Jane Austen successfully portrays the Age of Reason through her characters in Pride and Prejudice. The story revolves around a mother of five daughters, Mrs. Bennet, whose sole purpose is to marry off her daughters to suitable men. Her eldest, Jane, is her most prized daughter. Mrs. Bennet is assured that Jane's beauty and meticulous manners will win her a prized husband who may be able to support not just Jane, but her other sisters as well. The story of this quest told through the second daughter, Elizabeth. She does not necessarily want to be confined to all the expectations of the age. Elizabeth is the only character who demands to marry not only

a suitable man, but one she also loves. As far as her younger sisters quests, Lydia and Catherine are immature and simply obsessed with flirting with officers. Once Mrs. Bennet begins to

accomplish her goal of marrying her daughters, the reader is able to evaluate some basic values of Austen's portrayal of the Age of Reason. There are four main marriages in the novel: Charlotte's

to Mr.Collins, Lydia's to Wickham, Jane's to Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth's to Mr.Darcy. Through these marriages, Austen will explain what makes a goo

Finally, Elizabeth and Darcy are alone on a walk when the issue of the past proposal and events resurface. Darcy shows his complete unselfishness by telling Elizabeth that everything he

d marriage and what one must posses in

two her three younger sisters are still chasing young officers. Suddenly when everything looks its brightest for Jane, Bingley picks up and leaves Netherfield. This event leaves the family in total

Wickham himself "has neither integrity or honor"(230). He will not marry a woman without some money (229). Lydia does not have much to offer anyone but health and youth (230). In this age, Lydia's irrational decision- making is, by definition, scandalous. She is scolded for acting in a way that can harm her sisters' chances of marrying well. It is quite obvious that the marriage of Lydia and Wickham is a recipe for disaster.

The couple have no real love for each other and neither has any money. At least Charlotte

The worst aspect of the whole Lydia-Wickham affair is that Lydia does not even think she has done anything wrong. All her relatives know well that Wickham has no real love for Lydia.

Jane does not act too timid and shy around Bingley anymore. Lizzy told Jane that Bingley lost interest in her because she did not seem sincerely interested. This time, Jane is armed with the

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Approximate Word count = 2233
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)