Eloise Yearley

With close references to chapter 19 and 34 (Collin’s and Darcy’s proposals to Lizzy)
discuss the principle characters attitudes to money, status and marriage.

In the regency period it was very common for people to marry for money and status.
Unmarried women were socially inferior and were seen as a strain on their family.
Marriage was the only thing a woman could really do in society in the 1800s; there
were few jobs for them. Marriage was a woman’s main goal in life and if she did not
reach this goal she was thought of as an embarrassment. For this reason Lizzy Bennet
is quite fictional character turning down two proposals. The novel is also a bit like a
fairytale because in the Regency period it would have been extremely unbelievable
and unlikely that someone of Mr Darcy’s status and fortune would marry someone of
the same status as Elizabeth Bennet. Although in the 19 th century if men did not have
the same pressure to marry because if they did not marry they were just called a
bachelor and there was no social humiliation about being a bachelor.

Another important aspect of the Regency period was status. If you had a good high
status you had a lot of power and people respected you. If you were in the middle
class and you had good connections to higher classes you could gain yourself a little
more respect. If you were in the middle/upper class it was quite easy to have a
comfortable life and because of this it was quite easy to find yourself a husband or
wife.

In the 19th century money was considered everything. The amount of money
determined what social class you were in, who your friends were, the amount of
respect you were given by other people and increased or decreased the chances of
you getting married. This is nicely proven through characters such as Lady Catherine
de Bourgh and Mr Darcy; they had very comfortable lives and were shown lots of
respect by others around them.

Mr Collins is a very loquacious man when it comes to complimenting Lady Catherine

de Bourgh. He is addicted to people of a higher status than him and talks throughout
the book about his connections with the upper classes. Nowadays it would not seem
that important if you knew someone of a higher status but in the Regency period it
was something to brag about. I believe Jane Austin uses his character to push to the
extreme what some people may have been like in the 19 th century. He only decides
to get married because someone of a higher status has told him that he must.

Mr Collins’s view on marriage is very practical nowhere in his decision of choosing a

wife does he contemplate his or others feelings towards each other for example he
changes who he wishes to marry in the space of time that it took Mrs Bennet to poke
the fire. He comes across as extremely rehearsed in his proposal to Lizzy unlike Mr
Darcy’s proposal. When Lizzy turns Mr Collins down he finds it hard to comprehend
that someone else would not marry for convenience because for him it seems to be
the only reason why someone would marry. Mr Collins proposal would come across
rather rude and not in the slightest bit romantic in the 21 st century although in the
19th century this behavior and outlook on marriage was deemed acceptable.

Mr Collins attitude towards money

Mr Collins attitude to money is also a very systematic. Money ties in with his attitude
to status and marriage because he is highly influenced by people of a higher status
and who have a lot of money. In the Regency Period this was acceptable behaviour
because everyone wanted to climb the social ladder, and the best way to do that was
to acquaint you with more important people.

This however is very different to Mr Darcy and Lizzys’ attitude to money, status and
marriage. Lizzy and Darcy believe in marriage for love, not money. This would have
been a very unrealistic way of living in the 19th century because people where very
materialistic and believed that women had only one purpose – to marry. Nowadays
there are many other options for a woman to take, but in the 19th century the
mentality of people was very different and they prioritised things differently. Mr
Darcy also believes in marriage for love, however, with his status and income, he can
believe in whatever he likes. His status and money buy him his freedom to live his life
as he chooses; this is very different from Lizzy as she is a middle class girl with no
dowry. This also shows that the attitude in general towards women was lower and
less respectful as it was for a man. The vast difference in Darcy and Collins’ attitudes
are shown in their proposals to Lizzy.

Chapter 19 is very good for understanding Mr Collins approach to money, status and
marriage. It is the chapter where he proposes to Lizzy. His proposal to Lizzy is much
rehearsed and business like, he starts his proposal by stating that he came to
Merryton looking for a wife. He then goes on to give his 3 reasons for marrying, none
of which are that he loves Lizzy. Jane Austen uses specific language; she makes Lizzy
seem humoured by the proposal and on the whole makes it seem like a joke. By
stating his reasons for marrying, it shows that Mr Collins is a very systematic man.
Throughout his proposal he never lets Lizzy speak and doesn’t give her time to reply
to him.

His first reason for marrying is that he believes that as a clergyman it is his duty to
marry and set an example. This shows that Mr Collins doesn’t believe in marrying for
love but for convenience. His second reason for marrying is that he believes it will
make him a happy man. Jane Austen could have made this a romantic reason and
shown his love, but she simply implies that Mr Collins doesn’t think that by marrying
Lizzy he will be happy, just in general that marriage will complete his life. His last
reason for marrying was that he was told to Lady Catherine de Bourgh. All the
reasons supply evidence that Mr Collins attitude to marriage is very unromantic and
structured. By marrying because he was told to by Lady C de B it shows that he is
very status aware because he listens to her and does as she says.

After Mr Collins has said his proposal, Lizzy replies by saying ‘...it is impossible for me
to do otherwise than decline...’ When Lizzy rejects Mr Collins he refuses to believe
that she said no. He then tells her that he is not worried because it is usual for
women to decline as first; he calls her a flirt and a tease. Throughout the proposal we
learn a lot about Mr Collins’ attitude to money, status and marriage; we also learn
how different he and Lizzy are. We learn that he is a methodical and practical man
and treats love like a preparation for the rest of his life. We also learn that he is
impervious and confidant man because of how quickly he turns his affection from
Jane to Lizzy to Charlotte without a hassle. Jane Austen uses irony and humour to
make Collins’ proposal more comical and improbable. This lightens the mood of the
chapter and makes it more acceptable.