Posted by kathleen (elder) on May 05, 1997 at 10:00:43:
In reply to Does getting married mean being taken in? posted by Barbara on May 04, 1997 at 22:46:09
] So is Mary Crawford right, or is Charlotte Lucas? . . . Are the truly happy couples the one couple in a hundred who have managed to get together without being taken in?
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Interesting subject. I personally think that both Mary & Charlotte are right to some extent. Some of the marriages do involve being taken in, and yet some of these marriages are tolerably happy.
Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram don't have an enviable marriage, IMO, but they both seem tolerably happy. Mr & Mrs Bennet have made the best (as far as each of them can) of an imprudent match. I also think Charlotte will be satisfied with her choice, though happiness will probably depend on her children. As far as Lucy Steele & Robert Ferrars go, I don't think they will be unhappy, at least not once Mama Ferrars forgives them both.
Certainly the heroine and hero in each novel are given that one in a hundred marriage, a match which will give happiness to each of them, as well as to the readers who care about them. Elizabeth & Darcy, Emma & Mr Knightley, Anne & Wentworth -- the marriages of these couples seem to bring happiness and satisfaction to most readers. (And, while I find great satisfaction in the marriages which end the other three novels, I will abstain from assuming that most readers would agree with me.)
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