Marriage and Money in Austen's Novel: A Critical Analysis

One of the main themes in this novel is marriage and its close relation with money. The novel opens with a famous sentence that sums up views on marriage in Austen’s time: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” By saying “it is universally acknowledged,” we get the impression that marriage is something desired by all; however, there are many people who refuse or are afraid to commit.

In a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, we begin to understand how their minds work, and we see how anxious Mrs. Bennet is to see her five daughters married well.

- What is his name?

- Bingley

- Is he married or single?

- Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of a large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!

After the first, most obvious question, the next thing that springs to mind for Mr. Bennet is Bingley’s marital status, as he is only of interest to him if he can wed one of his daughters to him. Mrs. Bennet is also especially interested in his income.

When Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth, he presumes that she’ll not refuse because of his wealth. However, she clearly has very different thoughts. Elizabeth believes the basis for marriage should be happiness and love, not money.

In another conversation about this, Elizabeth says to Mrs. Gardiner: “We see every day that where there is affection, young people are seldom withheld by immediate want of fortune from entering into engagements with each other.” This again shows Elizabeth’s resentment of the obsession with wealth. Colonel Fitzwilliam is another man wishing to marry Elizabeth. He understands that if one wishes to marry, one must be rich. Therefore, he suggests he wants to marry but knows his chances are small because of his lack of wealth.

In conclusion, all the characters in this novel see how marriage and money are so closely related, and how without money, you are unlikely to marry. They all seem to accept it, although there are some, for example, Elizabeth, who are clearly unhappy with the presumption that the richer you are, the more likely you are to marry. This would have been an awkward situation for the women to be in, as they wouldn’t have worked, and marriage would have been the only way for them to acquire wealth, other than through their parents.