The Significance of Chapter 34 in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice Ess

The Significance of Chapter 34 in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice 'Pride And Prejudice' is a 19th Century romantic novel written by Jane Austen in 1813, it presents a true representation of society's expectations towards marriage and love at the time. It focuses on two central characters Miss Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy and their love-hate relationship. Elizabeth the second eldest daughter of five sisters is an intelligent woman with a lively disposition, strong-minded determination and a woman who religiously sticks to her principles. As Mr Bennet says describing his daughter, "'Lizzy has something more of a quickness then her sisters.'" Mr Darcy on the other hand is an extremely handsome man but unfortunately very proud and detached and his character is considered rather aloof and disagreeable. "He was the proudest most disagreeable man in the whole world." In 'Pride And Prejudice' Jane Austen shows the reader how Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice of Mr Darcy's pride. Marriage at the time when the novel was written was perceived very differently to how it is thought of today. Getting married was seen as a necessity to gain financial security for the female, it was more of an arrangement, a business proposal to benefit both sides of the party. Love was not a prerequisite and nor was being in love a suitable reason to get married. As in the marriage talks with Elizabeth and her friend Charlotte Lucas, Charlotte sums up her view and every other woman's view on marriage. "'Happiness in marriage is purely a matter of chance.'" The reason for this being is that after a father died in the family the house and the land were meant to go to the oldest son, or in Mrs Bennet's case Mr Bennet's cou... ...ion is the incentive for Mr Darcy to write the letter to Elizabeth to try and change her opinion of him. "'Did it soon make you think better of me?'" Even at the end of the novel Elizabeth admits the profound effect that the letters had on her. "She explained what its effect had on her had been, and how gradually all her former prejudices had been removed." After the events of chapter 34 Mr Darcy's character changes significantly, because of Elizabeth he has overcome all his selfish and overbearing character traits which prevented her from loving him which was what he truly wanted as he was attracted to the "'liveliness'" of her mind. "'You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled.'" This lesson he would have never learnt or experienced if it weren't for her refusal in the proposal of Chapter 34.