Pride and Prejudice Essay

Dora Ocampo
AP English 11 –Mr. George
April 17, 2009
Pride and Prejudice Essay

There is more to marriage than just sharing a house, buying each other rings, and saying “I do”. You have to learn what the other is accustomed to and what they detest in order to make the marriage work. You have to accept the other for their flaws and adjust oneself for the other. None of this can be done without the main component, love. If there is no love in a marriage, it will be unsuccessful and most importantly unpleasant, like it would be with marriages of mercenary and prudence.

When looking for a partner in marriage, there are many things that one should consider. One of them could be if both partners will be able to provide for themselves financially. Another could be if both have schedules and personalities that are compatible with each other. Lastly, both members have to be positive that they are in love. These are all things that couples should reflect on, but should focus more on the last one. If a couple is truly in love then achieving happiness is inevitable. “Happiness is the key to success” (Schweitzer) and also the key to a successful marriage.

In the novel Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen, Austen explores three different types of marriages, mercenary being one of them. A mercenary marriage is one in which you marry solely to benefit yourself, whether it be in terms of money or some other form of reward. Wickham and Mrs. Bennet exemplify the true meaning of being mercenaries.

As if eloping with Mr. Darcy’s sister wasn’t enough, Mr. Wickham also eloped with Elizabeth’s sister, Lydia. The only difference is that Mr. Wickham had absolutely no intention of marrying Lydia when they decided to leave: “He [Wickham] confessed himself obliged to leave the regiment on account of some debts of honour which were very pressing” (Austen 313). In an attempt to win over Elizabeth and to save the reputation of the Bennet family, Mr. Darcy set Wickham up with a job, and also offered to pay off his debts. Wickham, though Mr. Darcy has already given him plenty, continued to ask for more, and even though his wishes were not met, he decided to accept Mr. Darcy’s proposal: “Wickham, of course, wanted more than he could get; but at length was reduced to be reasonable” (313). Love played no role in the marriage between Lydia and Wickham and it was only standing strong due to the agreement made with Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet, along with Wickham, believed in mercenary marriages.

All five of the Bennet sisters were encouraged to marry into a rich family, and this encouragement came mainly from their mother, Mrs. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet’s conscience tells her that money is the key to happiness, and because of this she supports her daughters in marrying into wealth. This will not only lead her daughters into a good life, but also hers: “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield […] and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for” (11). Although Mr. Darcy was exceedingly wealthy, Mrs. Bennet was not fond of him because he carried himself very proudly. At the Pemberley ball, Mr. Darcy refused to dance with any of the females present because the ball was more of “a punishment than a pleasure” (55), meaning that none of the females were good enough. Mrs. Bennet found Darcy arrogant, conceited, and proud, at least until she found out that he proposed to Elizabeth: “Oh, my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be!” (365). Mrs. Bennet was concerned solely about advantage, not happiness.

In the film Love and Basketball (2000), Shawnee Easton attempts to pursue love with the basketball star of Crenshaw High School, Quincy McCall. Quincy led his team in being number one with his scoring output and assists, and was also very wealthy because his father played for the Clippers. Because of this all of the females in his high school wanted to be with him. Dating the star athlete would have boosted up Shawnee’s level of popularity, hence why she was very forward in her approach to Quincy. Quincy’s mother, unlike Mrs. Bennet, warned Quincy of how girls were only using him: “Now I’m telling you that these girls are looking to get you caught, they see you and they see dollar signs” (Love and Basketball). None of these one night stands led to a successful relationship, thus mercenary marriages are unsuccessful.

As an intelligent theology teacher once taught, the definition of prudence is practical common sense. In prudential marriages, the couple is together because written on paper it seems perfect, although they may have different personalities. Mr. Collins proposes to two different women based on prudence.

After Elizabeth rejected Mr. Collins, and Mr. Collins claiming that she was playing hard to get like every other girl, he lists reasons as to why Elizabeth should marry him. In that list Mr. Collins mentions Elizabeth zero times. His proposal lacks passion, which is an example of how he really was not interested in the marriage with Elizabeth in the first place. He was proposing simply because it seemed right. Mr. Collins’ prudent motives are demonstrated when a few days later he proposes to Charlotte. Charlotte accepts his proposal simply because she too has the same motives as Mr. Collins.

