This opening line of Pride and Prejudice could well describe the whole point of her book. With this single short statement, Jane Austen declares a couple of things essential to her novel. She declares one of her major themes: Money and Marriage. She establishes the fact that everyone is in the search for someone to marry; someone that reaches his or her standards economically and socially. It is the pursuit of a perfect husband or wife.

The central theme of Pride and Prejudice is based on the concerns of people in early nineteenth-century country society. One of these concerns is money. Austen could observe the money problems of a middle-class family right in her own home. Her father was an educated man and a gentleman, but his income didn't provide enough for his family. His daughters would not be able to survive if they remained unmarried. The same exact situation that the Bennet's encounter in the novel. The situation of young women in these times was a critical one. In our time, women have many other choices in addition to marriage. Marriage is not looked upon so much as a financial security but

The novel demonstrates how money manipulates everything; women marry men that they are not in love with simply in order to gain financial security, like Charlotte. The economic failure of Mr. Bennet's estate leaves his daughters in a poor financial situation, which both requires them to marry and makes it more difficult to marry well. Clearly, Austen believes that woman are at least as intelligent and capable as men, and considers their inferior status in society to be unjust. Through the plot of the novel it is clear that Austen wants to show how Elizabeth is able to be happy by refusing to marry for financial purposes and only marrying a man whom she truly loves and esteems. Elizabeth is like most of the women in today's society. Most if them marry only for love and no other reason; but there is always those that still search for the money.

Jane Austen, as we perceive thought her novel, is totally against the whole concept of marriage. To her marriage should only take place in the presence of love and not for money and social standards like it does. Her views can be compared to the views that our society has today. Almost everyone wants to marry for love and happiness. Happiness does not come from a marriage made because of money. Austen tries to convince the people around her of the purpose of marriage but to most of them it does not get through them. Marriage did not only involve two persons, it involved the whole family around them. In the novel, Elizabeth and most of her sisters end up getting married not so much because of money but because of love and happiness.

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Approximate Word count = 1077
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)