【摘 要 】简·,奥斯丁的《傲慢与偏见》写于1813年,一直以来很受欢迎,并被广泛阅读.特定的历史时代决定了那个时候的人们对金钱非凡看重,影响波及婚姻观念.在这篇文章里面,书中大部分人物的婚姻选择都用来作为典型,证实金钱体现他们的婚姻价值取向.
【关 键 词 】傲慢与偏见,金钱,婚姻价值取向,婚姻观【Abstract】PrideandprejudiceiserypopularnovelwrittenbyJaneAustenanditisreadwidelyallovertheworld.Itwaswrittenin1813.Thatspecifichistorytimedecidedthatpeopleatthattimetookmoneymuchmoreseriously,evenontheirmarriage.Inthispaper,themarriagecasesofmostcharactersinthebookweretakenastypicaltoanalyzehowmoneyinfluencedtheirmatrimonialvalueorientation.
【Keywords】Prideandprejudice,money,matrimonialvalueorientation,marriage
Introduction
PrideandPrejudiceisthemostenduringlypopularnovelwrittenbyJaneAusten.Ittalksabouttrivialmattersoflove,marriageandfamilylifebetweencountrysquiresandfairladiesinBritaininthe18thcentury.Theplotisverysimple.Thatishowtheyoungladieschoosetheirhusbands.SomeonesaidthatElizabethBen,theprotagonistofthenovel,flatlyrejectedWilliamCollins&rsquo,proposal,whoistheheirofherfather&rsquo,spropertyandmanor,andrefusedthefirstproposalfromtheextremelywealthynoblemanFitzwilliamDarcylater,&rdquo,(1)allthiakesitclearthatElizabethseeksnofamenorfortune,butself-improvementandhighmentaloutlook.&rdquo,(1)It&rsquo,sright.FromtheviewpointofAusten,Elizabeth&rsquo,arriage,whofinallymarriesDarcy,aswellasJane-Bingley&rsquo,s,posingmoneyandlove,istheidealmarriagepeopleshouldafter.Butinothermarriagecasesinthisnovel,wecanseethatifmoneyandlovecan&rsquo,tbeheldtogetherinonemarriage,lovewouldalwayakeaconcessiontomoneybecauseofthespecialsocialbackground.Afterreadingthroughthewholebook,wewillfindthatmoneyactsasthecauseofeachplotandtheclueofitsdevelopment.Itaffectseverybody&rsquo,swordsanddeeds,evenElizabethBen.TonyTanneroncesaid,JaneAusten,aswellasotherauthors,isveryclearthatnofeelingcouldbeextremelypureandnomotivecouldbedefinitelysingle.Butaslongasitispossible,weshouldmakeitclearthatwhichfeelingormotiveplaystheleadingrole.&rdquo,(2)
SocialBackground
ThestoryofPrideandPrejudicetookplaceinthetimeoftheRegencyinBritain.Atthattime,BritainwasattheperiodoftransitionfromtheearlierstageofCapitalitoCapitalistIndustrialization.Inthecountryside,thearistocraticfamilystillheldgreatpowerandrightthatcountrysquireswerelikelytofawnuponthem.However,asthedevelopmentofCapitaliandtheexpandoftherankofrichpeople,thedistinctionbetweensocialstratawasbeingallerandaller,whilemoneywasgettingmoreandmoreimportantinpeople&rsquo,indaboutsocialvalue.AwesternliteraturecriticoncesaidthatevenDidRicardo(aBritisheconomist)hadaunlikelyclearerunderstandingaboutthefunctionofmoneyindailylifeasJaneAustenhad.&rdquo,(3)Itisexactlybecauseofthesecurepledgeinfinancethatthecountrysquiresocietycouldbeexistingstronglyandsolidly.Thefirstsentenceofthewholenovelproclaims,Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledged,thatasinglemaninpossessionofagoodfortunemustbeinwantofawife.&rdquo,(4)Here,agoodfortune&rdquo,andinwantof&rdquo,aretwokeyphrases.inwantof&rdquo,meansitisneededobjectively,butnotsubjectively.