Essay: The Key to Happiness (Pride and Prejudice)

Pride and Prejudice was written in 1797, around the same time as Marie Antoinette’s execution and Napoleon’s reign. So, it seems unlikely that Jane Austen has anything left to say to us today in 2019. But, hidden under unrequited love and prideful millionaires, Jane Austen used her books to impart morals and subtle debates on social status. Austen left us with the, morally correct, answer to one particularly burning question, how does one gain a happy life? Through Pride and Prejudice, Austen gives the reader a view into the class distinctions that once ruled social and romantic relationships to show the changing society of Realism that to gain a truly happy life, one must rid themselves of societal standards and make decisions based on their heart.
Jane Austen was part of a group of authors that lived in the merge between Romanticism and Realism, and their writings show very unique blended themes from the two eras. One very important recurring theme in their writings was moral correctness in the choices we make, and the question of what leads humans to make these choices. This group of writers was “Essentially optimistic regarding human nature, they trust the individual heart and mind, and they resist laws, customs, and institutions that inhibit man’s “natural” impulses” ( “Historical Context.” 2). They viewed heart over mind, or rather over greed, as the correct way to walk through life. This was especially true in Jane Austen’s case, who used this idea of morals quite strictly in her books, where she rewarded those with correct morals happier lives than those with what she viewed as more corrupt morals. Austen was religious and thoroughly seemed to believe this rule to be correct: “As a practicing Christian, the daughter and sister of clergymen, Austen saw self-examination as an important part of her religious duties. “Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own hearts,” asks a prayer she composed for private use, “and save us from deceiving ourselves by pride or vanity”’ ( “The Theme of Moral Blindness and Self-Knowledge.” 29). She was so serious about her views that she applied these ideas not only to her writings but to her own life. This philosophy was especially prevalent in her writing when it came to her characters finding happiness in who they chose as a life partner.
Love and marriage, in Pride and Prejudice, is a very difficult idea to navigate for the characters. At the time of the book, class still ruled social interaction; class not only meant money or the size of your house, it meant exactly who you could talk to and who you could marry. It was a complicated construct that was difficult to navigate, but seemed to have one effect on most people: the want to move up the social ladder. There are three main relationships that form during Pride and Prejudice, Jane and Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Lydia and Mr. Wickham. Each of these couples hold a different role in the book, and play a different romantic trope.
Jane and Bingley are the first relationship introduced, and they are an example of love with absolutely no barriers. Other characters mention the class difference between the two, but Jane and Bingley seem to love each other unselfishly and to barely think of their different social standings. Unfortunately, despite their love, they are broken up early on in the story by Mr. Darcy telling Bingley he believes that Jane’s love for him may be untrue. This separates them for much of the novel. But, almost immediately after this is discredited, Bingley proposes. Their relationship was simple, as long as they believed their love was reciprocated, they were happy. But, while Jane and Bingley’s love appears without thought of class, other characters do often give their opinion on the match. Miss Bingley, and several others, share the opinion that Jane has no chance of marrying Mr. Bingley or anyone else of high rank because of where she falls on the social ladder. Mr. Bingley replies that for him, her social standing makes her no less agreeable. Jane equally gets many comments, especially from her mother Mrs. Bennet on how good of a match this would be for her. But, likewise, she seems to ignore these. Instead, she speaks of Mr. Bingley in a way that implies she hopes only for happiness in a relationship with him, not financial gain. This relationship is an example of love not grown from greed or want, and it fulfills Austen’s hopes for every couple.
The next couple is Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, and their relationship is much more complicated than that of Jane and Mr. Bingley’s. At the start of the book Mr. Darcy makes a rude comment about Elizabeth, and it takes close to the whole book for them to get past their original impressions of each other. Mr. Darcy does soon realize he may actually like Elizabeth, possibly love, but he quarrels with the idea because of the expectations put on him by his class. He realizes that he is higher in society than her, and is not sure if he could bring himself to love a women with low connections. When Darcy finally proposes to Elizabeth he has still not fully come to terms with what being in love with a lower class women means. He wants to hold onto his dignity and to keep social superiority; this makes his proposal less a confession of love and more a statement of her poor connections, little wealth, and the unfortunate lack of social grace from her family at times. He is torn between loving her and being better than her. But, throughout the rest of the book Mr. Darcy learns to put aside tradition and pride and to treat Elizabeth with love and kindness. And, Elizabeth spends the book figuring out that they image she painted of Mr. Darcy in her head of a greedy, cruel rich man is not true, and, as he becomes kinder and opens up to her, she falls in love with him too. By the time Mr. Darcy proposes the second time he has completely put aside the social standards that held him back before and can view Elizabeth as his equal, and Elizabeth is able to see past his class. Near the end of the book he tells Elizabeth this of his self improvement: “I was spoiled by my parents, who, though good themselves…, allowed, encouraged, almost taught me … to think meanly of [others] sense and worth compared with my own. Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!” (Austen 310). Austen used relationships like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s as a subtle way to show this shifting social world, and to show growth and acceptance as a part of love, and the road to happiness.
The last main couple are Lydia and Mr. Wickham. They are the final couple to meet, and so we are given time before hand to understand their characters. Lydia is painted as a very vain, greedy young woman. She spends most of her time in town trying to talk to the military men, talking about said men and hopes of marriage to them, and shopping. She shares her desire to marry before the rest of her sisters to “win” or perhaps embarrass them. When she goes on a trip with one of the military men’s wives as the militia moves on, she meets and almost immediately runs away with Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham also has a bad reputation, he is outed as a liar and as greedy early on by Mr. Darcy, as he has repeatedly tried to get money from the Darcy’s, but does nothing with it because he does not want to work to better himself. He wants to be handed a comfortable life. He originally does not even want to marry Lydia, even though he convinced her to run away with him and lived with her unmarried for some time. But, Mr. Darcy bribes him and so he agrees to the marriage. Elizabeth, and most other characters, do not seem to understand the pairing: “How Wickman and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable independence, she could not imagine. But how little of permanent happiness could belong to a couple who were only brought together because their passions were stronger than their virtue, she could easily conjecture” (Austen 261). As a couple they are only brought together because of greed and want for marriage and money. The are the opposite of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, who put aside the idea of money for love to develop, and this juxtaposition is meant to show exactly what greed does to love: “The novel continually juxtaposes to Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage the completely selfish marriage, such as the unions between Lydia and Wickham and between Charlotte and Mr. Collins, who live only for themselves and their own advancement” (Brown). And, in retaliation for their greed, Austen gives these two characters a spouse and relationship that will only bring them very temporary happiness and comfort.
As shown by these three couples, and Austen’s morals, greed has no place in love and marriage. The happiest and most regarded characters in Pride and Prejudice are those who put aside prejudices and are able to listen to their heart and go after what they want. Austen’s Pride and Prejudice shows the changing of societal standards through the lens of high society and class expectations; it embodies the transition and changing opinions of Realism. Elizabeth is a highly regarded character because she is able to stand up to those against her marriage with M.r Darcy and say, “I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me” (Austen 300-301). For this, she is an ideal character, and for this she marries Mr. Darcy instead of the prideful and materialistic Miss Bingley, who ends up alone at the end of the book. No person should make any decision without first examining their heart, themself, and their morals: “Pride and Prejudice is, then, first and foremost a story about learning and growth in the complicated and fascinating business of the moral life” (“The Theme of Moral Blindness and Self-Knowledge.” 33). By following these morals, people can be truly good and can find happiness, a lesson that is still worth hearing today.