Marriage is said to be one of the major themes portrayed in Pride and Prejudice. However, Elizabeth Bennet feels that there are disadvantages for children of marriage such as her parents'.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, were not portrayed as the typical married couple. In the book Pride and Prejudice, we see that they are not in love but are just tolerated by each other. Mr. Bennet shows no form of affection towards his wife, neither does he communicate with her often. In marriages, the main substance that keeps marriages alive is the art of communication that The Bennets clearly did not possess.
Also, it is evident that Mr. Bennet finds it difficult to co-operate and comply with his wife, when asked to do simply matters. This can be seen at the very beginning of the book when Mr. Bennet refused to do his wife the favor of speaking to the new neighbors but later, because of his level of tolerance, he decided to do himself the favor of speaking to the neighbors without her knowing.
Furthermore, what made the marriage even more difficult, is Mrs. Bennet’s constant bickering over trivial matters. Mrs. Bennet speaks a great deal and acts more elite than she really is. She also has this push over attitude that she believes everyone should abide by what she says and if not, she wants to hear nothing about it. Mrs. Bennet was also a bossy character and there was no evidence in the book that said she showed an inch of affection towards Mr. Bennet.
These two are clearly end products of difficult marriages that Elizabeth made reference to. She never once saw the love portrayed in her parents that should be happening between married couple.
However, marriages do not only affect the couple but it also has an impact on the children. Difficult marriages, such as the aforementioned one has both positive but more of a negative effect on children. The positive side of it is that when children see conflict arises between their parents and see how they parents work together to adress these issues, children may learn the importance of teamwork. However if this constant stream continues, later on in life children may believe that it is the norm and they also may become by products of difficult marriages. Also children may display violent behaviors towards other children and may also suffer with emotional issues because parents are so consumed in adding oil to their fire that they are least concerned about the children.
Moreover, the question has been asked if it is acceptable today to stay in the marriage just for the children. Today, it is seen that couple with difficult marriages either continue or discontinue with their marriages for the children’s sake. This decision can be weighed fifty fifty because there are arguments for and against this decision.
Some may say that couples should stay in marriages for the sake of the children because children may not cope well with the separation of marriages. Also, it is believed that children deriving from single parent homes are likely to become agents of juvenile delinquency because of the lack of factors such as attention, love, surveillance etc. Also children may feel that this is the right procedure of marriage and their marriage may also result in separation.
Contrastingly, there are reasons against couples staying in difficult marriages. These reasons vary from children portraying similar behavioral patterns to children’s emotional impact. Some believe that if couples continue in this manner children may adapt and practice these procedures. Also it is believed that it would be better for children not to grow up with this much tension for it may have a negative impact on their future.
In closing it is believed that difficult marriages are the end product of lack of basic essentials such as communication, love and factors of that sort. Also some believe that children are better growing up in these difficult marriages while some believe that these difficult marriages may have a negative impact on the children’s lives.
You made some very good points about the nature of Mr. and Mrs.Bennet's marriage, and I share the same sentiments.
ReplyDeletei must agree with waht you said about difficult marriages
ReplyDelete