“Any library is a good library that does not contain a volume by Jane Austen”, when this words about Jane Austen given by Mark Twin first came upon to me, I was, just in your expectation, a little bit surprised. Gradually, however, when I know more about the characteristics of her works, I think the judgement of Mark Twin makes sense in some degree. Especially after I have finished her work Pride and Prejudice and compared it with the contemporary production The Red and the Black written by Stendhal. Less reflection and exposure on social conflicts among different classes is a big pity for Austen’s works, as well as for the readers. Still, however, Austen’s unique interpretation towards marriage is the distinguished feature of her literary accomplishment. And I want to give some reflection on the different kinds of relationships and marriages in Pride and Prejudice.
Five different types of relationships or marriages, as far as I am concerned, are presented in this book.
The first type, undoubtedly, is the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley. They met at a party and almost fell in love with each other just after their first encounter. Bingley’s wealth and courtesy, Jane’s beauty and tenderness, and the similarities in their personality are all the factors that contribute to the relationship. So, though I believe, actually, there is some kind of love between the young lady and the gentleman, it is not the pure and true love, their combination is not for no intention but for some certain desire. So I would like to call their relationship as “Secular Love”.
Contrasting to the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, the marriage between Charlotte and Mr.Collins is much less romantic, or no romance at all. One is the Cinderella in reality equipped with no prince, the other is a priest, old and ugly. Their marriage, of course, has no love but compromise. Even Elizabeth thinks “Charlotte the wife of Mr. Collins, was a most humiliating picture!” But what could she do? Just as she said, she is not romantic and she asks only a comfortable home, and this is within Mr. Collins ability. Comparing with being a 27-year-old burden to her family,at least for her, marrying Mr. Collins is the best choice. So as for them, I call “Rational Love” or rather------ “Rational Combination”.
Another couple is Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Bennet. Just in the first chapter, I wondered why two people with such different characteristics could live together for 23 years. The wonder disappeared when the explanation was offered by Austen in Chapter 42 about Mr. Bennet’s attitude towards his wife. Captivated by youth and beauty, he married her and very early in their marriage, after knowing the disposition of her, ended his affection and used her ignorance to contribute his amusement, having impropriety of his behavior as a husband. Neither for Mr. Bennet nor for Mrs. Bennet this marriage is quite fair or contented, but both of them should pay, and had already paid the bill of their “Hasty Love”.
Lydia’s relationship with Wickham, to some extent, is similar with her parents’. Mr. Bennet was captivated by the beauty of his wife and Lydia was fascinated by the handsome appearance of Wickham. Compared with her parents’ marriage, however, Lydia’s relationship with Wickham would only turn out a much more unpleasant one, for their marriage is based on the fulfillment of vanity and the desire of property. So I consider their relationship as “Orectic Incorporation”
And finally here comes the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. When I first finished the movie of Pride and Prejudice, I still wondered why there is a love flame between them. One is so proud and the other full of prejudice, but when I read more details about this work, the answer has emerged. “Love”, a word we are so familiar with, but what is love? In Austen’s work, I gradually know that love is not just as abstract as we often regard. Take Elizabeth, for example, her love for Daisy is based on two things: respect and gratitude. She respects his valuable qualities: nobility and kindness, and even Wickham had done something so bad to him and his sister, he still didn’t blame him before others or let him lose all dignity in public. Also, she is grateful to Mr. Darcy, for his love, for his forgiveness about her bad manners when she rejected him, for his help to her sister’s marriage and her family’s fame. And finally, these turned out her attachment, affection and love for him. As for Darcy, his attention to Elizabeth was first on her eyes, full of liveliness, thoughts and pursuits and unlike any other ladies, she is such a unique girl that she didn’t flatter him at all, so for him she is so extraordinary and attractive. And Elizabeth got his respect and love because of her own independence, liveliness and uniqueness. And I regard their relationship as “Spirit Love”.
Austen’s attitude towards marriage, love, status and property can still be used as a reference. Nowadays, fast food culture derives fast-food-style love, although we are in the era of fast changes, it’s better for us to love rationally and independently. Hope everyone has his real, unique love.

