Society today puts a significant value on marriage and making sure that love is the reason for that marriage. Jane Austen describes marriage as more for convenience rather than compatibility. Marriages are considered based on economic and social backgrounds. With great irony and wit, Austen shows how the tenderest human feelings interact with and are influenced by financial considerations. Marriage is seen as a type of financial security. Why need love when there is money to make all the worries to go away? In Jane Austen's society, marriage is the status that all women strive to achieve. Many marriages in the novel show that the heart does not always dictate marriage meaning the marriages in the novel are based on money and not love. Throughout Jane Austen's novel, Pride and Prejudice, the conflict between reason and emotion is conveyed through the marriage of several different characters. In the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, it is quite clear that the two have never experienced much love and is done mostly for financial benefit. Similarly, the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins is done out convenience and security of money. However, the marriage of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. D

Austen tries to show how she is able to be happy by refusing to marry for financial purposes and only marrying a man whom she truly loves. This is shown when Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins' marriage proposal. "I think you again and again for the honour that you have done me in your proposals, but to accept them is absolutely impossible. My feelings in every respect forbid it" (Austen 83). Elizabeth knows that if she were to marry Mr. Collins, she would not be true to herself and her feelings. She did not want her marriage to turn out the way her parent's marriage had. The reader knows in the back of their mind that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are going to end up together. The reader knows that they were both meant to be. Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy admire each other's mind and not just another's good looks or financial soundness. This is seen when Elizabeth rejects Darcy's first proposal because at the time she is repulsed at "your conceit and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others" (Austen 126). An event like this proves that Elizabeth must have highly regarded Mr. Darcy since she refuses to marry him the first time despite his attractiveness and wealth. Elizabeth wants to make sure that when she gets married, she is doing it for the right reasons. Similarly, Mr. Darcy looks beyond wealth and economics and chooses to marry Elizabeth. "the inferiority of your connections" (Austen 125). Although his explanation his not quite romantic, it does show how much in love he is with Elizabeth since he is willing to overlook her family's inadequacies. He too wants a successful marriage and wants to marry for the right reasons. That is why both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are perfect for each other because they were both looking for the same things in a relationship. They also shared the same similar personalities. The marriage between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is without a doubt the ideal marriage for Jane Austen. The joining of these two people show how Austen was in favour of marrying for love and nothing else regardless of wealth or social background.

Furthermore, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet parallels the ma

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Approximate Word count = 1432
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)