Question 113·Medium·Command of Evidence
Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 novel by Jane Austen. After Charlotte Lucas accepts Mr. Collins’s proposal, Elizabeth Bennet concludes that Charlotte’s decision is driven by practicality rather than affection, as is clear in the narrator’s description:
Which quotation from Pride and Prejudice most effectively illustrates this claim?
For questions asking which quotation best supports a claim, first restate the claim in your own words and underline its key parts (here, “practicality rather than affection” and “narrator’s description”). Then scan each option for (1) the correct point of view (is it the narrator or a character speaking?), and (2) a direct explanation of the idea in the claim (here, marriage as financial or social necessity rather than love). Use process of elimination: cross out lines that are about the wrong character, are dialogue when the question points to the narrator, or only hint at the idea instead of clearly stating it. Choose the sentence that most fully and explicitly matches all parts of the claim, not just one word or phrase.
Hints
Clarify the key idea
Underline the phrase “driven by practicality rather than affection.” You’re looking for a quotation that highlights reasons like money, security, or social position instead of love or romantic feelings.
Pay attention to who is speaking
The question mentions that Elizabeth’s conclusion is clear in “the narrator’s description.” Check which options are in first person (“I”) and which are in third person (“she,” “her”) and sound like the narrator talking about Charlotte.
Look for motives, not reactions
Among the narrator sentences, focus on which one explains why Charlotte marries Mr. Collins—especially if it talks about her situation in life, fortune, or need for security—rather than just describing what Elizabeth thinks or how Charlotte feels in the moment.
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate what the question is asking
The prompt says Elizabeth concludes that Charlotte’s decision to marry Mr. Collins is based on practicality rather than affection and that this is clear in the narrator’s description.
So you need a sentence that:
- Describes Charlotte’s motives for marriage
- Emphasizes practical reasons (money, security, status) more than love
- Is clearly written in the narrator’s third-person voice, not a character speaking about herself in first person.
Identify the point of view in each option
Check who is “speaking” in each choice:
- A) Uses “I” and is clearly Charlotte speaking about herself (first-person dialogue).
- B) Uses “marriage had always been her object,” “well-educated young women of small fortune” — this is the narrator describing Charlotte and women like her.
- C) Mentions “Elizabeth would not oppose such an opinion; but she felt…” — this is the narrator, but it is about Elizabeth’s reaction, not Charlotte’s motive.
- D) Uses “she” and “her felicity” — this is also narration about Charlotte.
The best evidence should be a narrator’s line that clearly gives Charlotte’s reason for marrying.
Focus on practicality versus affection
Now think about which narrator lines explain why Charlotte marries Mr. Collins, and whether those reasons are practical (security, money, avoiding poverty) rather than about love or romantic feelings.
- One narrator option mainly comments on Elizabeth’s thoughts, not Charlotte’s reasons, so it doesn’t really explain Charlotte’s motivation.
- Another narrator option hints that Charlotte isn’t moved by romantic speeches but expects some benefit from the marriage, which suggests practicality but not very explicitly.
- A third narrator option clearly states that Charlotte does not think highly of men or matrimony but treats marriage as a necessary, respectable way for a poor, educated woman to avoid want — a strongly practical view with little affection.
The line that most directly spells out marriage as a necessary provision and “preservative from want” is the best match to the claim.
Match the best description to the answer choice
The quotation that explicitly shows Charlotte choosing marriage as a practical way to secure her future, rather than out of love, and is clearly in the narrator’s voice is:
B) “Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want.”