Heart of Darkness: Imperialism

“Heart of Darkness” abounds in several themes. It has the theme of self-restraint, of the working of the subconscious mind, of the exploration, of barbarism and primitivism and the theme of imperialism. Conrad's handling of white imperialism was influenced by his own visit to Congo and his rendering of Marlow’s conscious and sub-conscious thoughts was also based upon his own reactions to what he himself witnessed in Congo.

The keynote of the theme of imperialism is struck at the very outset of Marlow’s narration of the ancient Roman conquest of Britain. Their conquest was “robbery with violence” and murder on a large scale. Marlow says that conquest can be excused only if the conquerors perform some constructive work in the conquered country. The white man certainly has a duty to whom he subdues and if he fails in this duty, his government of the backward countries cannot be justified.

Power corrupts man and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The white man had failed to perform his functions in Congo. Instead of civilizing the savages, they became exploiters. The Belgian trading companies sent their agents into the Congo for trading purposes. The chief commodity which these Belgians found was ivory, useless for the natives, while the white men collected ivory and sent it to Europe. Ivory dominates the thoughts of the manger, of the brick-maker, of the several white agents whom Marlow gives the name of “faithless pilgrims”. Ivory not only dominates the thoughts of Mr. Kurtz but has become his obsession. He collects more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Ivory symbolizes the white man’s greed and their commercial mentality. The greater the ivory collected by an agent, the greater is his achievement and the higher is the promotion which he can expect. Nowhere do we find any service being rendered by these white men in Congo.

The sights seen by Marlow in Congo are very gloomy, depicting the misery of the natives, and the futility of the white man’s seemingly useful work. He sees a lot of naked black people moving about like ants. 

A lot of people, mostly black and naked, moved about like ants.

He sees half a dozen men chained to one another and each wearing an iron collar on his neck. These men are criminals who have violated the laws and are being punished. Marlow feels deeply upset at this sight. 

I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, 

and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.

He sees black figures crouching under the trees, leaning against the trunks, and clinging to the earth, dying slowly.

'They were dying slowly – it was very clear.' They were not enemies, theywere not criminals, they were nothing

earthly now - nothing but blackshadows of diseaseand starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom.

Here Marlow feels as if he has entered into the gloomy circle of some inferno. It is obvious that the white man’s indifference and his unconcern are responsible for this state of affairs. 

Few other sights also indicate the hypocrisy of the white men wasting time and effort. Marlow sees that a rock is being blasted though it does not stand in the way of the railway line being laid. He sees some pieces of decaying machinery, a large heap of rusty rails and a boiler lying unused in the grass. Marlow had seen a warship firing its guns into the forest aimlessly. He found a touch of insanity in it. This waste of effort and the unused machinery offer a sharp contrast to the starving natives. 

The futility of the white man’s actions becomes more evident when we meet certain employers of the trading Company. The manager of the Central Station could inspire neither respect not love nor fear but only uneasiness. Marlow found nothing within this man. His mind is full of fear lest he should be superseded by Mr. Kurtz. The brick-maker is equally satirical and critical. The brick maker is described as a “papier-mâché Mephistopheles” for his cunning. He makes no bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. The men, loitering around the Central Station, are idlers. They only gossip, speak ill of one another and hatch intrigues. Conrad conveys his strong disapproval and disapprobation of these white men most effectively. 

The cannibal crew of Marlow’s steamer is most efficient, hard working and strong who deserve encouragement but the way in which they are treated is disgusting. Without this crew the steamer could not have gone ahead and yet the white bosses do not bother whether or not these men are properly fed. The cannibal crew themselves are exercising self-restraint and are not attacking the white men to eat their flesh. Thus the white men are totally unconcerned about the welfare on whose labour and toil they depend. 

Mr. Kurtz, who held that the white man should confer huge benefits upon the backward people, has done nothing for the uplift of the natives. Rather, he has himself become a savage in their company. 

Where there is no check on a man, the worst of him may come out.

He failed to exercise any self-restraint, and begun to satisfy his various lusts without any limit. Even in his prime of life he had written down the following words conveying an opposite message:

“Exterminate all the brutes.”

