Austen's Lizzie

In so many of Austen's novels, specifically Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, there are two main female characters, usually sisters, and one is rash and impulsive while the other is reserved and rational. We talked in class about Lizzie's rejection of Mr. Collins, and I wonder if her sister Jane would have rejected him? Why does Austen make Lizzie the target of a man she doesn't love and won't settle for? It is similar to Marianne and Elinor of Sense where Elinor is much more willing to compromise for marriage. I thought that it was interesting that everyone sided with Lizzie's decision, and i think that Austen does as well. In that time, there was a lot of pressure on women to marry, and refusing a suitor could spell disaster, yet both Austen and her sister died single in real life. I think this may be because Austen believed in marrying for love, which i feel is a fairly new phenomenon in our culture. Austen was a hopeless romantic and i think her Lizzies and Mariannes are depictions of herself. I think that having a woman character refuse a suitor at the potential cost of her family's welfare is so radical and interesting. Could she be trying to change social norms? If so, has it worked?

 I may be too much of a realist (cynic? :/) to agree with Lizzie's decision and want to know if i am the only one. Anyone else agree or is the class populated by other hopeless romantics who side with Austen? Please understand that this is not a bash against those that believe in waiting for love, i'm sincerely interested and think that this may be a social phenomenon that could have started with writers like Austen.