The first sentence in this book is impressive.It reads:“It is a truth well known to all the world that an unmarried man in possession of a large fortune must be in need of a wife”.The undertone is very clear:the foundation of the marriage at that time is not emotion but possession.
People always think that Austen was an expert at telling love stories.In fact,the marriage in her book is not the result of love,but the result of economic needs.After reading this book,I know the truth is that a poor woman must be in need of a husband,a wealthy man.
I couldn’t forget how eager Mrs.Bennet wants to marry off her daughters.If you want to know why she is so crazy about these things,I must mention the situation in Britain at that time.Only the eldest son had the privilege of inheriting his father’s possessions.Younger sons and daughters who are used to luxurious lives have no choice but marry a man or woman in possession of a large fortune to continue their comfortable lives.Thus,we can see that getting married is a way to become wealthier,particularly for women without many possessions.Jane Austen told us that money and possession determined everything,including marriage and love in her century.
In “Pride and Prejudice”,the sister of Mr.Bingley strongly opposed his plan of marrying Jane because the Bennets don’t have many possessions and their social positions are much lower than them.From this,we can see there are a lot of obstacles for a not very rich woman to marry a wealthy husband.The society,the relatives would not allow them to get married.
In modern society,although the marriages of economic needs have decreased rapidly,the concept of “money determines everything” is still rooted in some people’s mind.A lot of parents try hard to interfere their children’s marriages.Education background,possessions,jobs remains the main reason that may influence one’s marriage.Marry for money is still a big problem in our society.We can’t help thinking:can money determine everything?