“Heart of Darkness” conveys to us the deceit, robberies, arson, murder, slave-trading, and cruelty in the Congo. There is an incident of fire, and there is the long trek during which the natives have to carry a heavy load on their heads. The chief accountant can afford to dress perfectly when the natives around are disease-stricken and starving. In this novel, indeed, the brutal futility of the Belgian imperialist rule is memorably captured in image after image.

Conrad not only exposes the futility and the failing of the Belgian imperialism over the Congo but also reminds us of British imperialism in various countries of his time. Today white imperialism has crumbled and most of the counties have become independent. Conrad's accusation of imperialist rule in Congo had a valuable message for both the exploiters and the exploited. 

In the business of exploration, both exploiter and exploited are corrupted.

Today this message has only a historical interest. The evil imperialist rile has ended, but other evils have come into existence.

Heart of Darkness: Theme of Isolation

“Heart of Darkness” has a multiplicity of themes interwoven closely and produces a unified pattern. The theme of isolation and its consequences constitute a theme in this book, though a minor one. Marlow and Mr. Kurtz illustrate this theme, dominate the novel and have symbolic roles. Both these men stand for much more than the individuals which they certainly are. 

Marlow strikes us from the very start as a lonely figure. Although he is a member of a small group of people sitting on the deck of the streamer called the “Nellie”. He is, at the very outset, differentiated from the others. He sits cross-legged in the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes without a lotus-flower. Then he begins his story, and nowhere in his narration does he appear to be feeing perfectly at home among other people. He seems to have the temperament of a man who would like to stay away from others, though he would certainly like to observe others and to mediate upon his observations.

When Marlow goes to Brussels for an interview, he depicts himself as an alien who has stepped into an unpleasant environment. The city of Brussels makes him think of a “whited sepulcher”. This feeling clearly shows that he has nothing in common with the people of this European city, though he is himself a European. Then he finds something ominous in the atmosphere of the office of the Company. The two knitting-women strike him as mysterious and sinister beings. 

In the outer room the two women knitted black wool, feverishly.

Even the doctor tells him that he is the first Englishman to have come under his observation. Marlow says:

'The old doctor felt my pulse, evidently thinking of something else the while. "Good, good for there," he 

mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.

There seems to be a distance even between Marlow and his aunt who has got him the job. She is enthusiastic and cordial enough, but Marlow has his reservations. He thinks that she is a most unrealistic woman. She is under the impression that the white men go into the backward regions to confer benefits upon the savages. But, in Marlow’s opinion, this view of the white men is entirely wrong.

When voyaging upon the sea in order to get to the Congo Marlow found himself to be perfectly idle and isolated from all the others on board the steamer because he had no point of contact with them. The sound of the sea-waves was the only source of comfort to him because these sounds seemed to be like “the speech of a brother”. He finds a kinship with the sea-waves but no kinship with the human beings on board the steamer. 

Marlow’s sense of loneliness increase when he sees certain sights in the Congo. These sights convey to him the futility of the white man’s exertions and activities in the Congo, and miseries of the black natives. His realization by him of white man’s cruelty creates a kind of barrier between him and the white men living in Congo. When he has to deal with the individual white men, his isolation is further emphasized. He finds absolutely no point of contact with the manager of the Central Station, with the manager’s uncle, and with the brick-maker. The manager is a man who inspires no fear, no love, no respect and there is “nothing within this man”. The manager’s uncle is an intriguer and plotter as the manager himself. The brick-maker is described by Marlow as a “papier-mâché Mephistopheles” and a devil who is hollow within. The only man, whom Marlow can respect, is the chief accountant who keeps his account-books in apple-pie order and is always seen dressed neatly and nicely; but perhaps Marlow is speaking here ironically. Actually none of the white men seems to have any merit in him. Marlow does discover some good points in the natives but none in the white men. The cannibal crew of his steamer shows an admirable self-restraint and are hard-working but the white agents seem to be useless fellows and to them he gives the nickname of the “faithless pilgrims”. It is only when Marlow meets Mr. Kurtz that some sort of contact is established between him and the chief of the Inner Station of the Company.

