equal marriages
Posted by Linden on May 16, 1998 at 19:17:24:
In response to MP and other hero/ines, written by Tilde on May 16, 1998 at 07:58:34
] Mr Darcy is the impossible dream, the wild, crazy wonderful, romantic and impossible dream;...
] So is the EB / Darcy match the impossible romantic dream, and Fanny / Edmund the possible ? Just a stray thought.
Your posting gets me thinking about all the JA matches: which of them are equal, and which are not?
What do I mean by equal? Well, I take for my starting point the views of Mr John Dashwood, who has a very keen eye for these things: that a woman's beauty is worth so much a year from a man. It's a trade off between money and beauty. We can also throw in characteristics like rank, character, intelligence and so on. With this in mind, here's my analysis:
S&S: Elinor & Edward: equal after he loses his inheritance
Marianne and Col. Brandon: a good match for her because of his money.
Lucy & Robert: a very good match for her.
P&P: Lizzy & Darcy: a good match for her, unless we give Lizzy's wit and charm as much weight as Darcy did, against their society's evaluation.
Jane & Bingley: a good match for her.
Lydia & Wickham: equal
Charlotte & Mr Collins: equal: his money balances her good sense.
Mr & Mrs Bennet: unequal.
MP: Maria & Mr Rushworth: a bad match for her as his fortune does not compensate for his brainlessness.
Fanny & Edmund: equal.
(Marriages that didn't happen: Mary & Edmund would be a bad match for her, Fanny and Henry would be a good match for her)
Northanger Abbey: Catherine & Henry: A good match for her: he's both richer & cleverer.
Emma: Emma & Mr Knightley: equal
Frank Churchill & Jane Fairfax: equal, as her principles are balanced by his money.
Harriet & Robert Martin: equal: her beauty is balanced by his sense and respectability.
Persuasion: Anne & Capt. Wentworth: Equal once he earns enough money to balance her rank.
Conclusions from all this: while Lizzy does make a good match, she's not the only heroine to do so: Catherine & Marianne also do. And the most unequal match of the lot is between Lucy, with neither fortune, rank nor good principles, and the very rich Robert Dashwood.
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