"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." This first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice brings together the lives of the characters who are in pursuit of marriage. Austen uses many examples throughout the novel to illustrate the good and bad reasons behind marriage to reveal her idea of the perfect marriage.

The reader is most familiar with the unhappy marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Bennet married his wife because of her youthful beauty and her ability to have children. The following quote describes how Mrs. Bennet's beauty faded and so did their enjoyment of each other, "[Mr. Bennet] captivated by youth and beauty...had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind, had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection...Respect, esteem...