Convergence of Mercenary and Ardent Matrimonies in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Written By Tila Tran

Presuming that “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” (Austen 1) then perhaps it is also a universally acknowledged truth that a single woman, who is not in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a man who is in possession of one.

Jane Austen’s Regency Era England had women rely on the income, wealth, and other monetary prospects of their fathers during their upbringing, and their husbands if married. The patriarchal institutions which favoured men made it impossible for women to support themselves economically. Additionally, the inheritance laws that forbade women from having economic freedoms, whether it be owning property or working, created an expectation for women to marry and marry well (Herman 207). For marrying a man of great financial status and stability was a woman’s duty to avoid the life of a genteel spinster and financial hardship, it is no wonder Austen incorporates such economic and social realities into Pride and Prejudice, a story that navigates the journeys of the Bennet sisters within the twists and turns of the marriage market. Contrary to other characters in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice who chose their marriage partners on financial terms, the headstrong heroine Elizabeth Bennet defies the social norms prevalent in nineteenth-century England. Her rejection of marriage as a purely economic decision allows Austen to introduce a new perspective of marriage based on happiness and companionship. Through the lens of Elizabeth Bennet, Austen introduces a revolutionary and timeless romance, providing critiques of social class and character. Such complexities of gender roles, economics, and values in Pride and Prejudice elucidate those conditions for marriage are not straightforward; Austen reveals that happiness in marriage, whether for companionship or mercenary needs, is dependent on one showing good judgement in choosing their partner. Pride and Prejudice, while showing women’s powerlessness to exclude themselves from a patriarchal institution, secretly empowers women in their agency to determine their fate within the marriage market.

By virtue of Elizabeth’s character and Mr. Darcy’s potential and awareness of his wrongdoings, the moral beauty of the novel, from a series of financial revelations, makes it apparent that impressions of the mind and heart are triumphant over economic status and social standing. Austen simultaneously demonstrates that, within a romantic plot, the marriage market is keen on entrapping women within marriages that may not bring them happiness, or condition women into believing that happiness in marriage is merely fantasy. As Austen discloses Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s tension, resistance, and gratitude towards each other and the relationships in their social circles and families, choosing whom to marry relies on what one’s heart deems most important. Whether mercenary or for companionship, women are powerful enough to determine which fate in marriage they wish to employ, assessing their willingness to take the leap and find love in a society that believes it to be unaffordable.

Notes:

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Oxford World’s Classics, 1998.

Herman, J.R. “The Materialistic Marriage Market: Intersections of Money and Matrimony in Pride and Prejudice.” Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal, vol. 42, Jan. 2020, p. 207. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsglr.A688554549&site=eds-live&scope=site

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