The effect of isolation upon Marlow is profound. He is by nature somewhat unsociable. He is a kind of philosopher who meditates upon whatever he sees. Isolation further heightens his meditative faculty. Finding no point of contact with others, Marlow becomes more of a thinker, and more of a philosopher-cum-psychologist and studies the character and habits of Mr. Kurtz; and it is because of his isolation that he falls a victim to the influence of Mr. Kurtz whom he has himself described as a devil. This isolation can have grave consequences.

Mr. Kurtz is another isolated figure. He has become an absolutely solitary man after his prolonged stay in the Congo. He is not solitary in the sense that he does not mix with other. In fact, he has begun to identify himself with the savages and has become a sharer in their activities and in their interests. He participates in their “unspeakable rites” and he gratifies, without any restraint, his various lusts and his monstrous passions. 

“The wilderness has caressed him, loved him, embraced him, entered his 

blood, consumed his flesh and has taken complete possession of his soul.”

In the case of Mr. Kurtz, it is isolation which proves the man’s undoing. Being cut off from all civilized society at the Inner Station of the Company, Mr. Kurtz begins slowly to fall under the influence of the savage till he becomes one of them. Gradually he acquires great power and begins to be regarded as a god by them. Thus now he has to keep himself at a distance even from them. He “presides” over their midnight dances which end with “unspeakable rites”. 

But he is a solitary figure in the context of his western education and European upbringing. Even among the savages, he stands far above them. The savages regard him as a man-god. Mr. Kurtz is indeed a deity for the savages, and therefore he is a solitary figure even among them. Perhaps the savage closest to him under these conditions is the native woman who is his housekeeper and also perhaps his mistress. But the evil within him has already acquired huge proportions. Thus the effects of isolation in Mr. Kurtz’s case are disastrous.

Heart of Darkness: Journey to Subconsciousness

The novel “Heart of Darkness” clearly shows the influence of psychology and psychiatry which were emerging as developed sciences in Conrad’s time. “Heart of Darkness” gives us vivid descriptions of Marlow’s outward experiences in the Congo and of the thoughts and ideas which crossed the mind during his stay in Congo. 

Marlow appears not only as a man of action but also as a thinker who reflects upon everything that he observes. He is a meditative man who always keeps examining his own thoughts arising in his mind. Thus the book is to be treated as Marlow’s exploration of his conscious and sub-conscious mind. The phrase “Heart of Darkness” means the interior of the Congo and also the inmost depths of the human mind.

The novel gives us the internals and the externals. The externals are the scenes, incidents and the persons with whom Marlow meets while the internals are Marlow own thoughts which rise in his sub-conscious. In the beginning, Marlow is described sitting in the pose of a Buddha. He tells that the city of Brussels made him think of a “whited sepulchre”. When speaking about his encounter with the two knitting-women, he also describes his mental reaction to them:

“Hail, old knitter of black wool. Those who are about to die salute you!”

After seeing the knitting-women and after meeting his aunt, Marlow feels as if, instead of going to the centre of a continent, he is starting for the centre of the earth. He describes his reactions to the doctor who examines him that during his travels through the Congo he really became a subject for a psychiatrist.

'The old doctor felt my pulse, evidently thinking of something else the while. "Good, good for there," 

he mumbled, and then with a certain eagerness asked me whether I would let him measure my head.

Being a passenger on a steamer, Marlow had no duties to perform and he felt his isolation among the members of the crew. Then on seeing a warship firing into the forest aimlessly, he finds the action of the warship unintelligible and feels a touch of insanity in it. Later, he sees half a dozen black men linked together with a chain. This sight produces a deep effect on Marlow, giving rise to awful thoughts in his mind.

I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron collar on his neck, 

and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.

Marlow’s encounter with the manager of the Central Station and the brick-maker also gives rise to many thoughts in his mind. The manager seems to be a man with nothing inside him, while the brick-maker appears to be cunning. He makes no bricks but acts as a spy for the manager. He further says that no man can convey to others a dream-sensation or the life-sensation of his existence. Marlow then adds:

“We live, as we dream – alone.”

