Mingling Motives
What is the basis of an enduring marriage? There are many paths which one may choose to take in guiding a marriage. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, three of these marital motives are described: prudential, mercenary, and love-based motives. Each of these relations contain their own advantages and disadvantages. In the end, it is clear that the prudent motive is the best to follow. The model of prudence is similar to being a student. Good students know what they want to achieve in life and work hard towards those goals. Lazy students wait until the last minute to decide on goals, but by that time, the more prudent students have taken the best available options. The model of prudence has to do with caution and deciding on a partner with care, generally to satisfy social needs and long-term goals. Even though prudential marriages are guided at improving one’s standing in society, they do not flout the possibility of happiness. Charlotte Lucas, for example, married Mr. Collins for prudential reasons, stating, “I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state” (Austen 125). On the other hand, mercenary and love-based motives are based on short term feelings that are likely to pass in time. Such intentions are shortsighted; they fail to address the bigger picture that the future presents. Prudent motives are the best to follow because they address how a person’s standing in society may be improved and how such an outlook will play out in the future.
Prudent motives are best because they are concerned with improving one’s current state of affairs. Generally, most relationships aim at gaining the support of another for physical and emotional sustenance. Among the many relationships mentioned within the novel Pride and Prejudice, the best example of a prudent relationship would be that of Elizabeth Bennet towards Fitzwilliam Darcy. From the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth generally rejects and puts Mr. Darcy down as “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world” (13). At this time, Elizabeth was attached to Mr. Wickham, because “‘He is also handsome,’ replied Elizabeth, ‘which a young man ought likewise to be if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete’” (16). Clearly, Elizabeth views good looks as paramount in any relationship, because that is how Mr. Wickham is. After Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth the first time, he is rejected immediately, despite being good looking himself. After a few months, Elizabeth visits Pemberley estate, the home of Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth’s reaction upon seeing the house is “to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!” (239). After hearing positive accounts about Mr. Darcy from his servant and seeing the flamboyance of his estate, Elizabeth feels that she may be able to see herself with Mr. Darcy. It is not Mr. Darcy’s first proposal, letter of apology, or outward charm that catches Elizabeth’s attention; it is his house and its grandiosity. Elizabeth was drawn by his wealth and social status, which were considered to be key elements of a sensible marriage in her time. In pursuing Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth seeks to satisfy the demands of her society as well as her craving for a handsome husband.
Prudent relationships are also ideal for ensuring security in the future. In a prudent relationship, those involved attempt to appease the demands of their society by joining together for socially acceptable reasons. The fact that Mr. Darcy was well-to-do and good looking was enough for Elizabeth. She is living up to her idea of a functional relationship. As long as she continues to live up to these goals, both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth should have no trouble raising a family and getting along as any other couple would. The benefit here is that prudent relationships are aimed at self-improvement and status, rather than happiness.
Mercenary intentions are based solely on achieving pecuniary advantages. Of all the relationships presented within the text of Pride and Prejudice, the relationship between Lydia and Mr. Wickham would be the best example of a mercenary relationship. Lydia ran off with Mr. Wickham after he left for Brighton to dodge debts he owed to his fellow officers. After Lydia runs off with Mr. Wickham, the Bennet family is deeply traumatized with fears that Lydia’s running off will make the family seem uncontrolled and thus less respectable. Mrs. Bennet’s brother, Mr. Gardiner, goes out to find Lydia and Wickham to ease the pain of their current situation. He does find Lydia and Wickham, and reports in a letter that “They are not married, nor can I find there was any intention of being so” (292). What a mercenary relationship attempts to accomplish is that it sets out to gain only goods and fiscal advantages. Mr. Wickham had no intention to marry Lydia, simply because she had no money and he could hardly provide for himself. Only after Mr. Darcy offers to pay off Mr. Wickham’s gambling debts and find him a job does he see a purpose in getting married to Lydia, although she would not have much to offer him.
Mercenary relationships rarely last, because a person can only offer so much money, not to mention, there will always be someone else with more money. In the long run, any mercenary relationship would still be bent on leeching off of the goods of the significant other, or in Mr. Wickham’s case, Mr. Darcy. Even after Mr. Darcy pays off Mr. Wickham’s debts, Mr. Wickham has the nerve to request “that Darcy might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune” (373). Wickham’s lust for money makes him feel indifferent towards Lydia, which ultimately conveys the failure of a mercenary relationship to include any regard for the other individual. The main fault here is that only so much money may be taken at one time, and relationships with a person’s money never last when there is none left to exploit.
