In coming to Hertfordshire, Collins is set on finding a bride, like a determined shopper hunting down bargain deals. Before proposing to Elizabeth, Collins at least tries to go through the normal motions of courtship, but when faced with wooing Miss Lucas, he simply jumps from small talk to asking her hand in marriage. Austen emphasizes the abruptness of Collins' relationship with Lucas, joking that it was perhaps a good thing he avoided inevitably unsuccessful attempts at romance, for the sake of Miss Lucas. Furthermore, Miss Lucas herself enables Collins' abrupt nature in her "pure and disinterested desire for establishment," meaning she's in it for stability, not romantic love. The businesslike nature of Collins and Miss Lucas' courtship suggest a possible flimsiness of their future marriage, especially when considering Austen's usual focus on the intricacies and splendor of extended courtship. Just like impulsive shoppers, Collins and Miss Lucas are destined to become disenchanted with their selections.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Collins and Courtship
"The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature, must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and disinterested desire of establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained." (120)
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Just to compare Collins and Miss Lucas's relationship to some of the others we have encountered, theirs is definitely a skeleton of a failed partnership. Starting with Bingley and Jane's "love at first sight" relationship, then moving onto Darcy and Elizabeth's "overcoming social boundaries" relationship, Collins does not know how to feel or act on impulses. He follows the social norms of trying finding a wife without weighing any sort of consequences, which is what one should do when in love, but it does not appear to me that Austen is trying to portray Collins as a man of grace. Collins skips crucial roles in building a relationship, and pays for it in the development of his love life.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte Lucas takes me back to Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby. Daisy's marriage to Tom represents "unquestionable practicality," a union based on wealth and status but not love. Can the woman who marries a man like Collins find anything more than social advantage?
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