Marlow continues to meditate upon whatever he sees and overhears. At the very outset he says that, in performing the daily duties, a man comes to know the surface reality of life. In command of a steamer on river Congo, Marlow feels like a blind-folded man driving a motor-van over a bad road. Then Marlow describes his reactions to the scenery which he witnesses. He says:

“We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.”

Marlow discovers a book on the subject of seamanship in the deserted hut. Such a book being found in that hut was something wonderful, says Marlow; but still more surprising were the notes written in pencil in the margin. The notes seemed to be in cipher. Later, Marlow learns that the notes were written not in cipher but in the Russian language. Here Marlow also observes that no man in this world is safe from trouble at any stage in his life.

Marlow’s reflections upon his cannibal crew are also noteworthy. Marlow feels amazed to find that, in spite of their gnawing hunger, they did not kill the white men on board. Marlow looks at these cannibals with great curiosity. He asks whether it was superstition, patience, fear, or some kind of primitive honour, which prevented those cannibals from attacking the white men. Marlow says:

“It takes a man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly.”

Then Marlow gives reflections upon the helmsman killed by a native. The gloomy and scary expression in the dead helmsman’s eyes haunts Marlow. He says that the helmsman had been lacking self-restraint. There are also Marlow’s reflections upon Mr. Kurtz. He has been told that Mr. Kurtz had collected, more ivory than all the other agents taken together. Mr. Kurtz was gifted with eloquence. 

Marlow also gives his own intriguing reactions in telling the facts about Mr. Kurtz. Mr. Kurtz has now become an embodiment of evil. To Marlow it seems that Mr. Kurtz has taken a high seat among the devils of the land. Mr. Kurtz's repute has begun to cast upon Marlow’s mind. Marlow later became a devoted friend of Mr. Kurtz and begins to admire him despite his demonic character. Mr. Kurtz was “the nightmare of his choice”. When Mr. Kurtz has slipped away from the ship into the forest, Marlow shows his loyalty by bringing him back. When Mr. Kurtz fiancée asks him what Mr. Kurtz's last words before death had been, Marlow tells her a lie and says:

"The last word he pronounced was – your name."

As Mr. Kurtz had done no favour to Marlow, this loyalty can only be taken as Marlow’s own response to the primitivism and barbarism. If Marlow had stayed for some time longer in the Congo, he too would have followed the same path which Mr. Kurtz had begun to tread. It is here that we really find Marlow’s subconscious mind working. Marlow has been able to convey to us indirectly and subtly the influence of Mr. Kurtz’s primitivism upon himself. In the last one-third of the novel Marlow tires to lay bare his sub-conscious mind.

Pride and Prejudice: Irony

Irony is the very soul of Jane Austen’s novels and “Pride and Prejudice” is steeped in irony of theme, situation, character and narration. Irony is the contrast between appearance and reality.

As one examines “Pride and Prejudice”, one is struck with the fact of the ironic significance that pride leads to prejudice and prejudice invites pride and both have their corresponding virtues bound up within them. Each has its virtues and each has its defects. They are contradictory and the supreme irony is that intricacy, which is much deeper, carries with it grave dangers unknown to simplicity. This type of thematic irony runs through all of Jane Austen’s novel.

In “Pride and Prejudice” there is much irony of situation too, which provides a twist to the story. Mr. Darcy remarks about Elizabeth that:

“tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me…”

We relish the ironical flavour of this statement much later when we reflect that the woman who was not handsome enough to dance with was really good enough to marry. He removes Bingley from Netherfield because he considers it imprudent to forge a marriage alliance with the Bennet Family, but himself ends up marrying the second Bennet sister. Collins proposes to Elizabeth when her heart is full of Wickham and Darcy proposes to her exactly at the moment when she hates him most. Elizabeth tells Mr. Collins that she is not the type to reject the first proposal and accept the second but does exactly this when Darcy proposes a second time. The departure of the militia from Meryton was expected to put an end to Lydia's flirtations, it brings about her elopement. The Lydia-Wickham episode may seem like an insurmountable barrier between Elizabeth and Darcy, but is actually instrumental in bringing them together. Lady Catherine, attempting to prevent their marriage only succeeds in hastening it.

