Charlotte’s marriage and Elizabeth’s first self-awareness

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1. Charlotte‘s marriage and Elizabeth

In previous chapters, Elizabeth was astonished rather than understanding
Charlotte's matrimony choice. She even showed negative attitudes, such as saying
Charlotte do not have a proper way of thinking in her conversation with Jane.
(91p) Of course, it was because her friend's view of matrimony differed
significantly from hers, but her marriage partner, Collins, was the main cause of
her astonishment. Collins, depicted in the novel before (his letter) and during his
stay at Bennett's house, at the ball, and so on, made him unbearable for
Elizabeth. However, given Charlotte’s situation, her choice seems acceptable and
sufficiently understandable. Elizabeth knew about Charlotte's view on matrimony,
and she would not have been that resentful if she had considered Charlotte and
Charlotte's economic conditions at the time with sufficient relaxation.
And there are a few reasons why Charlotte had to choose Collins. She is already
27 years old, not having that much money to marry the noble man, and being just
plain has not promising chance to marry in the near future. And the priest would
have been the most appropriate person for it and, at the same time, in the most
similar situation to Charlotte. Of course, Collins is the type of person that
everyone really doesn't want to think as a marriage partner. But for Charlotte,
Collins would have been the only option.
However, after Elizabeth visited Charlotte and Collins and observed their separate
way of living, her negative thoughts changed considerably.

⚫ The evening was spent chiefly in talking over Hertfordshire news, and telling
again what had been already written; and when it closed, Elizabeth in the solitude
of her chamber had to meditate upon Char-lotte’s degree of contentment, to
understand her address in guiding, and composure in bearing with her husband,
and to acknowledge that it was all done very well. (105p)

Charlotte adapted well to the marriage and showed she lived steadily and
harmoniously with her husband. And Elizabeth found such aspects in many
moments and changed her previous assessment of Charlotte based on them. In
this part, Elizabeth shows a personality of knowing how to judge a situation
objectively and not being afraid to appropriately change the evaluation she has
previously made based on that judgment. She also has the sincerity to examine
her own behaviour and the capacity to change. Although Elizabeth has shown
many aspects of immaturity in previous chapters (the arrogance of her
observation, her bigoted insight, and various prejudices resulting from this), I
think we can see Elizabeth approaching mature judgment in subsequent chapters
thanks to her capacity of self-awareness. Here, it seemed to me that Elizabeth, for
the first time, realized that her matrimony values were not always right and that
there were many forms of happiness.

2. Charlotte vs. Elizabeth

And here's another point I want to focus on about Charlotte and Elizabeth. It's
the contrast between Charlotte and Elizabeth, and I actually felt that Charlotte and
Elizabeth were the ones who were the most similar, but at the same time had
clear essential and temperamental differences. Charlotte and Elizabeth were both
unmarried women in the same society. They had some social status, but they were
not that rich and were not exceptionally pretty as Jane. However, contrary to these
apparent similarities, the difference is evident in their view on matrimony.
Charlotte objectively identified her current and family situation and carefully chose
to marry for the 'worldly advantage.' (Of course, Collins, the marriage partner,
keeps readers debating whether she made the right choice.) But Elizabeth does the
exact opposite. She looks too romantic, which sharply contrasts with Charlotte. By
rejecting Collins' proposal, she shows that she wants a partner who can bring her
happiness, love, and intellectual and emotional harmony rather than considering
her situation or conditions.
I also thought that these two characters each imply the reality and ideal life of
women in that era. I believe that Jane Austen criticized the patriarchal reality and
its attended social restrictions of marriage that women of that time were forced to
face. Austen criticized them by portraying Charlotte's marriage as pragmatic one.
On the other hand, Austen depicted romantic love - an unrealistic but ideal love -
by portraying Elizabeth's independent choice. And I think readers of the day may
have felt a kind of vicarious satisfaction by projecting themselves on Elizabeth
while reading the novel.

3. Discussion: Rationality vs. Emotion in love

I have seen the film, an adapted version of Pride and Prejudice, so I have a
general understanding of the plot and context, but I haven't finished the book.
However, from an overall perspective, fiction seems to evaluate rationality highly
than emotion regarding love. Elizabeth rejected Collins' proposal because she
didn't love him and even Darcy's proposal, and it was based on her own
prejudice. However, with learning Charlotte's case and unlearning the deep-rooted
prejudice against Darcy, Elizabeth thinks rationally and makes objective judgments
based on her reason. She then reaches to self-awareness and wins love. It seems
a little early to deal with, but in this whole context, did Jane Austen want to side
with rationality rather than emotion in love? If so, why and how important are
reason and rationality in love? Tell me about your opinion.