Pride and Prejudice Essay

Consider the final resolution of the novel. Is the ending a fairy tale one (recall that fairy tales end with â€Å"and they lived happily ever after†)? How does the novel expand upon and complicate this ending? Does the ending play up the romance, or the social satire? What is the final message, which the novel leaves us with? Many fairy tales and love stories end with a marriage and a happy ending. In many ways, Pride and Prejudice did have a fairy tale ending. Seeing Elizabeth and Jane each getting married to the men they love at the conclusion of the novel, implies a fairy tale ending. On the other hand, neither Charlotte nor Lydia experience happy marriages. Although the novel displays romantic characteristics, I perceived Darcy’s actions in using his social status and fortune to help Lizy’s family, to make the novel seem somewhat of a satire. I would have to say that the final message of the novel is that the greatest happiness you can find in life is love. The story starts off showing that being loved back by the one you love is an impossible situation to achieve in real life. Even though Darcy, because he is handsome and rich, is rejected by Lizzie she later discovers that she did not realize she truly did love him. In the end, two of the main characters end up getting married and living happily ever after. In addition, two not so important characters end up with an unhappy marriage. This novel shows that in life there might not always be a happy ending but is not a catch-22!