Irony in character is even more prominent than irony of situation. It is ironical that Elizabeth who prides herself on her perception is quite blinded by her own prejudices and errs badly in judging intricate characters. Wickham appears suave and charming but is ironically unprincipled rouge. Darcy appears proud and haughty but ironically proves to be a true gentleman when he gets Wickham to marry Lydia by paying him. The Bingley Sisters hate the Bennets for their vulgarity but are themselves vulgar in their behaviour. Darcy is also critical of the ill-bred Bennet Family but ironically his Aunt Catherine is equally vulgar and ill-bed. Thus, the novel abounds in irony of characters.

The narrative of “Pride and Prejudice” too has an ironic tone which contributes much verbal irony. Jane Austen’s ironic tone is established in the very first sentence of the novel.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

As Dorothy Van Ghent remark, what we read in it is opposite – a single woman must be in want – of a man with a good fortune. There is much verbal irony in the witty utterances of Mrs. Bennet. He tells Elizabeth:

“Let Wickham be your man. He is pleasant fellow and would jilt you creditable …”

In the words ‘pleasant fellow’ is hidden a dramatic irony at the expense of Mr. Bennet, for Wickham is destined to make a considerable dent in Mr. Bennet's complacency.

Jane Austen did not show any cynicism or bitterness in using her irony to draw satirical portraits of whims and follies. Rather her irony can be termed comic. It implies on her side an acknowledgement of what is wrong with people and society. It is interesting to note that ironically, in “Pride and Prejudice”, it is the villainous character Wickham and lady Catherine – who are responsible for uniting Elizabeth and Darcy.

She uses irony to shake her major figures of their self-deception and to expose the hypocrisy and pretentiousness, absurdity and insanity of some of her minor figures. It is definitely possible to deduce from her works a scheme of moral values. Andrew II Wright rightly points out that irony in her hands is ‘the instrument of a moral vision’.

Pride and Prejudice: Title

Pride and Prejudice was first written in 1797 under the title “First Impressions”. It was later revised and published under the title“Pride and Prejudice” in 1813.

In the novel, first impressions do play an important part: Elizabeth is misled in her judgment and estimation of both Darcy and Wickham. Her regard and sympathy for Wickham and her hostility and prejudice against Darcy are due to the first impressions. But when we study the novel deeply andseriously we can easily see that the title “Pride and Prejudice” is more apt and more befitting to it. The first impressions which the character gets of each other take up only the first few chapters. The novel is more about the pride of Darcy and the prejudice of Elizabeth and the change of attitude in Darcy and Elizabeth’s correction of her first impression.

At the apparent level, we see that Darcy embodies pride – he is possessed by family pride. As Wickham tells Elizabeth that he has a “filial pride”, in his “father and brotherly pride in his sister Georgiana” Darcy himself says that his pride consists in caring for none beyond his own family circle, thinking mean of all the rest of the world.

There is no doubt that Darcy is a proud man. Nothing can excuse his remark about Elizabeth,

“… tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me”

nor, indeed, the statement that

“my good opinion once lost is lost for ever”.

His first appearance is insolent and we tend to agree with Mrs. Bennet’s complaint that

“He walked here and he walked there, fancying himself so very great”.

The set-down comes at Hansford personage, which is the climax of Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice. In this scene, Darcy lays his proud heart at her feet and learns what she thinks of him. He admits that he remained blind to the faults of Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley and was thinking mean of those beneath him in social standing.

Elizabeth feels that Darcy is all pride. Having been prejudiced against him by his refusal to dance with her, she willfully misinterprets all his utterances, all his actions. Her prejudice clouds her usually clear judgment and she listens to Wickham’s biased account of Darcy with complete belief and declares Darcy to be ‘abominable’ (thoroughly unpleasant). Blinded by prejudice she rejects his proposal.

