This famous sentence in the picture is the beginning of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".

Mr. Sun Zhili translated it this way: "A rich bachelor will always marry a wife. This is a universally recognized truth."

There are many other Chinese translations, but due to language differences Despite the barriers, no version can accurately convey the playful humor and sarcasm of Austen's own words.

Every time I read Jane Austen, I have the same feeling: more than two hundred years have passed, and women’s pursuits have never changed. Regardless of ancient and modern times, whether at home or abroad, women’s goals in life or the signs of success are Still find a rich man.

No matter whether it is a novel or a movie or TV version, after watching "Pride and Prejudice", there is always a sense of contradiction. Elizabeth's pride and angular personality are all in vain. What is the difference between her and other women? Her purpose and only destination in life is to be attached to a rich man.

While Austen ridiculed this worldly custom, she still echoed the fantasies of women dominated by such values.

Her novels are the granddaddy of romantic literature and the origin of today's romance and idol dramas.

The protagonist Bridget in Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jone's Diary" is the incarnation of Elizabeth.

The novel and the film adaptation have become popular among women around the world. The heroine with mediocre knowledge, average intelligence, average appearance, and flaws makes ordinary women in the world seem to see their own shadow. Ordinary people like Brigitte still don't get an ideal man in the end, so why should they give up hope.

Coincidentally or intentionally, both Bridget and Mr. Darcy in the BBC TV series Elizabeth were played by Colin Firth.

Later romantic novels and idol dramas have never broken away from the pattern of "Pride and Prejudice".

From a certain perspective, the social rules between men and women have never changed, so today, there are still many female readers looking for tips on dealing with men from Austen's novels, using the most popular words , get the "Flirting" skill.

Some people even compiled a book like "Jane Austen's Little Advice", which is nothing more than extracting good sayings about men and women from the book.

From this point of view, Austin is also the ancestor of chicken soup writing.

In Austen's novels, when almost all parents see a rich man, they will rush to turn him into their daughter's legal property. On the other hand, no matter where they go, they are all Snobbish men and their families also have to weigh her dowry before looking for a future mistress.

Women cannot work and are legally vulnerable when inheriting property, but they cannot escape having their future destiny determined by money.

So the beginning of "Pride and Prejudice" can actually be like this: A rich bachelor always marries a rich wife. This is a universally recognized truth.

Elizabeth’s only valuable dowry is her independent personality and non-kitsch thoughts. Austen arranged for her the brave and unconventional Mr. Darcy.

Of course the real world is not what women want it to be. Not to mention other people's reality, Austen's own reality is also the opposite of the ending of her novel.

Austen may have seen through the sad contradiction between reality and fantasy, so she chose not to marry for life.

The movie "Becoming Jane" is adapted from the biography of the same name, with Austen played by Anne Hathaway.

The film seems to be another version of "Pride and Prejudice", but Jane's name is used instead of Elizabeth, and the ending is not a happy ending.

It is said that Austin, who was twenty years old, met the young lawyer Tom Lefroy and fell in love at first sight. However, both families disliked each other. The Austin family wanted her to marry a rich man, while the Lefroy family wanted him to marry a daughter from a rich family.

The movie was met with great controversy, with many Austen fans dissatisfied with the film's casual obscenity of Austin's love life.

But Tom Lefroy is a real person.

In two of Austen's letters to her sister, she mentioned Tom, whom she met at a dance, and expressed her attraction to him.

The real Tom Lefroy later married the daughter of a wealthy family, had seven children, and became the President of the Supreme Court of Ireland.

Tom is not Darcy, nor is he as wealthy as Darcy, but his family is pretty good. He shoulders the responsibilities of the family, and Austin, the vicar’s daughter, has six brothers and one sister. Her dowry Obviously not up to the standards of Tom's daughter-in-law.

With Austin’s pride, he will not force himself to “climb high”.

She must know clearly that after the end of her novel, Elizabeth, who is not financially independent but carries a proud and sensitive self-esteem as a dowry, may not be happy after being attached to Darcy.

In 1802, 27-year-old Austin visited a girlfriend. Her girlfriend's brother proposed to her. She accepted, but immediately realized that she had made a mistake and broke off the engagement the next day.

Austen is considered by the British to be a great writer who can be equal to Shakespeare. Perhaps no man has ever been worthy of her talent and wisdom.

However, in that era, choosing to be single showed that she was unusually strong in her heart.

Austen once said a famous saying: "There are as many kinds of love as there are moments in time."

In other words, she was enjoying different forms of love every minute and every second. .

In reality, she may have chosen to be single because she has never met the right person, but she does not think that men are the only place to get love and fulfillment.

We will not feel sorry for her, nor can we sympathize with her, because remaining unmarried did not affect her greatness, and even contributed to her greatness.

Back in our time, it is still a generally accepted truth that a person is well-matched, but now most people have admitted that a match is a good match if their family conditions are comparable, but a more suitable match is if their personal knowledge, cultivation, and values ??are equal.

In fact, this is also the basis for "Pride and Prejudice" to justify itself. Elizabeth was born in an ordinary family, with a weird mother and weird sisters. These are the points for which she was ridiculed.

In the end, she was able to win Darcy's admiration entirely due to her own knowledge and character charm.

Knowledge and character are all cultivated by oneself, and family background is really no excuse.