Jane Austen chooses to change particular attitudes and traditions through some characters in the book Pride and Prejudice. Young women are expected to marry men not for love but for wealth and for their reputation. Austen changed that by creating a marriage containing love, which is seen specifically through Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.
In the 19th century marriage was looked at as something women are in need of. They also see marriage as the most important thing in a women’s life. As long as a women marries a wealthy man who can give her everything she wants in life, her life is set. It can be seen specifically through Charlotte and Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet believes that marriage should be between social classes. Charlotte marries because she knows that it will be a stable life for her. Elizabeth on the other hand has a different view of marriage and believes it should be based off of love and not reputation or wealth. A women’s goal in life is to marry a wealthy man, this is what Mrs. Bennet wants for all of her daughters. She is so invested in getting her daughters married
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She is honest, smart, and very polite. All these things are what attract Mr. Darcy to her. Austen also uses the technique of exaggeration through Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet’s trait of exaggeration shows just how smart Elizabeth is and just how much she wants to marry for love and not for wealth like her mother wants her to. Austen uses a lot of irony, as seen in the first sentence of the book where it sets the mood for the rest of the novel. “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). If you are a single man and are wealthy then you are expected to be looking for a wife. Austen changes the characters from what is normally expected of men regarding marriage. It is actually the girls who were being pushed to be in look for a