Research on a Fortunate Marriage According to Pride and Prejudice

【Abstract】Jane Austins value of love and marriage is that a marriage is based on love， not just money or social status， however， a marriage cannot exist only on love， a fortunate marriage should not only concerns love， but also concerns material insurance. At that time， Austins value was absolutely advanced in England. Once by contrasting with the modern world， limitations in her value is obvious to be found that manner is not so suitable for women nowadays that it is being taken place by a sensible attitude and independent character when facing love and marriage.

【Key words】love； fortunate marriage； Austin

【作者簡介】傅為（1991-），女，湖北咸寧，江門職業技術學院，教師，碩士，英語教學。

1. Factors in a Fortunate Marriage

In the first place， love is the basic factor in a marriage. Only love can attract men and women being together. Loving someone means that you can accept his or hers advantages and disadvantages， such as both Elizabeth and Darcy who accepted each other and being together. In the long time marriage， couples have to stay together all the time， only love can make them happy and not feel boring and only love can be the foundation of marriages. On the contrary， we could see the Charlotte` s life after marriage， though she owned a house and comfortable life， but she had to bear Collins boring topics， she could only get some fun on doing stuffs by herself.

Secondly， Money is necessary for maintaining a marriage. In Austins work， money is a key topic running through Pride and Prejudice. We can see a lot of figures： “Mr. Bennet owned a land that could bring in 2，000 pounds every year； Mrs. Bennet brought him 4，000 pounds dowry； the five daughters of Bennets could get 1，000 pound from their mother when they were married； Mr. Bingley had a heritage of 100，000 pounds and could get 4，000 or 5，000 pounds a year； Miss Bingley had a 20，000 pounds dowry； Mr. Darcy could get 10，000 pounds every year and his sister Georgiana， had a 30，000 pounds dowry. Darcys cousin， Colonel Fitzwilliam， as the youngest son of a count， had to marry a girl who could bring him at least 50，000 pounds` dowry.”

Thirdly， at the end of the 18th century， social status was an important factor in conditioning marriages. At that time， it was almost impossible for a young woman who had a low social status married to a man who had a high social status. In this case， Austin also indicated the significance of social status in a marriage. In her point of view， social status was not as crucial as money， but it depended more on having a happy marriage life， which also made influence on building a marriage. In the novel， Elizabeth owned the same social status as Darcy. We could read from the part that Elizabeth disproved Lady Catherine about her and Darcys disparity： “In marrying your nephew， I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere.” “He is a gentleman； Im a gentlemans daughter； so far we are equal.” It is difficult to say that it is the social status leading to their marriage. It can be sure， however， that if Elizabeth` s social status was lower than Darcy， he would not make any proposals to her.

Finally， Manners play a significant factor in Pride and Prejudice. In spite of their ranks， most figures in Austin` work showed a good manner， which showed that they were educated； they knew what to do or not to do in particular sites. The effects on the manners can be manifested in the novel. In the first place， Darcy looked down upon Elizabeth due to her uneducated families. Gradually he was attracted by Elizabeths good manners and behaviors， especially meeting her aunts and uncle who had a good manner.

2. Conclusion

Austin has made great influence all over the world no matter in the old days or today. Nonetheless， women today should not agree with her value utterly. On the one hand， it is a truth that love and property should be considered in a marriage. On the other hand， there are more considerations for women nowadays， it is necessary to cultivate their own independent character and sensible attitude towards love and marriage. It is universally acknowledged that all women would like to have a fortunate marriage. If we want to find an ideal man such as Darcy， to fulfill our mind and improve different kinds of abilities is an inevitable method： By reading all kinds of books， we could enrich our mental world and enhance temperament； By insisting on doing exercise， we could strengthen our body and cultivate the spirit of perseverance； By working on a job we are favored of， we could remain independent and acquire good abilities on working； By picking up ourselves， we could own our particular view on beauty； By taking active part in social activities， we could make contact with others in order to learn elegant manners. To conclude， be independent and women could accomplish a fortunate love and marriage.

參考文獻：

[1]Jane Austin.Pride and Prejudice[M].世界圖書出版西安公司，2004.

[2]朱虹.英國小說的黃金時代[M].中國社會科學出版社，1997.

[3]楊正和.外國名作欣賞[M].科學出版社，1999.

[4]維基百科搜索[OL].