Friday, September 11, 2020

Abstract: Love and marriage in Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, Lord Jim


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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