It is at Rosings that their process of self-discovery starts. At Netherfield Park,Elizabeth’s family – her mother and her sisters have seemed vulgar and ill-bred. At Rosings, Darcy is embarrassed by the vulgarity of his aunt Lady Catharine and realizes that refinement of manners is not the monopoly of the elite. His lesson is complete by Elizabeth’s rejection of his proposal and her rejection makes him realize his misplaced pride. This excessive love for Elizabeth forces him to write an explanatory letter to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth’s moment of self-awakening comes on receiving of Darcy’s letter. Learning the truth about Wickham, she realizes her own blindness and prejudice in judging Darcy and Wickham on mere fist impressions. Now she is also able to see the validity of some of his objections to Jane and Bingley marriage. At Pemberely, she learns about Darcy’s austerity of manner. Now the Lydia-Wickham episode brings the final reconciliation. This overwhelms Elizabeth and she recognizes that Darcy is exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, will most suit her.

However, to say that Darcy is proud and Elizabeth is prejudiced is to tell but half the story. The fact is both Darcy and Elizabeth are proud as well as prejudiced. The novel makes clear the fact that Darcy’s pride leads to prejudice and Elizabeth’s prejudice stems superiority and refinement and this leads him to have a general prejudice against people beneath him in he social hierarchy. Elizabeth’s prejudice on the other hand stems from his pride. Both suffer from the faults of pride ad prejudice, but they are also the necessary defects of desirable merits: self-respect and intelligence.

It is true that Jane and Bingley are not the part of the theme of Pride and Prejudice but their love is an important link in the novel and without it the story cannot be complete. Jane is the specimen of faultless beauty and she is free from willing to see good in everyone. Similarly Bingley is easy going and friendly. Both Jane and Bingley are simple characters and are not sufficiently profound. It is the intricate characters of Darcy and Elizabeth that hold our interest and exemplify the title of the novel, “Pride and Prejudice”.

Darcy and Elizabeth are of course, the pivotal characters but the subsidiary characters also tend to demonstrate further aspects of the main themes. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is a hilarious caricature (extremely funny) of the same faults of pride and prejudice. Mr. Collins is a mixture of obsequiousness and pride. He is a sycophant, and out and out flatterer of Lady Catherine. Mrs. Bennet has a pride in her daughters and in her stupidity develops a prejudice against Darcy. Miss Bingley herself and her sister Mrs. Hurst are the mixture of pride and impertinence.

The title Pride and Prejudice is thus, very apt and points to the theme of the novel. The novel goes beyond a mere statement of first impressions and explores in depth the abstract qualities of pride and prejudice. This theme is worked out not only through the characters of Darcy and Elizabeth but also through various minor characters. It is a title which does complete justice to the theme and subject of the novel.

Pride and Prejudice: Love and Marriage Theme

Though, marriage is the end of Jane Austen’s novel, yet it evolves more than the conclusion of a simple love story. There is a depth, variety and seriousness in Jane’s treatment of these topics.

Marriage was an important social concern in Jane Austen’s time and she was fully aware of the disadvantages of remaining single. In a letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, she wrote:

"Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor - which is a very strong argument in favour of matrimony."

The only option for unmarried woman in Jane Austen’s time was to care for someone else’s children as Jane Austen herself did; as there were no outlets for women.

The novels of Jane Austen’s – especially “Pride and Prejudice” – dramatize the economic inequality of women, showing how women had to marry undesirable mates in order to gain some financial security.

The theme of love and marriage is one of the major themes in “Pride and Prejudice”. Through five marriages, Jane Austen defines good and bad reasons for marriage. Charlotte – Collins, Lydia – Wickham, Jane – Bingley and Elizabeth – Darcy are the four newly-weds. The old marriage is that of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.

Mrs. and Mr. Bennet are poles apart in their natural attitude. Mr. Bennet is sharp and witty. Mrs. Bennet is vulgar and discreet. Together they constitute a very ill-matched couple.

“Her father, captivated by youth and beauty … had married a woman whose weak understanding 

and liberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her.”

