The marriage plot is significant in many Victorian novels. This plotline allows readers to conjecture the possibility of the couple’s ultimate relationship as they undergo character development . During their quest to discover their identities, the couples encounter many problems that might hinder their chance of growth. Do their parents agree? Are they from geographically contiguous places? Do their personalities match? Characters go through external and internal conflicts within the society in their maturation process. The main characters often become better individuals by through overcoming these obstacles. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen uses the foils of Elizabeth’s marriage and her parents’ conjugal relationship to illustrate that successful marriages are built upon abandoning prejudice towards marriage. 

Austen demonstrates that pride often originates from a simple sense of superiority. However, when extended to personal relationships, one that forswears it has a successful marriage. Austen reveals Mr. Bennet’s superior feeling in marriage through Elizabeth’s observation that Mrs. Bennet’s “ignorance and folly had contributed to [Mr. Bennet’s] amusement.” By juxtaposing the insulting connotation of “ignorance and folly” and the derisive connotation of “amusement,” Austen reveals a stark contrast between how Mr. Bennet perceives himself and his wife. However, instead of rectifying such gap, Mr. Bennet uses it as a source of ridicule to display his sense of superiority and humor. His “humor” is further extended to the family as it discomforts Elizabeth and creates a humiliating image of the Bennets, inadvertently shaping “disadvantages which must attend the children of so unsuitable a marriage.” Mr. Bennet’s alack of awareness of this deleterious effect presents a situational irony of his humor because it expands beyond his control– from simply making fun of his wife, to making it problematic for his children to get married. Ultimately, it is not Mrs. Bennet’s ignorance that impedes their children’s marriage, but Mr. Bennet’s ignorance that derives from his pride due to his unwillingness to preserve uniformity in family. Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, represents Mr. Bennet’s foils to advance Austen’s idea of an ideal marriage. By inviting the Gardiners to go fishing he has clearly shown a growth in sensibility and courtesy. This allows him to grow more intimate with Elizabeth’s family and helps them to address problems rather than creating problems, demonstrating his open-mindedness to improve and make efforts in a relationship. His arduous efforts foil with Mr. Bennet’s desultory attitude toward his wife, showing that sacrificing prejudice creates a better understanding within a marriage. 

In addition to making efforts to abandon pride in marriage, Austen also uses the foils of Elizabeth’s maturation and Mrs. Bennet’s stagnancy to demonstrate the prominent role that changes play in creating mutual understanding and intimacy. Austen illustrates Elizabeth’s reflection and growing understanding of Mr. Darcy after she took into account what Mrs. Reynolds had told her. She thought, “[w]hat praise is more valuable than the praise of an intelligent servant? As a brother, a landlord, a master, she considered how many people’s happiness were in his guardianship!—how much of pleasure or pain was in his power to bestow!—how much of good or evil must be done by him.” Austen uses a series of rhetorical questions of Elizabeth admiring Darcy’s actions to reveal how Elizabeth’s perspective has changed from before. By contrasting “pleasure” vs “pain” and “good” vs “evil”, she doubts all of her prior conceptions of Mr. Darcy and hesitates whether she should perceive Darcy from words of credible people or from Mr. Wickham, whom she views as repugnant after Mr. Darcy’s letter. She shows a sincere reflection of her preceding prejudice by reconsidering Mr. Darcy’s characteristics. As she regards Darcy’s servants as “intelligent” and their praises as “valuable,” Elizabeth shows a personal growth that allows her to avert her earlier credulous behaviors. Unlike Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet refuses to change and is unable to understand other people when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collins’ proposal. Although Elizabeth explains that she doesn’t love Mr. Collins, Mrs. Bennet “talked to Elizabeth again and again; coaxed and threatened her by turns, ” and felt “disappointment in her husband,” for opposing the marriage. Austen uses forceful diction like “coaxed” and “threatened” to illustrate that Mrs. Bennet’s determination in promoting marriage for her daughter is impregnable. Her determination symbolizes a ridiculous a marriage-focused society where independent thinkers like Elizabeth are threatened to have objections toward unmatched marriage. Mrs. Bennet’s stagnancy not only leads to the lack of compassion for her daughter, but also degrades her relationship with her husband because it leads to his “disappointment” towards her. Thus, Austen illustrates that unwillingness to change oneself to understand others and only acting upon personal interests lead to a lack of coherence within relationships. Austen uses this contrast between Elizabeth and her mother to criticize a society where people have fixated minds based on one single action or a rumor, while through the introduction of Mrs. Reynolds and Elizabeth’s willingness to believe her, Austen highlights the necessity to be willing and able to change one’s perspective. Between Elizabeth and Darcy, this ability represents a significant foundation for their successful relationship.