The Ideal Husband

鞠申镅

Abstract：After all the readers， especially those female readers， have read Pride and Prejudice， most of them are immediately hooked by the hero， Darcy， who has always been regarded as the ideal husband. Meanwhile， in todays China， there is also a kind of men， Gaofushuai， who represent the Chinese recent criteria of an ideal husband. The whole essay centers on Darcy and Gaofushuai. With the usage of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs， one of the well-developed theories， we can judge the ideal level of Darcy and Gaofushuai： the higher level one can satisfy， the more ideal he is.

Key words：ideal husband；Darcy；Gaofushuai；marriage

1.Introduction

In a glorious work——Pride and Prejudice， Darcy， the hero of that novel， plays the essential role in the success of that novel. Meanwhile， Gaofushuai， in recent China， stir up a great fever of handsome and wealthy men， and become the dream lover of many young girls. The comparison between that two people is the highlight of my essay.

2.Literature Review

（1）View of Darcys Marriage： Among those four marriages， the one between Darcy and Elizabeth is deemed to be the best model of a successful marriage. They manage to overcome the hinder of prejudice， pride and class， and turn all these obstacles into genuine and sincere love for each other at the end of story.

（2）Chinas Gaofushuai： In the work of Wang （2013）， he gives a clear illustration of Gaofushuai， its origin and his own intensive analysis of that kind of people. “Gao” means tall in Chinese， “fu” means wealthy， and “Shuai” means handsome.

（3） Maslows Hierarchy of Needs： Maslows hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in Psychological Review. At the top of the pyramid is the need for self-actualization， this level indicates ones full potential and the realization of it. It consists of morality， creativity， spontaneity， problem solving， and lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts.

3.Detailed Analyses of Darcy and Gaofushuai

（1）Darcys Ideal Marriage

According to Austins outlook of marriage， money plays an indispensible role in ones marriage； however， the marriage without love is inacceptable.（Wang，2012）. Equality is the first step to Darcys marriage.It occurs to Elizabeth， or Jane Austin that， all men are created equal.The happiness of a marriage is not only valued by the affection of couples， but also， by the reactions of them when they confront with obstacles， miseries in their life. The realization of the latter is anything but an easy one. It requires their mutual supports with perseverance， mentally and physically. Same Outlooks of Marriage and ValueFor friends， if they share the same interest or outlooks， their relationship will be reinforced and become intimate. This rule also works when it comes to marriage.

（2）Gaofushuais Realistic Marriage

According to Mao， Gaofushuai represents a kind of very fine young men， with family， fortune， everything in his favor. Furthermore， they are also favored to a models figure and a handsome appearance. Recently， it is undeniable that married life is no bed of roses. Getting married merely for the sake of property， money and social status is wrong， whereas， ignoring the above facts is ridiculous.（Zhao，2009）.

4.The comparison between Darcy and Gaofushuai

Both Darcy and Gaofushuai can satisfy the level of physiological needs and safety needs， the basic needs at the bottom of Maslows Hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow， humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among their social groups， regardless if these groups are large or small. Humans need to love and be loved-both sexually and non-sexually-by others. This is the need of love and belongings. Considering of the third level of Maslows Hierarchy of needs， here come the differences between Darcy and Gaofushuai. The marriage of Wickham is led by seductive attraction and sensitive impulse.At the same time， Wickham， a profit-driven man， he would hardly pay his attention to a girl without property and glamour.（Wang，2012）.In the novel， Pride and Prejudice， the author Jane Austin never directly expresses her outlook of marriage； instead， she hides it between the lines of words. By the description of Darcys marriage， Austin conveys her ideas about the ideal marriage.（Zhao，2009）.

5.Conclusions

The main purpose of this essay is to compare Darcy and Chinas Gaofushuai with the reference of Maslows Hierarchy of Needs， and eventually find out the real ideal one， that is Darcy. This paper will offer an insight into the phenomena of Gaofushuai， 2011s top trendy word in China， on the other side， deepen the understanding of Darcy， one of the most famous and important literary character. Jane Austins outlook of marriage is sensitive and rational： love plays an indispensible role in ones marriage， meanwhile， getting married regardless the material aspects， may be ridiculous. In other words， were it not for love， ones wealth would become nothing but a foil. With time lapsing， if ones appearance becomes aged and wealth gradually reduces， their marriage will also collapse or ruin accordingly.

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