英文读后感-Marry Money or Marry the One You Love

孙 屹 上海中学高二（5）班 阅读书目：傲慢与偏见 Pride and Prejudice （书虫· 牛津英汉双语读物）

Many people simply regard Pride and Prejudice as a love story, but in my opinion, this book is an illustration of the society at that time. She perfectly reflected the relation between money and marriage at her time and gave the people in her works vivid characters.

The characters have their own personalities. Mrs. Bennet is a woman who makes great efforts to marry off her daughters. Mr. Bingley is a friendly young man, but his friend, Mr. Darcy, is a very proud man who seems to always feel superior. Even the five daughters in Bennet family are very different. Jane is simple, innocent and never speaks evil of others. Elizabeth is a clever girl who always has her own opinion. Mary likes reading classic books. (Actually she is a pedant.) Kitty doesn’t have her own opinion but likes to follow her sister, Lydia. Lydia is a girl who follows exotic things, handsome man, and is somehow a little profligate. When I read the book, I can always find the same personalities in the society now. That is why I think this book is indeed the representative of the society in Britain in the 18th century.

The family of gentleman in the countryside is Jane Austen’s favourite topic. But this little topic can reflect big problems. It concludes the stratum situation and economic relationships in Britain in her century. You can find these from the very beginning of this book.

The first sentence in this book is impressive. It reads: “It is a truth well known to all the world that an unmarried man in possession of a large fortune must be in need of a wife”. The undertone is very clear: the foundation of the marriage at that time is not emotion but possession.

People always think that Austen was an expert at telling love stories. In fact, the marriage in her book is not the result of love, but the result of economic needs. After reading this book, I know the truth is that a poor woman must be in need of a husband, a wealthy man.

I couldn’t forget how eager Mrs. Bennet wants to marry off her daughters. If you want to know why she is so crazy about these things, I must mention the situation in Britain at that time. Only the eldest son had the privilege of inheriting his father’s possessions. Younger sons and daughters who are used to luxurious lives have no choice but marry a man or woman in possession of a large fortune to continue their comfortable lives. Thus, we can see that getting married is a way to become wealthier, particularly for women without many possessions. Jane Austen told us that money and possession determined everything, including marriage and love in her century.

In “Pride and Prejudice”, the sister of Mr. Bingley strongly opposed his plan of marrying Jane because the Bennets don’t have many possessions and their social positions are much lower than them. From this, we can see there are a lot of obstacles for a not very rich woman to marry a wealthy husband. The society, the relatives would not allow them to get married.

In modern society, although the marriages of economic needs have decreased rapidly, the concept of “money determines everything” is still rooted in some people’s mind. A lot of parents try hard to interfere their children’s marriages. Education background, possessions, jobs remains the main reason that may influence one’s marriage. Marry for money is still a big problem in our society. We can’t help thinking: can money determine everything?

Austen left this problem for us to think. The genius of Jane Austen lies in this perfect simplicity, the simplicity that reflects big problems. Although Austen was only 21 when she wrote “Pride and Prejudice”, her sharp observation of social lives makes the style of this book surprisingly mature and lively. The plots in her works are always very natural. The development of the plot is as inevitable as a problem in mathematics. I think the depth of Pride and Prejudice is the reason that makes this book prominent and classic. Today, her book still can be the guide telling us the economic relationships both at her time and in modern time.

标签：英文读后感

热门作文成语素材

• 哀感顽艳  原意是指内容凄切，文辞华丽，使愚笨和聪慧的人同样受感动。后多用来指艳情的小说、戏曲、电影中的感人情节。
• 匪夷所思  匪：不是；夷：平常。指言谈行动离奇古怪，不是一般人根据常情所能想象的。
• 风不鸣条  和风轻拂，树枝不发出声响。比喻社会安定。
• 岸谷之变  比喻政治上的重大变化。
• 分茅裂土  原指古代帝王分封诸侯时举行的仪式。后称分封诸侯。
• 飞沙走砾  沙：沙土；砾：小石块。沙土飞扬，小石块滚动。形容风势很猛。
• 百发百中  形容射箭或打枪准确，每次都命中目标。也比喻做事有充分把握。
• 本性难移  移：改变。本质难于改变。
• 鼻息如雷  鼻息：鼾声。打呼噜的声音就象打雷一样响。形容熟睡时鼾声大作。
• 兵行诡道  兵：用兵；行：使用；诡：欺诈；道：方法。用兵可以运用诡异和诈伪的战法。
• 并蒂芙蓉  蒂：花或瓜果跟枝茎相连的部分；芙蓉：荷花别名。两朵荷花并生一蒂。比喻夫妻相亲相爱。也比喻两者可以相媲美。
• 不得善终  善终：正常死亡。指人不得好死。常指恶人应有的坏下场。
• 不服水土  不能适应移居地方的气候和饮食习惯。
• 飞蛾投火  象蛾子扑火一样。比喻自找死路、自取灭亡。
• 飞云掣电  掣：闪过。像流云飞和闪电一样。形容非常迅速。