Social Class And Marriage

Social class issues are much more powerful than most people imagine. In Pride and Prejudice relationships and marriages are arranged and ended due to status and Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal to Elizabeth shows how he still has doubts of their different social status. The narrator describes how “there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority—of its being a degradation—of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit” (Austen, 142). Even though he seems truthful of his doubts of marrying a lower class the reader is shown the possibility that he may not be accepting this. How does Darcy end up accepting the difference in social class and marrying Elizabeth? Are there relationships in the novel where social class isn’t an impediment? How does social class impact each one of the characters?