Was Elizabeth Bennett a Gold-digger? or “My Goodness Doesn’t It Help” by Ivy

Ivy Sedam

March 10, 2020

Romantic Comedies 

Professor Sinowitz

Was Elizabeth Bennett a Gold-digger? or “My Goodness Doesn’t It Help”

Whether or not Elizabeth Bennet wants to marry Darcy because of his money has been brought into question by Micheal Sinowitz. When Elizabeth sees Pemberley she thinks that being the lady of the house would be something that she wants, this is taken as indication that the only reason she marries Darcy is for the estate that comes along with him. In this discussion I believe a scenario played out in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes gives a very  good explanation and a more encompassing view of the situation of a so-called gold-digger. When the lead character is confronted about the idea of her marrying for money she says “a man being rich is like a girl being pretty,you might not marry a girl just because she’s pretty but my goodness doesn’t it help?” Pride and Prejudice's lead character should be thought of with this same philosophy, marrying a man for his money is not necessarily as black and white as it may seem.

It is my firm belief that even if Elizabeth does partly believe she should marry Darcy only after she sees the grandeur of Pemberley, it does not mean she does not love him. In her time it is obvious that a woman with the lingering threat of poverty would certainly not be deterred by the idea of marrying  into a family of wealth. Just the same as Darcy may like Elizabeth for her wit and personality but not be deterred by her being physically attractive as well. If we are to think of these characters as real people (as they are supposed to be) then their choices should be thought of as if they were a real person's choices. Why a person would decide someone is the one they should marry would not be based solely on one trait they may have, no matter how rich Darcy was Elizabeth would not have married him when she did not think well of him. This is clearly evident in her refusing his first proposal. She turns him down because of the things Wickham had led her to believe and because she believes he is at fault for Jane’s unhappiness. As Jane is not near marrying Bingley (or anyone else) and Collins is already married, Elizabeth would have even more reason to accept the proposal of an extremely wealthy man to be able to take care of not just herself but her loved ones. Her turning him down, as she turned down Collins, shows that she is not willing to marry someone solely because they are wealthy. After his proposal she talks only of supposed happiness not finances, she says she wouldn't risk her happiness on "the chance of being asked a second time"(112). Perhaps more importantly than this, she says "you could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who could make you so"(112). Her focus here, in a situation that angers her mother and cements their loss of their home after Mr. Bennet's death, is on happiness not security. Though this way of thinking makes no sense to her mother Elizabeth clearly is thinking of more than just security in a marriage.

With this in mind it is important to note that Elizabeth, far before she goes to Pemberley, begins to soften and change her mind about Darcy. When she receives the letter from Darcy explaining his side of events she willingly believes him without much hesitation. Not only this but she repeatedly rereads the letter repeatedly saying she cannot deny the things he has said are true. She begins to feel differently about Darcy when she reads his letter and realizes how “she had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd”(215). When she realises all the ways she had been wrong about events that had unfolded she sees Darcy in a much more endearing light. Even before going to Pemberley it is implied that Elizabeth has changed her mind about Darcy. Before the decision to go to the estate is even brought up Elizabeth says to Wickham about Darcy ``When I said that he improved on acquaintance, I did not mean that either his mind or manners were in a state of improvement, but that, from knowing him better, his disposition was better understood"(241). Here we see, not only a lack of affection for Wickham that previously existed in the novel but also that her mind towards Darcy has changed greatly before visiting Pemberley. She defends Darcy’s personality in ways she formerly disliked him for because upon knowing him better she more understands why he is the way he is. When the housekeeper tells her how great he is Elizabeth’s response is not that of great shock and disbelief as it had been when Bingley and others had praised him. Instead she thinks that it is slightly unbelievable that he is quite as wonderful as she says.

Another important piece of the argument against Elizabeth being after Darcy for his estate is that in many ways Pemberly is shown as an extension of Darcy himself. The grounds much like him are not focused on being something they are not.”Its banks were neither formal nor falsely adorned…She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste”(249). The appeal of Pemberley is that it is not filled with artifice that much of society is riddled with. Much like Darcy himself the estate is not necessarily perfect upon first glance but it has an appealing charm of reality and nature. These factors draw Elizabeth in more because the grounds have a subtle honesty that Darcy has already displayed in his letter.

Obviously the draw of the estate would also include an interest in the grandeur prominent in the house. However long before Elizabeth thought that “to be mistress of Pemberley might be something”(249) she knew that Darcy was wealthy with a large estate, it is mentioned several times he is even wealthier than Bingley.

The real importance of this argument lies here: duality can exist. While Elizabeth may have seen Pemberley and been more convinced that she should accept another proposal were it to come that doesn’t mean she was solely marrying for money. The estate may have swayed her closer but she was already thinking differently than she had been about Darcy. The wealth of Darcy is a part of him just like her physicality is a part of her and we don’t chastise him for admiring her eyes so why blame her? Especially in a time in which people did marry exclusively on the basis of wealth saying that the heroine of this story only wanted to marry after seeing financial benefits devalues many complexities included in the novel. This simplification also assumes a two dimensional narrative exists with no room for acknowledging complex human emotion and thoughts, which is after all, the goal of writers when they create characters.