Thursday, February 2, 2012
Mrs. Bennett and Her Marriage Obsession
Before anyone says anything, I do understand why Mrs. Bennett is trying to get her daughters married off to hopefully rich husbands. However, the way she goes about this baffles me at one end and almost disgusts me on the other. For example, take Mrs. Collins; when he starts to show even the slightest bit of attention towards Elizabeth, the first reaction that her mother has is to practically throw Elizabeth at him. When that does not work, she almost basically orders Elizabeth to accept his marriage proposal. This is a man who, while meaning well, obviously does not actually care about Elizabeth; considering that the only reason he is looking for a wife is because his benefactor hinted that it might be a good idea. Thus, I cannot believe that his affections towards Elizabeth, I am quite certain that Austen literally explained his motivations at some point, are genuine. Why would Austen just come out and tell us this? Because suspense is obviously a horrible, horrible thing; but I digress. To say that Mrs. Bennett is not pleased about Elizabeth's rejection of Mr. Collins is an understatement, and I believe that her (Mrs. Bennett's) reaction to this was completely uncalled for. What are everyone elses opinions?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You know, I think most everyone has had at least one experience with a terribly annoying and pushy mother(even if it isn't their own). Looking at the times, I'm sure Austen was pointing out the ridiculous process of marrying daughters off like sheep but also I agree that Collins is basically terrible.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Mrs. Bennet is marriage happy and she does not care who her daughters marry as long as they do get married. You have to think from Mrs. Bennet's point of view also though, when Mr. Bennet dies his estate will become Mr. Collins and where will Mrs. Bennet go? She needs to have a daughter who can take her in and provide for her in her old age, and for the daughter to do that she needs a husband.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shelbi. I believe Austen was trying to point out how ridiculous mothers can be when they think they're doing the best thing for their daughters, yet never consider the daughter's opinion.
ReplyDeleteI was not suprised by Mrs. Bennet's reaction to Elizabeth's rejection of Mr. Collins proposal. However, it probably wasn't a shocker to Mrs. Bennet that Elizabeth turned Collins down. I think her reaction was partly due to built up frustration she had with Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet does not seem to connect very well with Elizabeth all, and in my opinion it is it because Elizabeth expresses her indepent nature and deals with things as she pleases. Perhaps this is the reason Mrs. Bennet is constantly at odds with Elizabeth.
ReplyDelete