Marriage is a key theme in Jane Austen’s novels, especially Pride and Prejudice. Austen examines marriages of convenience, common in her time, and often critiques those based on financial considerations. Her main characters typically end up in marriages based on mutual affection, where love is balanced with practical concerns like social standing and financial stability.
Austen’s work reflects the realities of her time, where women were often dependent on male authority and financial security. In a socially rigid society, a good marriage was essential for a woman’s social standing and financial well-being. Young women were encouraged to marry well, carefully considering both love and the financial stability of their suitors.
While not directly criticizing the situation, Austen presents her view of a “good” marriage through her characters, offering a perspective on the different types of unions available to women. She suggests that marriages based solely on passion, or solely on convenience, are often unsatisfactory. She also challenges common romantic ideas, like of love at first sight or the notion that one cannot love more than once.
In the end, Austen’s heroines often find ideal marriages based on mutual respect and understanding, with partners who share both emotional and intellectual connections; with due regard to, but not determined by, social or financial status.
Austen's novels deal exclusively with marriages contracted within a specific social circle, that of the country gentry of rural England; which was also that of her own family, her father George Austen being a clergyman with two beneficed rectories in Hampshire, and eight children – six sons and two daughters (neither of whom married). The sons variously became clergymen, bankers, naval officers, and country landowners. Within these social circles, the English gentry over the 18th century had developed a range of strategies for marriage, that would ideally maintain landed estates within the family name, while also responding to the increasing understanding of marriage as predominantly a matter determined by personal choice between two individuals, rather than – as previously – as an alliance of interests between families. These strategies became embodied in the legal instruments of entail and strict succession that underpinned inheritance of landed estates at this period; and which, crucially, assured heirs to landed estates in early adulthood, of access to an income that would allow them to marry without having to wait for their fathers to die first. In Austen's novels, marriage of major characters – whether of romantic affection or convenience – is always a choice of two individuals.
The social importance of marriage for women “Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor, which is one very strong argument in favor of matrimony.”
The devaluation of unmarried women
In all her novels, Jane Austen highlights the choice faced by women of the small gentry: marry or remain dependent on their family. Marriage was often the primary way for women to gain independence, as under English law, unmarried women were legally under the control of their fathers or other male relatives. However, in an era where the number of women exceeded that of men, finding an acceptable suitor,In Jane Austen's time, 25% of gentry girls remained unmarried, and rarely by choice. could become a significant concern.
A woman's value was often judged by her “marriageability,” and remaining single was generally seen as undesirable, especially for women without brothers or fathers to support them. In Pride and Prejudice, the narrator mentions Charlotte Lucas's brothers being relieved at the thought that they would no longer need to support her financially if she remained unmarried. For many women of the gentry, marriage was essential to secure financial stability.The financial problem obviously does not arise for those who have a personal fortune, like Emma Woodhouse ("beautiful, intelligent, and rich"), or Georgiana Darcy (£30,000 dowry).
Unmarried women, especially widows, faced a challenging reality. Upon the death of their father, their resources were limited. They might find work as a governess or teacher if qualified, but these roles were often seen as subordinate and difficult. Other options, like being a lady’s companion or managing a brother's household, could come with challenges, including mistreatment or lack of respect. The lack of financial resources and the limited number of potential suitors often made it difficult for women to find a husband.That is to say, from the same social background. Thus the Austen family is linked to about ten close families, such as the Digweeds of Steventon, the Biggs of Manydown or the Lefroys of Ashe.
The social status of women was closely linked to marriage. When women gained the right to vote in parliamentary elections in 1918, there were proposals to exclude unmarried women, as they were seen as having failed to attract a mate. The status of unmarried women was often considered inferior to that of married women, as seen in Pride and Prejudice, where Lydia, newly married to Wickham, proudly claims the position of her older sister Jane. Similarly, in Persuasion, Mary Musgrove feels somewhat diminished when her unmarried sister Anne reclaims her seniority.”She had something to suffer, perhaps, when they came into contact again, in seeing Anne restored to the rights of seniority.”
Emma Woodhouse is the only Austen heroine who can consider remaining single without concern for her social status. She is wealthy, independent, and well-regarded in her community. With the freedom to manage her household as she pleases, Emma does not feel the need to marry. She believes that while poor spinsters might be looked down upon, a wealthy one like herself would always be respected. However, it is the vanity of Mrs. Elton, a married woman who takes precedence over Emma, that makes her briefly reconsider marriage.
