Austen uses this quote to demonstrate the realities of marriage. Charlotte, nearly an old maid has come to realise that love has no place in determining marriageability. This conversation between Elizabeth and Charlotte is designed to remind the reader that Jane's feelings were an exception which proved the rule that this was a life-long decision, to which one can never know the outcome. By likening marriage to a business transaction, the reader is positioned to see that one must first put on an imitation of self, and then can begin to love, only after the contract has been signed.

The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice andstands as one of the most famous first lines in literature. Even as it briskly introduces the arrival of Mr. Bingley at Netherfield—the event that sets the novel in motion—this sentence also offers a miniature sketch of the entire plot, which concerns itself with the pursuit of “single men in possession of a good fortune” by various female characters. The preoccupation with socially advantageous marriage in nineteenth-century English society manifests itself here, for in claiming that a single man “must be in want of a wife,” the narrator reveals that the reverse is also true: a single woman, whose socially prescribed options are quite limited, is in (perhaps desperate) want of a husband

"All this she must possess," added Darcy, "and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading."

"I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any...I never saw such a woman. I never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance, as you describe united."

"Elizabeth Bennet," said Miss Bingley, when the door was closed on her, "is one of those young ladies who seek to recommend themselves to the other sex by undervaluing their own; and with many men, I dare say, it succeeds. But, in my opinion, it is a paltry device, a very mean art."

"Undoubtedly," replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefly addressed, "there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable."

"Our importance, our respectability in the world must be affected by the wild volatility, the assurance and disdain of all restraint which mark Lydia's character. Excuse me—for I must speak plainly. If you, my dear father, will not take the trouble of checking her exuberant spirits, and of teaching her that her present pursuits are not to be the business of her life, she will soon be beyond the reach of amendment."

"I have said no such thing. 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."

• "The business of her life was to get her daughters married" p7

• "Ah! Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman" p300

["Mr Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society" p69 :

Strict social structures dictated by the hierarchy of wealth and land

“Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the underserving of the other sex.” (Mary Bennet)

Lady Catherine de Bourgh; Fitzwilliam Darcy; Georgiana Darcy; Colonel Fitzwilliam; George Wickham

P.69 "No," said Darcy, "I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding—certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offenses against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.""

Although playful in nature, Mr. Darcy's statement hits at the belief that women are preoccupied by trivial romances and domestic affairs.

Mrs Bennet's attitude is ridiculed in this statement, characterising her as fickle. She values marriage and social status above happiness and her responsibility as a parent to counsel her children in making appropriate decisions.

Eddie:
"The engagement between them is a peculiar kind. From their infancy, they have been intended for each other. It was the favourite wish of his mother, as well as hers. While in their cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished in their marriage, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family!" (pg. 321)

• This quote reveals that marriage, in this time, is seen as something that can be something arranged between parents (if you of the right class), and should take place between people of the same class, where both parties are benefitting from the arrangement.

Brianna Self
"There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well...every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters...I have met with two instances lately; one I will not mention; the other is Charlotte's marriage." (p130)
This idea that your choice of marriage is something that defines your character.
Elizabeth's value of her friend is contradicted by her perspective on marriage and Mr. Collins.

"If a woman conceals her affection with the same skill from the object of it, she may lose the opportunity for fixing him; and it will then be but poor consolation to believe the world equally in the dark. There is so much gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely - a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have a heart enough to be really in love without encouragement.In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better shew more affection than she feels." (pg.22-23) ~ Em

This conversation between Mrs Gardiner speaking to Elizabeth about Jane acts as a representation of gender, this adds to the values of the era earlier shown in the novel, that men are free to choose while women struggle to find a loyal suitor.

Kenny: "It does not often happen that the interference of friends will persuade a young man of independent fortune to think no more of a girl, whom he was violently in love with only a few days before." - pg.133 This quote shows the conflict of ideas regarding what truly makes marriage valuable, whether it is love or to bring wealth/prosperity to the family and benefit their social economic standing.

P.39 "A woman must must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern language to deserve word." -Tara

Do your sister paly and sing. Why didn’t you all learn. You ought to have learned. Do you draw. What none of you. p.200 - Jai

Eddie - "Happy for all her maternal feelings was the day on which Mrs Bennet got rid of her two most deserving daughters. With what delighted pride she afterwards visited Mrs Bingley, and talked of Mrs Darcy, may be guessed. I wish I could say, for the sake of the family, that the accomplishment of her earnest desire in the establishment of so many of her children produced so happy an effect as to make her a sensible, amiable, well-informed woman for the rest of her life; though perhaps it was lucky for her husband, who might not have relished domestic felicity in so unusual a form, that she still was occasionally nervous and invariably silly." (pg. 349). - This quote reveals the sole purpose of being a woman. If you are a young woman, you are to be married off. If you are a mother, your job is to marry off your children, As a society, they value the idea of being married, to the point that it has almost become a goal, with everybody playing the game to reach that final step.

