“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”
If a single man with money is ready to get married and have kids, women are the same. When they reach a certain age, they need to choose someone who is right for them to spend the rest of their lives with.
Getting Married, You Must Find Someone Who’s Right for You
Some people say that Elizabeth’s cousin, Mr. Collins, wasn’t necessarily a bad person, he just wasn’t right for Elizabeth. How could Elizabeth, someone so lively and spirited, be with someone like Mr. Collins?
When Mr. Collins came to the Bennet house, he looked at everything with the air of a future master. He was so arrogant.
Sure, Mr. Collins was the heir to the property. When Mr. Bennet died, his property and house would be inherited by Mr. Collins. But Mr. Collins’ attitude was really unpleasant.
Especially when he saw the beautiful Elizabeth, he rushed to propose to her. He said he had three reasons for getting married: First, as a priest, he should set an example for the parish in marriage; second, he believed marriage would greatly increase his happiness; third, a lady had specifically told him to get married.
He gave three reasons, but none of them were because he loved Elizabeth. It was because he felt he should get married.
Elizabeth naturally rejected such a man.
As her father said, “You will never be happy unless you respect your husband, unless you think he is superior to you. You are so lively and intelligent, if you marry a man who is not your equal, it will be extremely dangerous. It will be very difficult for you to escape disgrace and misery.”
Because Elizabeth was smart, she knew what kind of person was right for her.
Mr. Collins, rejected by Elizabeth, soon married Elizabeth’s best friend, Charlotte. Everyone thought Charlotte was crazy. How could she be with such a boring person?
But for Charlotte, it didn’t matter who she married. She was just going to live her life, and she was getting older. If someone was willing to marry her and provide for her, that was great.
It turned out that this marriage was a good fit for Charlotte. After marriage, Charlotte managed the house well. Even the picky Mrs. Catherine could not find any fault with her. Mr. Collins often praised his wife in front of his friends, and the two of them lived quite comfortably.
Mr. Collins was right for Charlotte, but he was not right for Elizabeth. Elizabeth understood that,
You can’t just choose someone to marry because you’re getting older. The person you choose must be as sincere and interesting as you are. Mr. Collins had none of those qualities.
“To live a good life, two people must come together. Because a half sphere cannot roll, so the important task of every adult is to find a matching half.”
Life is neither long nor short. Choosing a suitable person to marry and living in a way that you feel comfortable is the foundation of a stable marriage.
Getting Married, You Must Find Someone with Good Character
Elizabeth, like most girls, was initially attracted to good looks and interesting personalities.
At a ball, Elizabeth met Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham was a military officer, handsome, knew how to please women, and the two of them got along well. At that time, Elizabeth felt that being with such a person would also be happy.
However, her aunt, Mrs. Gardner, was worried that Elizabeth would fall too deeply in love. She specifically reminded her, “It’s too risky to fall in love with a man without money. Don’t let yourself fall in love, and don’t tempt him to fall in love with you.”
Elizabeth said she had not completely fallen in love, but she also told her aunt, “He’s the most charming man I’ve ever met. No one can compare to him.” After all, at that time, even her father, who always loved her the most, thought Mr. Wickham was a good guy.
But this man, who was good-looking and funny, had a bad character.
Just when Mr. Wickham was chatting with Elizabeth, news came out that Mr. Wickham was with Miss King, who had money. It was because Miss King’s grandfather died and left her a large fortune, so Mr. Wickham pursued Miss King fiercely. However, in the end, because Miss King was going to her uncle in Liverpool, Mr. Wickham had to break up with her.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Mr. Wickham had done this.
In the past, Mr. Wickham tried to get the wealthy Miss Darcy to be with him. Every day he used sweet words and flattery, almost making the 15-year-old Miss Darcy run away with him. Fortunately, Miss Darcy listened to her brother, and told him everything before she left, which prevented a disaster.
Mr. Wickham was not only good at deceiving young girls in the field of love, trying to pursue wealthy ladies, but he was also full of lies.
At first, Mr. Wickham told Elizabeth that it was Mr. Darcy who made him lose his stable job as a priest, making him so poor. This made Elizabeth feel sorry for him and also hated Mr. Darcy.
But later, everyone learned that Mr. Wickham was not good at all. Mr. Darcy arranged the job of a priest for him, but he didn’t want it. Mr. Darcy gave him money to study law, but he couldn’t learn. He also spread rumors about Mr. Darcy.
It can be seen that character is something that is revealed over time. A pretty face can’t hide a dirty heart.
In contrast, Mr. Darcy, although not as handsome as Mr. Wickham, had a kind heart.
Getting married, you should find someone with good character.
“Before Marriage, You Must Open Your Eyes Wide; After Marriage, You Must Close One Eye”
You can tell if a person’s character is good or bad by the little things.
Marriage is the same. If you can bear the lowest point of a person’s character, you can live with them. Getting married, you must find someone with good character, only then can your marriage be secure.