I think I will always differ from most of you as respects Charlotte's future or the interpretation of her words and thoughts.
Let's not forget that we live in 2010, some 200 years after the surge of romanticism, and 150 to 200 years after modern novels (and then scores of movies, soap literature) have started to influence our views of marriage.
JA herself is one of the 1st very talented authors to develop this conception of marrying for love which has been such a dominant theme in 19th century literature.
Do you really think that in 1810 most people entered "the marriage state" with a high chance of happiness?"
JA's heroines did of course but were they really representative of reality or rather of an ideal that JA's wanted to promote?