PAGE 171
My fingers..do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do.
Kiara

it claims that a single man "must be in want of a wife," revealing the truth of single woman whose socially presented options are limited is in the wants of a husband. page 1 Aussam

'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." page 5 (Miki and Aliyah)

PAGE 180
I imagine your cousin brought you down with him chiefly for the sake or having somebody at his disposal. I wonder he does not marry, to secure a lasting convenience of that kind
Kiara

Explanation for quote: This clearly shows how the women must protect absolutely everything about themselves, when in contrast the man can be as free as he wants

“I am glad of it; but otherwise I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line. – it was not thought necessary in Sir Lewis de Bourgh’s family” page 161 (Miki and Aliyah)

Chapter 49
"All that is required of you is to assure to your daughter, by settlement, her equal share of the five thousand pound secured among your children after the decrease of yourself" (p274)
The system that only allowed women to inherit land and wealth trough marriage and not through family relations. this implies that men were the superior gender.

Chapter 48: “They agree with me in apprehending that this false step in one daughter will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others; for who, as Lady Catherine herself condescendingly says, will connect themselves with such a family? And this consideration leads me moreover to reflect, with augmented satisfaction, on a certain event of last November; for had it been otherwise, I must have been involved in all your sorrow and disgrace. Let me advise you then, my dear sir, to console yourself as much as possible, to throw off your unworthy child from your affection for ever, and leave her to reap the fruits of her own heinous offence.” Mr. Collins. In this quote, Austen intends to position readers through the perspective of receiving the letter from Mr Collins. The letter’s context urges the Bennets to cut off relations with Lydia fearing their chances of marriage to be further tarnished. This letter represents the values and attitudes displayed during the novel’s setting,

"It was gratitude. Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy..." pg.248 Kenny This quote overall implies the roles of genders, particularly the male side as it shows that men are expected to marry suitable choices that would not disrespect their social position and yet Darcy chooses to ignore the ideals of his position in sake of love for Elizabeth.

Chapter 50
fuiwefu
"When first Mr Bennet had married, economy was held to be perfectly useless; for, of course, they were to have a son. This son was to join in cutting off the entail, as soon as he should be of age, and the widow and younger children would by that means be provided for. FIce daughters successively entered the world, but yet the son was to come; and Mrs Bennet, for many years after Lydia's birth, had been certain that he would." (pg.279).

Chapter 55 “Would you believe it, Lizzy, that when he went to town last November, he really loved me, and nothing but a persuasion of my being indifferent would have prevented his coming down again?” [Jane Bennet] Pg 330

Chapter 59 "Or, in other words, you are determined to have him. He is rich, to be sure, and you may have more fine clothes and fine carriages than Jane. But will they make you happy?" Pg 356

Chapter 51 - Lydia, a character written by the renowned author Jane Austen, in her arguably most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, is a decidedly flat character; represented as being full of caprice, this betrays her humbler situation in life compared to other members of the upper classes, making her a suitable companion for Wickham, who is also; opportunistic, flat and ultimately, deceptive. In using the word flat, it shows the implication that Lydia, though a part of the Bennet family, was quite a shallow character with vacuous thoughts and ideas, seeing everything in the world as very black and white which is quite the contrast to Elizabeth, of whom is quite the opposite. The meaning of this, is that Elizabeth and Lydia are very different characters, who are representative of the ideal lady of society, one who is ultimately the women that the societal standards perspective of women, being the daughter that the mother always wished for; boy crazy, marrying quite young, especially marrying a man who is wealthy, (Lydia) and everything that women should not have been (Elizabeth). This meaning that, she, Elizabeth, has her own ideas and thoughts, and that she can think for herself. The clear juxtaposition between the two sisters is enough to position the audience in seeing that the women of this time have only two ways of thoughts but will ultimately end up the same way: in a marriage, loveless or otherwise. The presents the readers with the cultural assumptions, that being that women, though all having ultimately the same outcome, can counteract it in various ways. Elizabeth counteracted the oncoming torrent of time by acting in her own way, forcing the audience to look at things from her own perspective, that of the woman in regency era London. Therefore, it is clear that through the cultural assumptions and the juxtaposition of Lydia and Elizabeth, the audience can witness the representations of the ideal woman, and the woman of higher thought and thinking in the novel, Pride and Prejudice. From this, the authors intent is proven to clearly show the juxtaposition between societies ideal woman and Austen's ideal woman.

• although this mainly focuses on Lydia and Elizabeth instead of Darcy and Wickham
• By Malia

Chapter 47 - "Unhappy as the event must be for Lydia, we may draw from it this useful lesson: that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behaviour towards the undeserving of the other sex."

In this quote, Austen is trying to communicate to the reader that the reputation of women is extremely fragile during this time period.

Chapter 60
"Lady Catherine's unjustifiable endeavors to separate us were the means of removing all my doubts." (p345)
This idea that the happiness of a woman depends on her luck in marriage. If she does not marry well she will have an unfortunate life. This is the stress that Lady Catherine feels for her daughter as she wishes her daughter to marry Mr Darcy, but that does not become the case.

Chapter 54 “A man who has once been refused! How could I ever be foolish enough to expect a renewal of his (Mr. Darcy) love? Is there one among the sex who would not protest against such a weakness as a second proposal to the same woman? There is no indignity so abhorrent to their feelings!” Pg 323

Chapter 53: "It is a delightful thing, to be sure, to have a daughter well married..." (p. 3030).

"Mr Darcy, I am a very selfish creature; and for the sake of giving relief to my own feelings, care not how much I may be wounding yours." pg.345 - Kenny