Jane Austen’s "Pride and Prejudice" Is Timely & Wise
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice begins with that line, one of the most famous in English literature. It seems to indicate that the reader is about to enjoy a simple romance about courtship in the upper class. However, in this masterpiece, widely celebrated almost since its original publication, the opening sentence plays out more ironically, revealing characters and offering a refreshing alternative to the current low regard accorded to marriage.
Pride and Prejudice tells the story of the five daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, members of the landed gentry. Mr....
is a retired secondary teacher of English and philosophy. For forty years he challenged students to dive deep into the classics of the Western canon, to think and write analytically, and to find the cultural constants reflected throughout that literature, art, and thought.
Get Salvo in your inbox! This article originally appeared in Salvo, Issue #63, Winter 2022 Copyright © 2024 Salvo | www.salvomag.com https://salvomag.com/article/salvo63/a-guide-to-marriage
