Courtship and marital arrangements went through many drastic changes during the late 18th and early 19th century. Female writers such as Mary Wollstonecraft started to question and criticize women’s role in marriage and what it meant for their status in society. These changes pushed forward the companionate marriage as the new ideal which Jane Austen took inspiration from when writing Pride and Prejudice (1813). There is, however, something that makes her stand out among other novelists writing on this subject; that she does not romanticize marriage. This essay investigates the four couples Austen presents in her novel and analyses their progression toward marriage in comparison to the social expectations prevalent in her time. It identifies four types of marriages that are central to the plot: the marriage as a social and economic contract, the scandalous marriage, the idealized marriage and lastly the marriage of the equals which is the illustration of the companionate union. This study argues that Austen presents the companionate marriage as the kind of union that leads to true happiness for women. By examining novels that focus on this subject through the lens of their historical context, we can strive to gain a more profound comprehension of the significance of marriage and family life for women during that period. Moreover, this exploration could facilitate our understanding of the progression from those historical norms to our present views of marriage and family life and how it affects women today. Keywords: Jane Austen; Pride and Prejudice; marriage; courtship; companionate marriage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-227161 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Boragina, Antonella |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för kultur och estetik |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess, info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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