Last among the types of relationships described in Pride and Prejudice, and perhaps the most common type of relationship now would be the love-based relationship. The best example of a love-based relationship within the novel would be that of Mr. Darcy towards Elizabeth Bennet. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth appears to dislike Mr. Darcy because of the impact of the prejudices of Mrs. Bennet, the lies of Mr. Wickham, and Mr. Darcy’s initial scorn towards Elizabeth. Despite this, Mr. Darcy thinks through these obstacles, and still feels that he does, in fact, love Elizabeth. From the outset, the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy seemed doomed to failure because “His sense of her inferiority, of its being a degradation, of the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit” (188). Mr. Darcy did not believe in the classist structure of the society he lived in. He saw Elizabeth as another person who was to be treated as equally as anyone else. Such a relationship could only bring short term happiness. Mr. Darcy would be with Elizabeth, but would be brother-in-law to the infamous Mr. Wickham and face scorn and ridicule from his superiors, such as his aunt, Lady Catherine. In the words of Lady Catherine to Elizabeth, “Let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never” (343). To marry Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy would first have to give up many of his previous relationships with members of his class, simply because marrying Elizabeth would bring him down in his society.
The long term effects of love are also potentially problematic. In marriage, a husband and wife take vows. In a marriage dictated by love, these vows may be about loving each other. However, according to C.S. Lewis, “A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way.” (Lewis 107). Mr. Darcy was very much in love. With Elizabeth However, like with mercenary relationships, the state of being in love is transient. Any relationship based only on soft feelings towards another person would not be a lasting relationship. It is essential to have a mutual regard for each other above any feelings of love. As time passes, love becomes obsolete in much the same way that thirst would be quenched after taking a drink of water. It is also fairly easy to pretend to be in love as well. With love being a feeling that is subject to change and being a feeling that is easy to imitate, that is why loving relations are overshadowed by prudent relationships.
Prudential marriages are the wisest of all marriages. The main goal of a prudential marriage is to unite for practical reasons, such as security or to rise up on the social ladder. Elizabeth used prudent judgment in deciding to marry Mr. Darcy at the end on the story. She realized that a marriage to Mr. Darcy meant that she would rise in class, would satisfy her mother’s demand to get married rather than remain a maiden, and would be satisfying the demands of her society by marrying well. However, Mr. Darcy would not have it as simple as Elizabeth would. Mr. Darcy would drop in class by marrying Elizabeth, not to mention that he would be brothers with Mr. Wickham, and would suffer at the hands of his superiors for his decision to marry so lowly. Mr. Darcy must have really loved Elizabeth, considering how all the odds were pitted against him in his marriage. Likewise, the mercenary marriage of Mr. Wickham and Lydia bore no advantages to speak of. Lydia was attracted to Mr. Wickham’s charm, and Mr. Wickham was not exactly drawn to Lydia as he was trying to escape financial trouble. Mr. Wickham never intended to marry Lydia, but only did so because Mr. Darcy offered to pay off his debts and find him a job if he obliged. Eventually, Lydia and Mr. Wickham grow tired of each other, and still remain financially insolvent.
Each of these relationships are plagued with disapproval and a lack of propriety. The only relationship that does not fit this description is that of Elizabeth. In marrying Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth has nothing to lose. Like a good student who takes down the notes of what their society tells them, Elizabeth heeds to the message her society tells her about class structure and achieving fortune. Conversely, Mr. Darcy’s marriage to Elizabeth causes him to drop from his high standing in society and gets ridiculed by his superiors for his decision. Only around Elizabeth might Mr. Darcy be truly happy, because in society, he would simply be cast aside. Mr. Wickham’s mercenary marriage to Lydia was carried out only to pay off his debts. Mr. Wickham never had any real feelings for Lydia, which would cause him to become bored of her. It is clear that prudential motives are the best motives to base a marriage on. Elizabeth has everything to gain from her relationship with Mr. Darcy both now and in the future. What makes this possible is the fact that she faces no real dilemmas when she gets married with Mr. Darcy. All goes smoothly and rests in Elizabeth’s favor. That is why a prudential marriage is the best type of marriage.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003.
