Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Lord Jim- are
written by four renowned novelists – Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Charles
Dickens and Joseph Conrad. In my research paper, I discussed about the
treatment of the theme of “Love and Marriage” in these four novels. Both Jane
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
depicted the condition of women of their time and what love and marriage meant
to them. At that time, women did not have the right to earn money or own
properties. Their main duty was to take care of the house, please their
husbands and give birth and take care of the babies. Hence, when they grew up,
their main concern was to get married to a man who can provide them a stable
home. Love was not the most important thing. Yet, there were women with
exceptional qualities who would value their own opinions and stood by them no
matter what the situation is.
Pride
and Prejudice shows what
marriage meant to the women of her time. Mrs. Bennet’s only concern was to
get her girls married to men with stable income. The same can be said about
Charlotte who married Mr. Collins to get a stable home. Lidya’s marriage showed
the ugly side of the desperation for marriage. Jane Bennet’s beauty and gentle behavior
won her a rich husband, Mr. Bingley. The only exception is Elizabeth, who had a
different idea about marriage. She is not beautiful but she is very intelligent
women who lived by her own set of ideas. For her, falling in love is most
important for marriage. She never compromised with her ideals. Hence, her
marriage with Mr. Darcy can be called an ideal marriage.
Like
Elizabeth, Jane Eyre is also a woman who never compromised with her ideals.
What makes Jane Eyre a very interesting female character was her troubled
childhood. She was an orphan girl who suffered great hardship in her childhood.
She fell in love
with Rochester, a rich man. When she hears that Rochester has a wife, she
leaves the house. Eventually, she becomes self-dependent and had the
opportunity to marry a man better than Rochester in every aspect. Yet, she
returns to Rochester and takes care of her. Like Elizabeth, Jane Eyre followed
her heart and valued love above everything else.
In
Great Expectations, we see the love
of a poor young man which led him to his suffering. Unlike Jane Eyre, Great
Expectations do not show happy marriage and living happily ever after. Love and
marriage is shown more like part of the overall experience of growing up. Pip
falls in love with Estella, an arrogant girl, who only humiliated him from day
one. Yet, Pip falls madly in love with her and wants to become rich and
eligible to ask for her hand in marriage. His love for Estella sows the seed of
ambition in his mind to move up in social status. However, in his quest to gain
higher social status, he distances himself from the people who mattered most in
his life. This ultimately ruins his life. None of the important characters of
this novel had a happily married life except Joe and Biddy. In the end, Pip
learns his lesson and reconciles with his friends and family.
Love
and Marriage is not the main focus of Lord Jim but finding one’s
identity. Jewel loves Jim and wanted to have a family with him but it does not
happen. Jim’s past haunted him. He did not want to make the same mistake as he
did in Patna. He eventually died. Like Great Expectations, this novel also did
not have a happy ending.
However,
love and marriage is very important in all these novels. The theme cannot be
ignored. In one way or another, they played a role in shaping the characters.
Hence, they are very important.
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