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Is Pride and Prejudice Merely a Love Story' The main storyline of “Pride and Prejudice” is of Elizabeth Bennet, and her initial prejudice against an apparently proud Mr Darcy. As the book progresses, her understanding of him grows better, and the book culminates in their marriage. The question is asking whether “Pride and Prejudice” is merely a love story or not. “Pride and Prejudice” is certainly a love story, and love and marriage are two of the main themes of the book. However, the main point of marriage is that it should only be done for love, and there are many bad marriages used to convey this. The first sentence of the book is “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is a famous quotation for its irony, as what is really implied that single men with good fortunes will always have fortune hunters attaching themselves to them. They are portrayed negatively, as Jane Austin is expressing her view that this is wrong, and a bad reason for marriage. There are many examples of this type of marriage for economical reasons in the book. The most significant is Charlotte Lucas, who marries Mr Collins for money. As shown in a conversation between Elizabeth and Charlotte, Charlotte’s opinions on marriage are that marrying for money is the best reason. However, although Charlotte manages to be content with this situation, she is left with a foolish husband who she has no real feelings and respect for, and who she avoids the company of as much as possible. Jane Austin has portrayed their marriage like this to satirize the concept of marrying for money. Mr Collins, on the other hand, marries Charlotte in order to both improve his reputation and standing, as well as to please Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Austin satirizes these reasons for marriage by simply making Mr Collins look so ridiculous that the reader can not take anything he says or does seriously. Another example of an immoral person in terms of marriage is Mr Wickham. The first incident regarding him and marriage is revealed in the letter from Darcy to Elizabeth. When Georgiana Darcy was only 15, Wickham eloped with her for her money (“Mr Wickham’s chief objective was undoubtedly my sister’s fortune”). Later on in the book, he runs off with Lydia, and only agrees to marry her when Darcy pays off his enormous gambling debts. Jane Austin conveys her scorn of this type of marriage by her presentation of Wickham as the immoral person he is. Finally, the Bennets are an example of a bad marriage. Mr Bennet, a clever, witty man, married Mrs Bennet for her youthful good looks and charm alone. As they have grown older, he has realized that he has made a mistake, and now is stuck with a wife whose beauty and charm have diminished, and who is so foolish that he can feel no respect for her. He has managed, in a similar way to Charlotte Lucas, to be contented with this, but it is not a good marriage. There are, of course, good marriages in the story. Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, and the Gardiners are all examples of good marriages, where they have married for love and hold equal respect of each other. It is very much a love story in that the marriages of the former two pairs are the culmination of the book, and are gradually led up to. However, it is not only a love story, and not even just a story about love and marriage. One of the main themes of this book is snobbery and class, and Jane Austen blatantly satirizes it, most prominently with the use of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Lady Catherine ranks very highly among society, but her manners are appalling. Her forceful dictatorship of everyone around her, along with her condescending and offensive manner is used to portray her as a caricature of the upper class. Her seemingly innocent put downs and imperatives include “It is nothing in comparison to Rosings” (referring to the Longbourn grounds), “I insist on being satisfied”, and “I will not be interrupted”. By satirizing Lady Catherine., Jane Austin is mocking the upper class. In conclusion, “Pride and Prejudice” is not just a love story. It’s a story about marriage, comparing and supporting marriages for real love to other types of marriages, as well as social class. The book is used to voice Jane Austen’s opinions, through the fictional Elizabeth’s opinions, about these concepts