The plot is thickening in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth was proposed to by Mr. Collins but she kindly refused him. Mr. Bingley has vanished into thin air and Jane has been left with only her feelings, boiling inside her. The departure of the Bingley party left those they met with aspirations for a better life that, up to now, will fade away into oblivion.
Humans have qualities we hide. We have a little bit of darkness within ourselves. It must be left over from Adam and Eve, that tingle within that pushes is us to want more than what we have Charlotte Lucas is Elizabeth Bennet's dear friend. It must have been popular in 1813 to be someone's dear friend and get engaged to their rich cousin who proposed to them shortly before considering you. That's right. Mr. Collins after being scared by Elizabeth´s rejection poured his heart out to Charlotte and became attracted to her. What Charlotte did " was very amiable , but Charlottes kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; its object was nothing less than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins´s addresses by engaging them towards herself." (pg 92). From this quote we can imply that Charlotte knew what she wanted as soon as she found out that Elizabeth had no desire to marry Collins. All along she wanted something for herself.
Charlotte´s reasons for wanting the marriage weren't as cruel as they sound. She was 27 years old and back in 1813 that is the equivalent of 45. What man wants to marry a 45 year old woman today? She understood that her time was almost over and since Elizabeth had made it clear she was not attracted to him, she actually got the scraps of what Elizabeth didn't want. Charlotte herself describes Mr. Collins as "neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary." (pg 93). Conformism is not a trait to admire but in Charlotte's case, it is nothing but a reality. Along with this Austen expresses in the book that Charlotte didn't desire love or romance, she just wanted a comfortable home and a good life.
The material rules over anything apparently. Elizabeth decided not to marry this man because he is just annoying to everybody around him yet Charlotte blocks him out and only wants what he possesses. Jane Austen shows a perfect picture of the material desires people have and how society pushed people to aspire for the material over anything else. It is because Adam and Eve bit the apple that humans were kicked out from paradise and it is because of our history that the material is put on a pedestal. The difference between today and those times is that instead of a carriage we want a Ferrari or a BMW. Instead of a new corset we want the best liposuction. Even to this day there are still Charlottes around the world that will do anything for money and like her, marry not because of what it represents but what it can give you.
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