected people’s views of love and marriages at that time. Certainly, Jane Austen’s views were included.
3.1 Rational Love
The close friend of Elizabeth——Charlotte Lucas, is clever woman too. Her own understanding of humanity is no less than Elizabeth. When town peoples are all full of righteous indignation because of Mr. Darcy’s arrogant manners, but Charlotte thinks that Mr. Darcy’s haughty manners are reasonable, because he is rich and outstanding. From here we can see that Charlotte Lucas is a woman who knows her own mind. Because she is not beautiful, and has no property and social status, she is still a single woman until 27 years old. Her view of love and marriage is that she does not need to find a husband whom she loves and esteems, but simply find a man who can give her financial security. What she asks only a comfortable and warm home. Therefore, when Mr. Collins proposes to her, she agrees without a second hesitation.
Mr. Collins, a distant cousin of Mr. Bennet who will inherit Longbourn, is a silly and conceit man. With the help of Mrs. Catherine, he gets the vacancy of clergyman. Afterwards, he becomes more proud and proposes to Elizabeth. He immediately marries Charlotte Lucas after the refusal of Elizabeth. Charlotte once said that, in her marriage, she is satisfied with everything expects Mr. Collins. So the marriage between Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins is only based on money and social status rather than on love. It is common for women in that time to marry a man who can provide financial security and comfortable home. This form of marriage is the typical example during Jane Austen’s time. However, Austen viewed it as a type of prostitution and disapproved of it.文献综述