The role of marriage in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'

By Katrin Schmidt

Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of M nster, course: The Rise of the English Novel, language: English, abstract: Since it was my part to introduce Jane Austen in a paper on 18th century women writers I wanted to know more about the female writers at her time. I chose Pride and Prejudice because it is one of Jane Austen's most famous novels. While I was reading it I soon discovered that marriage is the main theme of the novel. I want to compare the different kinds of marriages described in the novel putting emphasis on the marriage of the hero-ine and the hero. I want to show the importance of marriage in women's eyes in the 18th century. In a further step I will take a closer look at the ending of the novel which has often been described as a fairytale ending on the one hand and as confirmation of patriarchal structures on the other. I want to show that the ending can be interpreted in a different way. I shall reveal that marriage in Pride and Prejudice is not only the essence romantic novels are made of but rather important to the existence of women in the 18th century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 363884921X
• ISBN13: 9783638849210
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Grin Verlag
• Length: 20 Pages
• Weight: 0.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.8" x 8.3"