Introduction: Social Expectations and Marriage
It is a widely accepted fact that a single man with a good fortune must be in need of a wife. This is how Jane Austen's book "Pride and Prejudice" begins. This first line demonstrates how the speaker presents the perception of social expectations as playing a critical role in how individuals are expected to behave in society. In the following pages, he writes to explain how society requires individuals to behave based on demographics such as gender and age.
Building on the First Paragraph: Wealthy Single Men and Marriage
The rest of the novel builds on the first paragraph, meaning that a wealthy single man deserves a woman. In this context, it is also universally expected of women to compete for the affection of a man in possession of a good fortune. As it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must want a wife, it becomes a social responsibility for a humble woman to find a wealthy husband.
The rest of the novel builds on the introductory line by presenting cases of families in Regency England with their experiences showing that advantageous marriage is a crucial social value. The arrival of Charles Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman in Netherfield, excites members of the neighboring village, especially in the Bennet household. The household has five daughters who are all unmarried. In the novel, Mrs. Bennet seems to agree with the universally acknowledged idea that a single man in possession of a good fortune in life must be in want of a wife. She sees the arrival of Charles Bingley as an opportunity for one of her daughters to get married to a wealthy husband. For this reason, she urges her husband to establish a good relationship with the new neighbor immediately.
Social Responsibility and the Head of the Family
From Mrs. Bennet’s request for Mr. Bennet to get in contact with Bingley, the writer also presents the universal truth of a man being the head of the family. It was socially expected that Mr. Bennet would represent the family on serious issues such as those of finding potential suitors for her daughters, being the head of the family. To live up to this social responsibility, Mr. Bennet was expected to communicate with Mr. Bennet and present her daughter in the best image for potential wives. However, Mr. Bennet pretends to go against this social responsibility by appearing not to care about one of her daughters getting married to Charles Bingley. Nonetheless, he arranges a meeting with Bingley without the knowledge of his family. When he finally reveals to his daughters that he has made contact with Bingley, the daughters get excited and overjoyed, living to the universal truth of their social expectation to get married to wealthy men.
The Practicality of Marriage: Wealth, Social Class, and Dependence on Men
The first sentence of the novel prescribes a social universe where women are expected to get married merely at the prospect of living a wealthy and comfortable world. As such, the novel accommodates itself in such a world by revealing the social truth that marriage is often about more practical things other than passion and love. In as much as a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife, a woman of humble means must need a husband with enough wealth to afford her a safe and comfortable life. For the Bennet family, things were not different as they had to confirm to this universal truth. This opportunity presents itself in the best way when a well-off single man moves into the neighborhood.
Women's anticipation of a wealthy life after marriage came from the universal truth that they were powerless in the patriarchal Regency England society. In the society, men dominate every aspect of life; hence, women have to depend on them for most of their needs. The novel also reveals that women had no right to inherit anything from their parents. For the daughters in Bennet family, their father’s property is entailed and had to pass to a man after the father dies. The daughters also live with the knowledge that the family house will be handed over to Mr. Collins when their father dies. Since the daughters cannot inherit anything in the family, they are left with almost no money. For this reason, the only other way left to secure a good life is to marry a wealthy man. As such, they have to do everything possible to entice a potential suitor. They had to spend substantial energy and time to learn skills that would attract a wealthy man. In the context of the Regency England society, a woman needed to have fulfilling knowledge of dancing, drawing, singing, and music to attract a man with substance. After marriage, a woman's economic and social future was entirely dependent on how wealthy the husband was. For this reason, the need to find a wealthy suitor was a means of living among the high-class in the society. If a woman managed to marry a wealthy man, it was a significant beneficial bonus. For this reason, happiness in a marriage would come as a matter of chance.
Marriage as an Economic Contract
The need to be married to an in possession of a good fortune also results in the universal truth that marriage is an economic contract that involved little affection and love. When the daughters from Bennet’s family get the news of a bachelor moving into the neighborhood, their interest is about his financial status rather than his personality. This implies that they would marry a man of any kind so long as he had a good financial background. In the novel, Charlotte Lucas believed that her marriage did not need to be happy so long as they are financially stable. When she went ahead to marry Mr. Collins, they became strangers in marriage and remained so. From this point, the novel seems to present the truth that marriage is an economic contract.
Social Acceptability and Financial Security through Marriage
The five daughters of Bennet’s family believed that marriage meant social acceptability and financial security. For this reason, Mrs. Bennet’s life was dedicated to finding wealthy husbands for her daughters. Getting her daughter married was the business of her life. For her, a Bachelor of good fortune was what her daughters needed in life. Her own life was not any different. From the novel, she never experienced happiness from her marriage. For Mr. Bennet, he hid from this universal truth by consuming most of his time in the library. Their marriage was not grounded on love and affection but rather, it was based on convenience. These situations imply that with the perceptions of marriage as a financial contract, moral themes such as respect and love could not find a place in marriage.
Satire: A Counter Possibility
Other than revealing a universal truth, the first sentence of the novel could also imagine a counter possibility regarding satire. Because it is a woman who depends on a man, the universal truth would have been that a single woman from a humble background must be in want of a husband in possession of a good fortune in life. In this case, it would be the woman that is in need of wealthy man, rather than a wealthy man being in need of a woman.
Satire is also developed in the conduct and pursuits of the novel’s characters. If indeed it was a truth universally acknowledged, that a single well-do man must be in want of a wife, then the Bennet daughters would not have to struggle to attract a man with a good fortune in life. Well-mannered women would also not need to discuss their preferences for husbands and their interest in wealthy husbands. Further, had it been a truth universally acknowledged, Mrs. Bennet would not dedicate a large part of her life to finding husbands for her daughters. Further, there would never be any competition or jealousy between Miss King and Elizabeth, or Elizabeth and Miss Bingley.
In a satirical way, the novel builds on the truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. It shows that a single man with a wealthy background not only needs a wife but is also in need of the help of an entire neighborhood to find one. On the side of the woman, her mother takes it as a personal responsibility to find a wealthy suitor for the daughter. For this reason, the resulting marriage is grounded on financial stability rather than affection and love.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. Lulu.com, 1996.
