... "I believe it must date from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley" (p301). Certain critics have therefore claimed that Elizabeth Bennet is mercenary in her reasons for marriage to Mr. Darcy. This apparently gold-digging behaviour would suggest an attempt by Elizabeth not only to retain, but ... boring and rude Mr. Collins was surpassed only by her shock at discovering that her best friend, Charlotte Lucas, had consented to marry him instead. Unabashedly mercenary, Ms. Lucas declares that marriage is a woman's "pleasantest preservative from want" but that it is "uncertain of ...

• Word Count: 1833
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... no plot. Vital to the plot, Mr. Bennet is also crucial to the reader's perception of the world that Austen is describing. Most members of this society are greedy and mercenary, and those who are not are so entangled in their own passions that they almost never see the absurdity of the world around them. Mr. Bennet is different however. While ... ...

• Word Count: 1647
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... similarity would have resonated strongly with many of Austen's contemporary readers. Elizabeth, by contrast, is blind to the fact that Wickham's attentions to the wealthy heiress are every bit as mercenary as Charlotte's acceptance of Mr. Collins; nor does this demonstration of unscrupulousness lead her to question the truth of his account of Mr. Darcy. Indeed, even Mrs. Gardiner is guilty ... ...

• Word Count: 3260
• Approx Pages: 13

... indeed marry Elizabeth. This goes to show the reader that Jane Austen does not loathe the upper-class and does not disapprove of society in general. However, she disapproves of mercenary people like Mr. Wickham and Mrs. Bingley. The novel is rather a critique of marriage and her contemporaries" views of what marriage should be. Darcy and Elizabeth, the true heroes of ... ...

• Word Count: 543
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... time, which was the stereotyping of individuals based on class. Upper class and very wealthy, Darcy is of course is of an elite caste who are intended to marry for mercenary reasons, a practice which Austen frowns upon and chooses to doom any marriage with such a premise as its foundation. Yet Darcy encompasses all the qualities that Austen wants in her hero ... ...

• Word Count: 1964
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... by a comment that Elizabeth makes. She tells her sister, she fell in love with Darcy after seeing his estate at Pemberly. At first glance the comment makes her seem as mercenary as her friend, Mrs. Collins but the reader realizes the real meaning behind the comment. "Pride is a very common failing, I believe . . .human nature is particularly prone to it and, there ... ...

• Word Count: 1894
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School