Marriages in the late 18th century formed the foundation of society. They were strongly valued not only due to mutual love but also due to the need for financial security among young women. Jane Austen, in Pride and Prejudice, shows her view of marriage during her time through a simply disastrous marriage, a marriage of economic compulsion, and a marriage of pure love.
Austen, through her characterization of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, illustrates an example of a marriage initiated by passion, ultimately leading to diasater on all possible levels. Mr. Bennet, during his prime, believes it is necessary to marry in order to pass his inherited wealth to a future son. Mrs. Bennet marries due to societal norms placed on women of low status. However, Mr. Bennet's "quick parts, sarcastic humor, reserve, and caprice" mixed with Mrs. Bennet's "mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper" cause their marriage to become dysfunctional as their sexual lust for each other slowly fades (4). Mr. Bennet's wit and intellect serve as a stark contrast to Mrs. Bennet's stupidity and lack of judgment. Her lack of competency has frustrated and disappointed Mr. Bennet causing him to give up hope in finding happiness in marriage, which he even openly admits to his favorite daughter Elizabeth near the end of the novel. His disillusionment with his wife enables him to become bitter and cynical. He therefore makes his life endurable by assuming a pose as a passive spectator of life who has abdicated a role as a father and a husband. Mr. Bennet sits on his "thrown" and merely watches the chaos and embarrassment of his "court jester" (Mrs. Bennet). He occasionally comes out of his castle to amuse himself by pestering his wife and making callous remarks to his daughters. Mrs. Bennet's believes the "business of life [is] to get her daughters married" (4). This economical idea only leads to more self-embarrassment because she does not understand her two eldest daughters" sensibilities.