“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance” (Austen 24). Though said with a comical pretense, the quote above is something that Charlotte definitely means and stands by. Happiness is something that Charlotte doesn’t think to be a priority in marriage and is content with having a marriage lacking happiness. This may come off as absurd, but Charlotte was more concentrated on her future and how everything would appear. Also, Charlotte’s main goal was to get married, and she was willing to get what she wanted by any means necessary: “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object: it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune” (122). Charlotte and Mr. Collins were clearly meant to be together.

After getting married, Mr. Collins desperately tries to make Elizabeth feel bad about her decision of rejecting him. He wants her to feel wounded by the fact that Charlotte is married to Mr. Collins. Both Charlotte and Mr. Collins are aware of why they are married and respect that. They give each other plenty of space and are never harassing each other. Their marriage is legal, but there is absolutely no emotional attachment.

Monica Wright in Love and Basketball gets paired up with a college student as a date for her Spring Dance by her sister, Lena Wright. Lena convinces her college friend to go out with Monica as a way to boost up her confidence and so that Monica can show off her cute date, Jason. Jason turned heads at the Spring Dance because he was attractive and because anyone who hung out with someone in college was perceived as cool. Though Monica and Jason looked cute together, they didn’t work out as a couple. Monica was looking for something deeper than just good looks, and she was incapable of finding something deeper in Jason. Prudence was incapable of producing happiness for Monica; hence prudence is the wrong motive to have when looking for a successful matrimony. Just because it’s supposed to make sense, doesn’t mean that it’s going to.

“Love conquers all things; let us too surrender to Love” (Virgil). Love is the omnipotent factor in a successful and happy marriage. Although love contains many hardships and obstacles, in the end it prevails over all other motives. Both Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy underwent difficult situations in order to have the woman that they love.

Mr. Bingley was separated from Jane by Mr. Darcy because Darcy was afraid that Bingley was more attached to Jane than Jane was to Bingley. This separation of Jane and Bingley brought happiness to Caroline, Bingley’s sister. But once Jane and Bingley got married, Caroline was disappointed in her brother. This was something that Bingley willingly endured for the love of Jane. Also, by marrying Jane, Mr. Bingley back peddled from where he was economically. What makes the marriage between Jane and Bingley so sweet, is the fact that Bingley had to make sacrifices to get the woman who he loves.

Out of Bingley and Darcy, Mr. Darcy gave up the most. Along with Bingley, Darcy disappointed his only remaining aunt and also dropped in class, though Darcy’s drop was significantly more than Bingley’s. Darcy also had to become brothers with Wickham, the man who deceived him. This says a lot about Darcy’s humble character and about his love for Elizabeth. As stated previously, Darcy paid off Wickham’s debts for the love of Elizabeth. In order to do this, Darcy put his pride aside and focused on what was more important, Elizabeth’s love: “Don’t lose someone you love though over your pride. Stick with your entrée and get over your side” (Fabolous). Darcy proves to Elizabeth how much she means to him through all the sacrifices that he made.

In Love and Basketball Monica and Quincy fall in love in high school, and continued their love in college. Due to some circumstances, they broke up while in college. Quincy went off to the NBA while Monica went overseas. During a basketball game with the LA Lakers, Quincy tore his ACL. Monica returns and gives Quincy a surprise visit with flowers. While at the hospital, Monica finds out that Quincy is engaged to stuartist. Her heart aches in pain, for she is still in love with Quincy and alludes to that when she says, “It's a trip, you know? When you're a kid, you-you see the life you want, and it never crosses your mind that it's not gonna [sic] turn out that way” (Love and Basketball). At the end of the movie, Monica confesses her love to Quincy and decides to play a game of one-on-one for his heart. He was completely against this game, but decided to play anyways. She lost the game, but still won Quincy’s heart.

With the outcome of both Pride and Prejudice and Love and Basketball, the message that is received is that love triumphs over all. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen makes Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy the happiest couple in the book. In Love and Basketball, director Gina Prince-Bythewood made it so that although Monica lost the game to win Quincy’s heart, Quincy’s love for Monica made him able to look past the fact that he was engaged to another woman and that initially he was against the entire game.

“All is fair in love and basketball” (Love and Basketball).


Work Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York, New York. Barnes & Noble Books. 2004.
Fabolous feat. T. Pain. Baby Don’t Go. From Nothin’ to Somethin’. August 2007.
Happiness Quotes. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_happiness.html. 04/16/09.
Prince-Bythewood, Gina. Love and Basketball. 2000.
The Quotations Page. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/24334.html. 04/16/09