Jane Austen and Marriage

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma" and "Persuasion", which all relate the stories of unmarried young women who are in search of a good husband. The paper analyzes the issue of marriage in the three novels and how it is portrayed as a type of social contract that interferes with normal relationships. The paper attributes this to the social stratification and the respect for class and money that were the main values of Victorian society.

From the Paper:

"Marriage is arguably one of the most poignant themes at the core of Jane Austen's novels. The plots of her most famous books generally revolve around the subject of marriage and lay emphasis especially on its tremendous importance in the lives of the nineteen century women. In Jane Austen's time, marriage often took the form of a social contract between two parties, the fate of both men and women being affected to the greatest extent by the marriages they contracted. Of the two genders, the women were obviously the ones who suffered most from the consequences of a very inflexible social system, that did not allow them to be anything else than wives to men and, afterwards, mothers."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Austen, J. 1996. Emma. New York: Signet Classics.
• -- 2003. Persuasion. New York: Penguin.
• -- 1983. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Bantam Classics.

More papers on Jane Austen and Marriage:

• Comparison Essay # 3927 : "The Romantic Fates of Jane Austen and Anne Elliot"
• Analytical Essay # 65284 : "Jane Austen as a Conservative Writer"
• Analytical Essay # 136756 : "Marriage in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'"

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