Abstract

Jane Austen, one of the most well-known realistic novelists in the 19th century in English literature, describes in her masterpieces Pride and Prejudice love and marriage and vividly reflects the town life in Britain at the end of the eighteenth century. The novel uses the daily country life as a background for the plot with the description of five different marriages, namely that of Elizabeth and Darcy, of Jane and Bingley, of Lydia and Wickham, of Charlotte and Collins, and of Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is a common type in the 18th century, when they married each other due to money. Jane and Bingley both fall in love with each other at first sight. Their marriage is mainly made up of their own good virtues and true feelings. Elizabeth and Darcy are attracted to each other's personalities, and gradually fall in love with each other after conflicts and challenges. The marriage of Lydia and Wickham is undoubtedly a tragedy because the two are not aware of the meaning of marriage. Finally, the marriage between Charlotte and Collins is just a deal in life. Charlotte has a clear self-evaluation, and Mr. Collins is pompous and narrow-minded with little humor and love. These two have the same idea that marriage is just a means to meet material satisfaction in the family.
The existing studies on Pride and Prejudice mainly focus on the characters, the financial and social background and the author's writing techniques, etc.. The author of this thesis holds that the emphasis on sense or sensibility may vary according to different focuses in different characters’ life. The purpose of this paper is to study sense and sensibility regarding marriages in Pride and Prejudice by analyzing the background at that era and the dialogues and behaviors of the characters.

Keywords: sense; sensibility; marital concept

摘要

英国著名女性小说家简•奥斯汀的小说作品在19世纪乃至今日都被人们视为小说创作的典范，其代表作《傲慢与偏见》是一部关于爱情与婚姻的小说，生动地反映了18世纪末的英国乡镇生活和世态人情。小说以男女主人公达西和伊丽莎白因傲慢和偏见而产生的爱情纠葛为线索，描写了五段爱情与婚姻：伊丽莎白与达西、简与宾利、莉迪亚与威克姆、夏洛蒂与柯林斯，还有班内特夫妇。
班内特先生和太太的婚姻类型是十八世纪常见而又传统的一种类型，他们因为经济因素而结婚。简和宾利则对对方一见钟情，他们的婚姻主要是由他们自身的美德和相互的爱情而构成。伊丽莎白和达西则是被各自的人格魅力所吸引，并且彼此相爱。莉迪亚与威克姆的婚姻则不可否认的是一场悲剧，因为两个人都不明白婚姻的真正意义。夏洛特和柯林斯的婚姻是人们生活中的一种交易。夏洛特对自己有着准确的评价，柯林斯先生则是一个傲慢的、狭隘而缺乏幽默、不懂爱情的人；两人对婚姻有着同样的想法，只要求在婚姻中能满足家庭的物质上的满足。
对于该书，学者们做了大量研究，包括对主人公的性格、对当时的时代背景、以及对作者的写作手法的分析等等。本文作者认为，小说中每个人物对人生、婚姻看法的不同，使得感性与理性因素对婚姻决定的影响程度也不同。本文会结合当时的社会、经济等时代背景与人物具体的对话与行为，来分析小说中婚姻议题上体现的感性与理性。

关键词：感性；理性；婚姻观