傲慢与偏见英文论文

Love is the soul of money

I learned two words from Pride and Prejudice, wealth and status. Now it’s difficult for me to remember the exact plots of this book, however, I will think of these two words once someone refers to Pride and Prejudice. And compared with status, money has a bigger influence on me. Nearly all the people around me pay unimaginable attention to money and i think this phenomenon has existed so long a time that maybe it can be dated back to the first form of society, my heart tell me that i really don’t like this kind of phenomenon, however, i do agree with the title of this essay, as a Chinese proverb goes, “A full belly counsels well.”and the founder of New Oriental Yu Minhong ever said, “Love is a luxury.” moreover, i was touched by a sentence which was written like this, “ I need to own a lot of money, for i don’t want you to be seduced by the money of others.” in my opinion, the relationship between love and money is just like that of our physical body and mental world, in general, most of us won’t have a good mood if we are experiencing the torment of illness, and if we don’t have a healthy body, maybe our lifetime won’t be very long, we won’t have the ability of thinking once we step into so-called paradise or hell, in a word, we should regard money as the most effective tool to promote the quality of love, at the same time, it’s good for us to believe that there won’t be the sinful shadow of money whenever love appears. It’s necessary to have a study on this book.

I. Brief Introduction

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was one of the distinguished realistic novelists in the nineteenth century. During the forty-two years of her short life time, Austen completed six novels. Pride and prejudice is Austin's great work. In this novel, money acts as the cause of each plot and the clue of its development. At that time, marriage was the only way for women to gain social status and recognition. So money is the leading motive for women to marry in the book. Through the description of five different kinds of marriages, Austen fully expressed her original views on marriage: It is wrong to marry for money, but it is unwise to marry without money; marriage is not determined by property and social status, but it is foolish not to considering them; marriage with love is ideal and happy.

II. Analysis on four different marriages

1. The most happy marriage—Jane’s marriage

Among all the marriages in this novel, the combination of gentleman Bingley and mild Jane is the most blessed one. They have many similarities in their characters, which leads them to a successful marriage. At a dancing party in Meryton, Jane and Bingley fell in love with each other at first sight. Lacking courage, the couples experienced hardships on the road of marriage. However, firmly love finally triumphed over everything. Their marriage is based on mutual love. Both of them possess so many common virtues. They are good-tempered and modest. They share a mutual understanding and always think best of others. However, their happy marriage still has some problem. Bingley is not a man with strong and determined disposition. Both of them are weak in judgement and easy to be influenced by others. So Mr.Bennet joked that they may be mistreated by their servants. But it is fortunate enough that Jane and Bingley can always receive beneficial advice from Elizabeth and Darcy.

2. The most absurd marriage —Lydia’s marriage

The marriage of Lydia and Wickham seems to be ridiculous. Lydia, the youngest daughter of the Bennet family. She is idle and foolish. She never ceases seeking her own fun and sexual excitement. Unlike her two eldest sisters, she lacks any sense of virtue and is fascinated by the uniforms. Wickham has a "most gentlemanlike" appearance, however, he has little responsibility. Austen didn't describe how they be together. Their marriage, elopement actually, is a scandal to the whole society and an injury to entire Bennet family. Their sex-oriented marriage purely bases on superficial attraction. Money is a decisive role in their relationship. Without Darcy's help, Wickham won't marry Lydia. I think their marriage is a tragedy and will not last long.

3. The most realistic marriage —Charlotte’s marriage

Collins and Charlotte's Marriage is regarded to be the most realistic one in the book. Their marriage seems both beyond expectation and reasonable. Charlotte is already 27, having no money and no prospects. She is the burden of her family. So she needs a marriage to acquire social status and economic stability, as well as Collins. "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." Charlotte is so rational that she never expect love and romance in her marriage. She a clever girl who clearly knows what she is and what she want. Their marriage is based on economic security. The lack of love makes it to be a business transaction. But no one can say they are unhappy. Because they own what they want through their marriage. Even without love, it can also be a marriage.