Married Off

While reading Pride and Prejudice, I found it nearly impossible to avoid comparing Mrs. Bennet and the Bennet family with that of Marmee and the March family.  While the tales are approximately 65 years apart and take place in different countries, there are parallels between the two families and the circumstances they find themselves in; they only have daughters, the families have enough to get by but by no means are well-off, and the girls are expected (by society) to grow up and marry rich.

It is said that "The business of [Mrs. Bennet's] life was to get her daughters married" (Austen 2).  This is a key character trait of Mrs. Bennet and it drives her throughout the novel, pushing her to come up with convoluted schemes to get her daughters in the vicinity of wealthy, eligible bachelors.  Her one-track mind regarding her daughters’ love lives is representative of the important for women to get married during this time period.  It is also indicative of the class of the Bennet family, for while they are not poor, the family worries about losing their home when Mr. Bennet passes away, and it is essential to Mrs. Bennet to ensure her daughters’ future economic prosperity by securing them husbands.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Bennet’s antics often push away the very men that she wants to attract to her daughters.  This is seen in Darcy’s first attempt at a proposal to Elizabeth, when it is suggested that he views her as especially inferior because of her family (Austen 162).

However, despite her own character flaws, Mrs. Bennet finally sees her plan come to completion at the end of the novel, when Lizzy announces her engagement with Mr. Darcy to her mother.  Mrs. Bennet is silent at first, but quickly gets over her shock and cries, “Good gracious! Lord bless me! Only think! Dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it! And is it really true? Oh, my sweetest Lizzy! How rich and great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane’s is nothing to it — nothing at all.  I am so pleased — so happy” (Austen 325).  This quotation makes it clear that Mrs. Bennet values money over everything else.  She is not happy for her daughter for having found love, she is happy for her daughter for securing a wealthy husband.

Especially when compared to Marmee, who taught her daughters to value love and respect over everything else, Mrs. Bennet seems like a bad mother.  While she may be flawed, one could argue that she is merely practical — in this society at this time, it is important to have money to have the sort of life a respectable person should live.  Wanting to secure this respectable life for her daughters may paint her in a shallow light, but is it truly shallow, or merely practical?  After all, is love and respect truly important if you are starving to death in 19^th century England?