Mr. Bennet married for beauty. Soon he realized that Mrs. Bennet, due to her intellectual bankruptcy and narrow vision, would not make him an ideal wife.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet never enjoyed the marital bliss of emotional and intellectual understanding. The gulf between them had widened. Mr. Bennet becomes lazy and irresponsible and an odd mixture of ‘sarcastic humour, and caprice’. He mocks Mrs. Bennet and exposes her to the scorn of their five daughters. The disadvantages of such marriage attend the daughters also. Elizabeth and Jane become what they are almost. Mary becomes a vain. Lydia grows into a selfish and deceitful flirt who elopes with a selfish and corrupt rake. The stupid and weak-spirited Kitty follows Lydia's example and flirts with the military officers.

Charlotte and Collins are the first to get married. Collins, after, having a very good house and very sufficient income, intends to marry. He visits the Bennets to choose a wife among the Bennet girls. He sets out in detail his reasons for marriage:

“First … it a right thing for every clergyman in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony 

in his parish. Secondly … it will add very greatly to my happiness, and thirdly … that is particular 

advice and recommendation of the very noble lady whom I have the honour of calling patroness”

Mr. Collins does not have any respect and affection for the girl he intends to marry. So, Elizabeth declines the proposal. Collins shifts contentedly to Charlotte who is herself eager to accept his proposal.

“Mr. Collins … was neither sensible nor agreeable … But still he would be her husband … marriage had always 

been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune.”

Obviously Charlotte also does not think of love. She accepts Mr. Collins under economic pressure, knowing that she is going to marry an ass. Elizabeth is shocked at Charlotte’s engagement. Charlotte defends herself by saying:

“I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home.”

The next to be married are Wickham and Lydia. They elope before they get married. Compatibility and understanding are once again absent. Lydia is captivated by the external glamour of Wickham’s personality. She thinks, she is in love with him but she is only infatuated.

“They were always moving from place to place in quest of a cheep situation, and always spending more 

then they ought. His affection for her soon sunk into indifference; hers lasted a little longer.”

Jane and Bingley are sincerely in love with each other. Between them exists a great emotional compatibility. By nature, both are sweet and gentle, free from malice, ill will, affectation and duplicity, calm, unsuspecting, simple and willing to forgive readily. There is every likelihood that they will lead a happy married life.

Still, their marriage is timidly weak. Bingley is too weak-willed that in spite of loving Jane deeply, he does not take any initiative. Their temperamental harmony lacks the strengthening support of intellectual understanding and maturity.

“Still they will be happy because Bingley is too good to offend consciously and Jane is too good not to forgive even any offense.”

Elizabeth marries last and most desirably. When Darcy makes his first proposal, he had no doubts of a favourable answer. He acted as if he was offering prize which no sensible woman can refuse.

All the other characters believe Darcy to be a prize and that Elizabeth is falling for his wealth. Elizabeth rejects his proposal but accepts it for the second time.

Elizabeth and Darcy begin with prejudices and gradually move towards understanding. Elizabeth helps Darcy to shed his pride and be really the gentleman. Darcy in turn acts nobly and generously to win her love. Mutual affection and regards developed between them that form the basis of a sound marriage. 

“It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both”

Elizabeth has to assure that she loves and respects Darcy. Love and respect count most in a marital union, and having secured both, Elizabeth does not make any false or exaggerated statement when she says half-mockingly:

“It is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

Thus it is true that the chief preoccupation of Jane Austen’s heroines is getting married and life is a matrimonial game as women in her times had no other option of business or profession open to them. However, marriage is not treated merely as a romantic end. Rather it is dealt with a depth variety and seriousness to highlight ‘good’ marriage based on mutual understanding, love, good sense and respect.

Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen's Moral Vision

Jane Austen is not a proclaimed moralist. Unlike Fielding, her aim is not to propagate the morality. She believes in art for the sake of art. She is the pioneer of the novels. Therefore, her plots are well-knit. Her main interest lies in irony and there is a hidden significance of morality as we come across her moral vision in her novels through irony.

Jane Austen is in a favour of social prosperity than individual. She upholds the organic unity of society. She stresses that the duty of human beings owe to others, to society and maintains that individual desires have to be sub-ordinate to the large scale. Lydia-Wickham elopement is passionate and irresponsible. It shows that how society’s harmony is disrupted and how others lives are ruined by the selfish act of the individual. On the other hand the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley bring happiness and stability to everyone, not simply to themselves.

