Pride and prejudice - marriages and the age of reasons

Jane Austen successfully portrays the Age of Reason through her characters in Pride and Prejudice. The story revolves around a mother of five daughters, Mrs. Bennet, whose sole purpose is to marry off her daughters to suitable men. Her eldest, Jane, is her most prized daughter. Mrs. Bennet is assured that Jane's beauty and meticulous manners will win her a prized husband who may be able to support not just Jane, but her other sisters …

…live according to the values of the Age of Reason are her favorites. Lydia and Wickham's marriage, the only marriage that is totally denounced, is the one that was not at all reasonable. Through Darcy and Elizabeth's marriage, however, Austen shows that you do not need to be a Romantic to fall deeply in love. Austen obviously supports those who demonstrate the basic virtues of the age such as: intellect, reason, sociability, moderation, and stability.