Body/Sexuality Blog Assignment

Shanay Cogdell

Professor Nina Perez

WST 3015

February 16, 2010
    
                                Body/Sexuality Blog Assignment

        Based on the Jane Austen novel, the Pride and Prejudice movie is a classic tale of love and misunderstanding unfolding in class-conscious England near the close of the 18th century. Marriage in the movie is clearly acknowledged and wealthy men during this time were forced to be in search of a wife. Ettelbrick states that marriage defines certain relationships as more valid than all others (317). This is a prime example with the movie because the thread that sews together the lives of all the characters in this classic is the establishment of marriage. As stated in the “Making a Home, Making a Living”, Marriage is often thought to be an essential part of a woman’s life (301). Mrs. Bennet is an irritating woman whose main goal in life is to get her five daughters married in which she felt social and financial pressure to do so. Her husband's estate was entailed to his nephew, Mr. Collins, upon Mr. Bennet's death. Therefore, Mrs. Bennet wanted her daughters to have financial stability elsewhere in case of their father's death. In the time period of this story there was very little social acceptance of women who were single their whole lives. For the most part, women could not acquire money on their own without inheriting or marrying into good fortune. Women who could not find a husband were often referred to as old maids and lived their whole lives with their parents. People may not refer to unmarried women as “old maids” or “on the shelf” as much as in the past, but there is still a stigma attached to being single in many cultural groups if a woman remains unmarried after a certain age (Kirk, Margo Okazawa-Rey “Making a Living” 301). In which I can see why Mrs. Bennet felt the way she did and did not want this for any of her daughters.

       The Bennets' marriage was not ideal. Mr. Bennet had married his wife because she was beautiful in her youth and her ability to supply him with children. Eventually though, her beauty faded and so did their enjoyment of each other. He enjoyed his time alone in his study where he could be away from his wife and daughters. Mrs. Bennet enjoyed gossiping about neighbors and finding future husbands for her daughters in which it almost seems as a hobby for her! I believe that the director is showing the viewers that marrying only for physical appearance is wrong because we all know that beauty fades with time.

       A dear friend of Elizabeth, Charlotte Lucas, marries Mr. Collins just for money; Charlotte accepted his proposal for the pure and disinterested desire of an establishment. She was twenty-six years old and her family begun to worry. Upon hearing of her engagement, her brothers were relieved from their apprehension of Charlotte dying an old maid. Charlotte wanted nothing more out of marriage than financial stability and that is what she got. In Hunsford it seems that Charlotte did nothing but tend to the chores of maintaining her home and pleasing Lady Catherine. I do not believe that Charlotte and Mr. Collins were in love at all and they did not really seem too happy in each other's company. I think their marriage was an illustration of why you should not marry just for financial reasons which is a popular dream of most women these days. Lydia's marriage to Wickham was simply for romance and lust. For some time, the flirtatious teenager had had her eye on military officers. I believe that when Wickham showed her attention she fell in love and henceforth came their marriage. The sad fact is that she liked him a great deal more than he cared about her. Wickham had many debts and used the money he got from marrying her to pay them off. Therefore, Lydia is married to a man that doesn't really care for her all that much and Wickham is married to a girl that cannot really offer him anything. This couple shows that you should marry someone who feels the same towards you or eventually you will be unhappy. The marriages of the two oldest Bennet daughters were ideal. Jane had longed for Mr. Bingley for quite a while. Bingley was handsome, rich, kind, and well liked. He and Jane shared many conversations and had complimentary personalities. They were matched perfectly and I believe that they shared a happy life together. Elizabeth and Darcy's marriage was also a match made in Heaven. They were both were equally intellectual, had physical attraction and deep love for one another, financial security, romance, and companionship. This is an example of a real relationship because they would be most happy in life. In my opinion, marriage should be approached as a package deal - a package of love, financial stability, physical attraction, and happiness.



Work Cited

Ettelbrick, Paula. "Since When is Marriage a Path to Liberation? (1989)." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. By Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey.  5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 317. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. "Making a Home, Making a Living." Women's Lives Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 301-03. Print