She discusses individuals ‘short comings’. Even the hero and heroine have no exception. Elizabeth blinds herself absurdly because of prejudice whereas Darcy is full of pride.

“... tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

But we can see that both learn and understand each other. Their pride and prejudice are vanished. But the shortcomings of the other characters are not changed. Mr. Bennet is careless and irresponsible man. Mrs. Bennet is vulgar and stupid. Charlotte is very much economic. Lydia is lusty and Wickham is a deceiver.

Society is divided into classes. “Pride and Prejudice” is an attempt to harmonize the two extremes of middle class – lower end and the top end – into one. Bingley’s marriage with Jane and Darcy’s with Elizabeth. It is her moral approach to rub the class distinction-line of society.

She also discusses the institution of family which is disturbed. The heads of Bennet family are not mentally bound. This is a matchless couple. Their role as a parent is not active. The disadvantages of such an unsuitable marriage attend the daughters also. On the other hand Bingley family is betraying because there is no head for them but only guided by Darcy.

Jane Austen is concerned with the growth of an individual’s moral personality measured by the most exacting standards of 18th century values. Popes dictum “know thyself” underlines the theme of her novel. The conclusion of her novel is always the achievement of self-respect and principal mean of such an achievement is a league of perfect sympathy with another, who is one’s spiritual counterpart. Jane Austen traces Elizabeth's prejudice and her anguished recognition of her own blind prejudice before she is united with Darcy in a marriage based on mutual respect, love and understanding. As she says,

“How despicable have I acted! I, who have pride myself on my discernment! – I who have valued myself on my abilities.”

In the end she says,

“There can be no doubt of that. It is settled between us already that we are to be the happiest couple in the world.”

Main theme of her novel is marriage. She tries to define good reasons for marriage and bad reasons for marriage. Her moral concern though unobtrusive, is ever-present. The marriage of Lydia-Wickham, Charlotte-Collins and of the Bennets serves the show by their failure the prosperity of the Elizabeth-Darcy marriage.

There is corruption in landed class. Jane Austen reflects this problem in her novel also. The Bingley sisters hate the Bennet for their vulgarity but are themselves vulgar in their behaviour. Lady Catharine is equally vulgar and ill-bred.

Army men in her novel are only for flirtation. They come only for enjoyment. They have no love in them. Some of them are deceiver like Wickham who elopes with Lydia not for love bur for money.

Then she discusses the degeneracy of clergy. Mr. Collins is a clergyman. He comes at Neitherfield in search of life partner. But he is rejected by Bennet’s daughters. Then he turns towards Charlotte. He has some reason for marriage.

“My reasons for marriage are, I think it right thing for every clergy (like me) in easy circumstances to set the example of matrimony in parish …”

Jane Austen throws light on the materialism and economic concern of society. Charlotte is more concern with money than man. She is lusty. Her materialistic approach is judged by her remarks.

“I am not romantic, you know, I never was. I ask only for a comfortable home.”

Collins also has materialistic mind. Mr. Wickham is always thinking about money. He elopes with Lydia only for money.

Pride and prejudice, is in fact, corresponding virtue. Pride leads to prejudice and prejudice invites pride. Darcy is proud, at the beginning. As he says:

“… my good opinion once lost is lost forever”

His first appearance is appallingly insolent and we tend to agree with Mrs. Bennet’s complaint:

“He walked her and he walked there, fancying so very great”.

Darcy’s remarks prejudiced Elizabeth. At ball-party, when he firstly sees her, he says:

“... tolerable but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

Wickham’s biased account about Darcy increased the hatred of Elizabeth. But we can observe that both earn when they go through the process of self-realization. Then Elizabeth thinks that:

“…Darcy was exactly the man, who in disposition and talents; would suit for her.”

We may say that Jane Austen’s main concern was irony. She uses irony to shake the major figures of their self-deception and expose the hypocrisy and pretentiousness, absurdity and insanity of some of her minor figures. It is definitely possible to deduce from her work a scheme of moral value. Andrew H. Wright rightly points out that irony in her hand is the instrument of a moral vision. As Walter Allen comments:

“She is the most forthright moralist in English.”