简·奥斯丁（Jane Austen），1775年12月生于英国汉普郡的史蒂文顿，有兄弟姐妹八人。她并不算是一位长寿的作家，在1816年初她得了重病，身体日渐衰弱，不幸于1817年7月18日死在姐姐的怀抱里；奥斯丁也算不上是位多产的作家，尽管年仅21岁就写出了她的第一部小说《最初的印象》（19年后重新改写，即《傲慢与偏见》）。但在她的创作生涯中，具有代表性的作品只有六部。可这丝毫没有减弱奥斯丁在英国文学中的地位，反而随着时间的流逝而日益重要。即使在今天，她的读者也是有增无减。她的作品被屡次改编成电影、电视剧，深受广大观众的喜爱。批评家托.巴.麦考莱就曾赞扬到：“作家中手法最接近（莎士比亚）这位大师的，无疑就要算简·奥斯丁了，这位女性堪称是英国之骄傲。她为我们创造出了一大批的人物…”
二、钟情婚姻爱情描写
从18世纪末到19世纪初，庸俗无聊的“感伤小说”和“哥特小说”充斥着英国文坛，而奥斯丁创作的小说则是一反常规地展现当时尚未受到资本主义冲击的英国乡村中产阶级的日常生活和田园风光。她“是第一个现实地描绘日常平凡生活中平凡人物的小说家。她的作品反映了当时英国中产阶级生活的喜剧，显示了家庭文学的可能性。她多次探索青年女主角从恋爱到结婚中的自我发现过程，这种着力分析人物性格以及女主角和社会之间紧张关系的做法，使她的小说摆脱十八世纪的传统而接近于现代的生活。正是这种现代性，加上她的机智和风趣，她的小说能长期吸引读者。”[1]尽管反映的广度和深度有限，但对改变当时小说创作中的庸俗风气起了很好的作用，因此奥斯丁的小说在英国小说发展史上有承上启下的意义。
简·奥斯丁一生都是居住在乡村小镇，接触的人物以中小地主、牧师为主，观察的环境也以他们恬静、舒适的生活为主，在她的作品中，我们看不到有对重大社会矛盾的反映。有趣的是，尽管奥斯丁终身未嫁，但在她的作品中最为人津津乐道的，却是有关婚姻与爱情的描写。她以女性特有的细致入微的观察力和对细腻情感的把握，生动真实地描绘了简.奥斯丁周围世界的小天地，特别是绅士淑女之间的婚姻和爱情风波。
简·奥斯丁的六部作品可以说都是以婚姻为主题的婚姻小说，虽然她的婚姻观不可避免得要打上时代的烙印，但也不是完全正统的。而比较清晰得展现作家婚姻爱情观念的作品，无疑要算《傲慢与偏见》了，这部反映婚姻问题的小说是作者最喜欢的作品，同时也是她最受欢迎的一部作品。在2007年3月1日的“世界书日”上，《傲慢与偏见》被英国读者评选为“十大不可或缺的书”之首。整部作品通过贝内特几个女儿的婚姻经历为基点，以伊丽莎白与达西的感情经历为情节主线，展示了18世纪中后期英国社会贵族阶层的婚姻状况。从某中程度上，也探讨了婚姻的内涵，因此此书也具有一定的社会意义和现实意义。文学批评家马克肖尔这样评价《傲慢与偏见》：“《傲慢与偏见》及奥斯丁后期的小说会令愚顿者震撼。如她的见解能被认同，这个由愚顿者构成的社会必将脱胎换骨。”[2]
三、三段婚姻展现三重境界
人们的择偶动机决定人们的择偶标准。择偶动机不同，人们的择偶标准也不会相同。自古以来，人们的择偶标准既要遵循婚姻的自然属性，又不得不受婚姻社会属性的影响。婚姻的自然属性决定了人们择偶时要考虑对方的身体、经济、宗教、道德等因素。人们在选择婚姻伴侣时不可能只有单一的动机，而是几种动机同时存在，只是侧重点不同罢了。而这种侧重点的差异表现出来便是人们择偶标准的差异。
根据择偶标准的差异，历史学家劳伦斯·斯通，在其名著《1500-1800年英国家庭、性和婚姻》中将当时英国人的择偶动机分为四类：为了巩固家庭的经济、政治或社会地位；为了个人的感情、友爱和情谊；性的吸引；激情之爱。[3]在《傲慢与偏见》里，作者所塑造出的几种婚姻关系，大都可以从中找到相符合的类型。例如夏洛特和柯林斯的结合，就符合“为了巩固家庭的经济、政治或社会地位”这一类型。
简·奥斯丁用一种轻松的方式对《傲慢与偏见》里的婚姻与婚姻相关的一系列活动进行了诙谐的描述。男士们如何挑选妻子，年轻的女子以及她们的母亲如何为其挑选未来的夫君，构成了这部小说许多精彩的场景。在这部探讨婚姻关系的作品中，作者着力刻画了几种不同的婚姻和爱情关系，除了上面提到的夏洛特和柯林斯的婚姻，还有几对比较重要的婚姻：莉迪亚和威克姆；伊丽莎白和达西等等。尽管他们都走进了婚姻的围城，但是婚姻的幸福度却各不相同。这是因为奥斯丁笔下的婚姻，不仅涉及到感情，而且还和经济紧密相关。“凡是有财产的单身汉必定要娶位太太，这已经成为了一条举世公认的真理。”[4]本书的第一句话就点出了影响婚姻的一个重要因素—金钱，然而果真是一条真理吗？我们对小说进行分析，可以将书中的婚姻划分为三种不同的境界，通过比较，我们就会有自己的判断。