In Austen’s novels, marriage and financial security are often intertwined. For women without personal wealth, marrying a man with means was essential.The problem is exactly the same for younger sons, who are financially penalized by the strictness of birthright but want to maintain their rank, like Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, at over 30, is single: "Younger sons cannot marry where they like," he tells Elizabeth Bennet. He thus makes it clear to her that he likes her enormously, but that she is too poor for him to consider marrying her. Austen portrays her heroines’ emotional journeys toward resolving this issue, while also showing the realities of married life through secondary characters.
Marriage: A source of financial security
Marrying for financial security was a socially accepted norm, despite criticism from some writers like Mary Wollstonecraft, in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and Jane West, in Letters to a Young Lady (1801), likened it to a form of "legalized prostitution." In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet is shocked by her friend Charlotte Lucas's pragmatic approach to marriage, especially her decision to marry the foolish Mr. Collins. Mrs. Bennet, on the other hand, is focused on the financial benefits of marriage for her daughters, viewing it through a material lens, much like her marriage to Mr. Bennet, which she likely saw in terms of financial stability.
For many people, a "good" marriage was primarily seen as one that offered financial advantages. In Sense and Sensibility, Willoughby is interested in Miss Grey’s wealth to maintain his lavish lifestyle. In Mansfield Park, Maria Bertram is attracted to John Rushworth for his wealth. Similarly, in Northanger Abbey, General Tilney encourages his son Henry to court Catherine Morland, believing she is wealthy.
Marriage also played a key role in strengthening the social and financial position of families. For example, Lady Catherine de Bourgh wants to marry her daughter to her nephew Darcy to consolidate both families’ power and to protect her own precarious financial position. Miss Bingley hopes her brother will marry Georgiana Darcy, aiming to improve the Bingleys' social standing. John Dashwood, in Sense and Sensibility, expresses disappointment when his half-sister Elinor marries Edward Ferrars instead of Colonel Brandon, to whose wealth and estate he had hoped to gain access.
In Mansfield Park, Sir Thomas Bertram sends his niece Fanny to Portsmouth, hoping that being away from the comforts of Mansfield Park will make her more appreciative of Henry Crawford’s proposal, which he sees as a good match due to Crawford’s secure income.
The financial expectations for marriage vary among characters. In Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood and Elinor Dashwood discuss their different views on what constitutes a suitable income for marriage. Marianne considers £1,800 to £2,000 annually as the minimum, while Elinor feels that £1,000 would be enough. Their marriages reflect these expectations: Elinor marries Edward Ferrars and lives modestly, while Marianne marries Colonel Brandon and benefits from a larger income.
Lydia Bennet, on the other hand, is focused only on her romantic desires and does not consider the financial practicality of her marriage. In contrast, the other women ensure that their marriages will provide a comfortable standard of living.
Marriage as a means of securing social status
In England at the time, a woman's social status was determined by her father before marriage and by her husband afterward.
This is evident in Mansfield Park, where Fanny Price, raised as a poor cousin by her wealthy uncle, is constantly reminded that she is not part of the Bertram family. It is only after the moral decline of Sir Thomas's daughters that he begins to appreciate Fanny and approves of her marriage to his son, Edmund. He had previously supported his eldest daughter’s choice to marry a wealthy but foolish man, seeing the match as a way to improve the family's position.
In Emma, Frank Churchill's marriage to Jane Fairfax does not break social norms, but Harriet Smith, an illegitimate girl, gains respectability by marrying Robert Martin, a farmer.
In Pride and Prejudice, Charlotte Lucas views marriage as a way to improve social standing. She accepts Mr. Collins's proposal, weighing his income and connections as important factors.They are not specified by the narrator, however. She only mentions a "good house, very sufficient income." Her pragmatic approach is criticized by Elizabeth but understood by Jane, who recognizes the security it offers Charlotte.”Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance […] and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.”
While Jane Austen often uses irony in her portrayal of Charlotte, she does not overtly condemn her. The social dynamics of the time made securing a comfortable marriage an essential goal for unmarried women. For example, Miss Gardiner marries Mr. Bennet, a minor landowner, thus improving her social standing. Jane and Elizabeth Bennet continue this upward mobility by marrying wealthy men like Bingley and Darcy. Elizabeth, in particular, rises to a higher social position, but her status remains closely tied to her family's background as members of the landed gentry.
The weight of family