Marriage

Back in the 1800’s, females were supposed to get married with the finest and greatest gentleman. Income was of great importance; therefore, marriages were predominantly arranged by the amount of money the gentleman owned. However, in the books “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte and “Emma” by Jane Austen we see that money has nothing to do with the main couples’ marriages.

Ms. Eyre fell in love with Mr. Rochester who was her master. After getting acquainted they started being really close to each other, and they were involved in a beautiful and rich relationship. “Jane, will you marry me, a poor blind man with one hand, twenty years older than you?” (Bronte, 100). This quote reflects that Mr. Rochester was not a good match due to his conditions, but love was greater and Jane accepted to marry him. Their love was great and powerful; they could be together overcoming all obstacles.

In “Emma”, Emma Woodhouse marries fine Mr. Knightley, whom she was acquainted to her entire life, without the need of money because she is rich from the beginning. She was happy to accept him although she never thought of him as the love of her life, or she never realized how much she loved him.

Although the stories are very similar, there is one really significant difference: the couples had different paths to fulfill love. In “Jane Eyre”, the main couple had to cope with many obstacles to finally be together. First, she was a governess at his house, Thornfield; therefore, they could not be together. Then, they finally admit they love each other, and they decide to get married. But, he was already married, and she ran away. After some time, she came back to Thornfield and saw the house was burnt. Mr. Rochester’s wife sat fire in Jane’s old room, and he was injured due to attempting to rescue his wife who jumped from the roof and died. Although he was an old blind man, Jane Eyre marries Mr. Rochester after inheriting 5.000 pounds which shows she did not need his money.

In “Emma”, Emma and Mr. Knightley were very good friends. “All her life, Emma had respected Mr. Knightley. Now she knew that she loved him too” (Austen, 100). Never did she realize he was the one she wanted to be with. And, he was feeling the same. One day he declared he loved her and she responded in the same way. “When Emma and Mr. Knightley returned to the house together their happiness was perfect” (Austen, 105). They got married and lived happily ever after.

In both stories, the main couples get married, although their paths to love are different. While in “Jane Eyre” they tried to be together overcoming all obstacles with their love as a weapon, in “Emma”, Emma and Mr. Knightley declared their love and got married within a month. These differences can be understood by investigating about the authors’ lives. Their lives can make their novels and plots indeed really different.