Love and Marriage

One of themes of《Pride and Prejudice》is love and marriage. I want to talk about it with you. This is my own ideas about marriage of characters in the novel.

Ⅰ.Darcy and Elizabeth

The main theme of the novel is about the hardships two people in love have to go through before

their marriage. Elizabeth and Darcy have to notice their own shortcomings before they marry. Elizabeth is her father's favorite daughter， having the wisdom and intelligence like her father. She is also very beautiful and individual. Darcy is wealthy and handsome. But both of them have to gain self-knowledge， for Darcy is proud and will not degrade himself. All of these because he comes from an old and rich family， he has much money every year， and has a large house in the countryside. Elizabeth is too confident in her judgement. She juges Wickham by his appearance. It seems that Elizabeth is not charming to Darcy， but her lively mind， affectionate nature， and pretty eyes soon captured Darcy's heart. Elizabeth's low social standing and her family's behaviour offended Darcy；s pride greatly， but anyway Darcy asks for marriage. Darcy believes that Elizabeth will accept him because he is so good. Elizabeth， in favour of Wickham， misunderstands Darcy. She just judges Darcy firstly by her own eyes. What happens at last lets both Darcy and Elizabeth realize their mistakes and then respect each other's character. Thus， their marriage is built on the foundation of deep love， understanding.

Ⅱ.Charlotte and Collins

Charlotte is practical and intelligent but not beautiful. She does not have a lot of imagination of marriage. She believes that money is the most important thing in the world. So she marries a man who can only bring her home and position. Collins only wants a wife because it is time for him to get married. Lady Catherine tells him that he should marry and he changes his marriage choice from Jane to Elizabeth ，and from Elizabeth to Charlotte .He does not know what is love. Their marriage disappoints Elizabeth because she knows that charlotte will not be happy with Collins.

Ⅲ.Mr. and Mrs.Bennet

Mr Bennt is an intelligent man， and a“gentleman” by birth， that is to say he was inherited property. But Mrs. Bennet is this kind of woman， as described in the novel： she is a woman of bad understanding， and uncertain temper. The main work of her life is marrying her daughters， her job is visiting and getting news. In this description of her chief character， it is clear that she is weak in understanding and how dull she is. And what's more， she has no money. So from every aspect of view， their marriage is a failure. Having made an unwise marriage with Mrs. Bennet， Mr Bennet hides in his library， when he is in home with family， he enjoys laughing at his ignorant wife and daughters. In a word， their marriage is failed and resulted in some bad things.

Ⅳ.Lydia and Wickham

Wickham is handsome and pretends to be well. He is exactly opposite to Darcy. He tried to seduce Miss Darcy， and marry Miss King. Both of them will have a lot of money in the future. He elopes with Lydia but does not want to marry her. Their final marriage is only made by Darcy's help. Lydia is too ignorant to understand what damage will be caused to her and her family by her elopement. If she does not marry Wickham， she will not live well. They are the two persons who were only brought together because their feelings， and without virtue. At the end， Wickham's feelings to her soon sunk into indifference ，and at last， she does not like him too. Their marriage is just a failure.

Ⅴ.Jane and Bingley

Jane is the eldest daughter of Mr.Bennet and is the most beautiful one of the Bennet sisters. She is

kind and soft. Bingley is kind and soft too.He is gentleman-like and easy-going. The marriage of Jane and Bingley has a good foundation. They are attracted at once， and have similar characters. Bingley also has a lot of money. Their marriage is a good and happy one.

(作者单位：陕西省理工学校)