Representation of marriage as a social and economic institution in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen who is regarded as "the originator of the Regency (1811-1820) romance, was a subtle satirist and shrewd analyst of human behavior" (Kruger et al. 2013, p. 198) in time when many moral values, conventions and practices were so intolerable, particularly for women, that she preferred to publish her first novel anonymously. Pride and Prejudice is the mirror of the English society of Austen's time. The cornerstone for this novel which shapes its events and greatly affects the lives of the characters is marriage. Through marriage, the novel reflects not only the appearance but also the naked reality of the society, the social structure of which was based on male dominance that reflected severe injustices against women. By focusing on marriage not only as an individual form of relationship between two genders but also as a social and economic institution, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice provides invaluable opportunities to both comprehend and criticize English society of the period in terms of economic, social as well as gender-based relationships among individuals. In this thesis, marriage will comprehensively be dealt with to show how and why women in the English society in the late-eighteenth century and the early-nineteenth century were struggling for marriage, and what factors and circumstances affected marriage as an institution. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Austen succeeds in showing the reader the human relations particularly within middle and upper-classes in the society. Austen employs marriage institution to focus on the nature of relationships among individuals from different social classes and this, in turn, leads to show the real nature of these individuals as well as their social circles. It pinpoints a lot of small details and flaws in the moral values and behaviours of the individuals and society, such as social hypocrisy and the power of money that shapes people's lives, as well as discrimination against and suffering of women. In addition, Austen uses an ironical language in many parts of the novel to support and strengthen her claims and to emphasize them more powerfully. Key words: marriage, class distinction, gender-based relations, economic and social structure, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.