“I cannot be otherwise than concerned at being the means of injuring your amiable daughters, and beg leave to apologise for it, as well as to assure you of my readiness to make them every possible amends . . .”
Mr. Collins, in his letter to Mr. Bennet
The Bennet girls will not want his amends.
Pride and Prejudice, Vol. 1, Ch. 13
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Filed under Inheritance, Money, Money and Marriage, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Collins, Pride and Prejudice
. . . Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.
Pride and Prejudice, Vol 1, Ch 10
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Filed under Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Love, Money, Money and Marriage, Pride and Prejudice
The Bingley sisters discuss Jane’s chances of marrying well:
“I have an excessive regard for Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.”
“I think I have heard you say, that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton.”
“Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside.”
“That is capital,” added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.
“If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside,” cried Bingley, “it would not make them one jot less agreeable.”
“But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world,” replied Darcy.
Pride and Prejudice, Vol 1, Ch 8
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Filed under Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Family, Jane Bennet, Miss Bingley, Money, Money and Marriage, Mr. Bingley, Pride and Prejudice
“Miss Crawford was glad to find a family of such consequence so very near them, and not at all displeased either at her sister’s early care, or the choice it had fallen on. Matrimony was her object, provided she could marry well, and having seen Mr. Bertram in town, she knew that objection could no more be made to his person than to his situation in life. While she treated it as a joke, therefore, she did not forget to think of it seriously.”
Mansfield Park, volume 1, chapter 4 (emphasis mine)
I want to condemn Mary Crawford for this sentiment, but no doubt it was the way (nearly) everyone thought then. And I wonder — how much have we really changed? Although my definition of marrying well and Mary Crawford’s are completely different.
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Filed under Mansfield Park, Marriage, Mary Crawford, Money, Money and Marriage
“Where people are really attached, poverty itself is wealth.”
Northanger Abbey, volume 1, chapter 15
Alas, if only Isabella knew the truth of her words!
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Filed under Isabella Thorpe, Money, Money and Marriage, Northanger Abbey, Poverty, Wealth
“Who can be in doubt of what followed? When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, be they ever so poor, or ever so imprudent, or ever so little likely to be necessary to each other’s ultimate comfort. This may be bad morality to conclude with, but I believe it to be truth; and if such parties succeed, how should a Captain Wentworth and an Anne Elliot, with the advantage of maturity of mind, consciousness of right, and one independent fortune between them, fail of bearing down every opposition?”
Persuasion, volume 2, chapter 12
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Filed under Anne Elliot, Capt. Wentworth, Marriage, Money, Money and Marriage, Persuasion
Of Mr. Weston’s first wife. Love this…
“Though she had one sort of spirit, she had not the best. She had
resolution enough to pursue her own will in spite of her brother, but
not enough to refrain from unreasonable regrets at that brother’s
unreasonable anger, nor from missing the luxuries of her former home.”
Emma, volume 1, chapter 2
Filed under Character description, Emma, Money, Money and Marriage, Mr. Weston, Regret
“I would have everybody marry if they can do it properly; I do not like to have people throw themselves away; but everybody should marry as soon as they can do it to advantage.”
Mary Crawford
Mansfield Park, volume 1, chapter 4
Filed under Mansfield Park, Marriage, Mary Crawford, Money, Money and Marriage
“It would be an excellent match, for he was rich, and she was handsome. . . . she was always anxious to get a good husband for every pretty girl.”
busybody Mrs. Jennings on why she thinks Marianne and Colonel Brandon should get together
Sense & Sensibility, volume 1, chapter 8
Filed under Beauty, Col. Brandon, Marianne, Marriage, Money, Money and Marriage, Mrs. Jennings, Sense and Sensibility, Wealth
If we’re going to be talking about money, we have to revisit this old favorite.
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Filed under Illustrations, Marriage, Men, Money, Money and Marriage, Pride and Prejudice, Wealth
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)
A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith