Portrayal of Marriage in Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and William Research Paper

Portrayal of Marriage in Jane capital of Texass self-complacency and Prejudice and William Wycherlys The Country Wife - Research account ExampleStill, there are quite a few works of literature in which the plot involves marriage as one of the salient themes. Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice and William Wycherlys The Country Wife are two such works. These two works extend an insight into the economic, social, emotional and knowledgeable aspects of marriage in their times. Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice Many 18th century works of literature dealt with issues pertaining to the institution of marriage, delved on what amounted to a veracious behavior in a marriage, what criteria ought to be meditated upon while selecting a marriage partner, what an individual could expect from a marriage and what entailed the salient duties and responsibilities of each partner. The primary originator for this trend was that the 18th century Britain was very open to serious meditations and reconside rations as to what constituted a good marriage and how a marriage needs to be lived (Teachman 53). Yet, the traditional nonions of marriage interpreting it as a joining of two families by virtue of a legal and social bond struck surrounded by two individuals continued to hold sway (Teachman 53). On the one side the society stressed on the need to perceive marriage as a legal contract, while on the other side the contemporary social and political climate in Jane Austins England also extended splendor to individuals emotions and aspirations (Teachman 80). Thus, it goes without saying that the portrayal of marriage in Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice presents a conflict between these two obviously contradictory views about marriage. In that context, the conventional theme of a suitable and ideal husband for a gentle adult female prominently emerges in Austins concept of marriage as elucidated in Pride and Prejudice. The character of Darcy is the closest possible model of the conven tional female aspirations of a proper husband. At the similar time, Elizabeth Bennets prejudices towards Darcy mark the rise of individual voice and caution in the women of those times. Remarkably, Jane Austin has managed to contrive a wonderful work of literature in which the central characters somehow manage to strike a balance between the needs and constraints of social economics and emotional imperatives (Austen & Kinsley 8). The basis of social relationships in Pride and Prejudice, and above all the relationship of marriage is primarily economic, and Jane Austin has certainly unraveled it with an ironic smile. Mrs. Bennet represents the traditional school of thought, and her one ambition in intent is to see her daughters well married to eligible young men, and their eligibility is judged wholly by one standard that is their social and monetary status. Yet, at the same time, Mrs. Bennets obsession with money is used by the writer to present her as a ridiculous character. Eliz abeth, though presented as a discerning and sensible woman, is not entirely free from this materialistic bias. At the sight of beautiful and grand Pemberley Park, a sudden impulse to posses it passes through her, and she regrets her rejection of Darcys proposal. Ironically enough, she accepts Darcy only after her visit to Pemberley Hall. Austins idea of marriage is an attempt on the part of a sensitive and smart 18th century woman to somehow aspire for the best of two worlds, the world of individual liking and preference and the larger socio-economic world where the rules of inheritance and