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t is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune

must be in want of a wife. -Pride and Prejudice pg1 chap. 1- These famous words are
quoted at the beginning of Jane Austens famous novel, Pride and Prejudice, and in turn
set the tone for the entire story. From the onset, we see where marriage is seen to be a

wilful exchange of a commodity; that of a man having money and needing a wife and a woman
in turn fulfilling his need for a wife while benefiting from the luxuries that his wealth offers. At
the heart of every human being, we are all consumers; whether the product is tangible or
intangible, we simply cannot help it, we are made to consume. In the case of love, courtship and
marriage, this is no different. It is this writers belief that these three elements are intricately
linked to the real world of commodity exchange; a system of barter. Indeed, there has to be an
instance of a double coincidence of wants, even at the most basal level; each must have
something that the other wants. Through a thorough exploration of two love stories the novel
Pride and Prejudice and the movie Pretty Woman- this paper intends to examine the construction
of love, courtship and marriage and show how these are all a part of the system of commodity
exchange.
As we look carefully at the novel Pride and Prejudice and the movie Pretty Woman, we
see how the writer carefully explores the construction of love and how this is intricately linked to
the system of commodity exchange. In the novel Pride and Prejudice, we meet a middle class
Elizabeth Bennett, living in the 1800s, who wants in many ways to appear independent and
somewhat detached from societys norms and expectations, has to conform to the expectations
set by society in the end. She at first vehemently rejects the advances of her rich upper-class
male counterpart, Mr. Darcy, but ends up being wed to him in the end. She is similar though
contrastive to the heroine in Pretty Woman. Here, we meet Vivian, a prostitute, living in the
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1990s, who is a beautiful woman hired by a shrewd upper-class businessman to be his escort;
with whom she ends up falling in love. The heroines in both stories are women who are of a
lower social class than their male counterparts. They fall in love with these men and are then
promised marriage and/or a happily ever after. Although a parallel can be drawn between both
women, it must be noted that Vivian lives in a different time than Elizabeth and as such is not
subjected to the same customs as her. Vivian lives in a more liberal time in which a woman is not
forced to marry according to societys norms. Vivian is perfectly capable of entering into the
agreement she did with Edward and remain unscathed and not be in danger of being ostracised
by society while if the places were switched, Elizabeth could not.
As we carefully deconstruct the idea of love and romance, we will see that in both stories,
both parties are in possession of something that the other wants; a double coincidence of wants.
Both women want a better way of life while the men were both bored with the type of women
present in their social circle and want a change. We see this in Mr. Darcys indifference to Ms.
Bingleys advances as he favours Elizabeth and also in a comment that Vivian directs to Edward
when they are at the race track, These people are your friends?..../Well no wonder you came
looking for me Vivian is able to provide a idyllic means of escape from the corporate world
Edwards was used to, in essence, she taught him how to be human again. Both men were in
search of something different and the women were able to provide that difference. On the other
hand, the women want to have some degree of financial security and the men in turn possess the
means to facilitate this; thereby creating a double coincidence of wants commodity exchange-.
Elizabeth Bennett needs to marry well in order to secure a respectable place in the patriarchal
society in which she lives. The acquisition of wealth through a successful marriage would indeed
play a vital role in her acquiring this position. In contrast, Vivian was just going about her regular

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routine when she encounters Edward. Their acquaintance results in a positive change in them
both.
Love has the ability to transform. The heroes and heroines were both transformed by the
process of love. Vivian changed her mode of dress and her speech and began to adjust as she got
more and more involved in Edwards world. After her time with Edward expires, she has
undergone a lot of changes both internally and externally and chooses not to go back to her life
of prostitution and instead decides to return to school, improve herself and try to make something
of her life. Edward in turn changes and becomes less shrewd in business and begins to have a
heart rather than choosing to buy out the business in question as he would have done initially,
he instead lends a helping hand-. There are also instances in the movies where we see Edward
working on overcoming his fear of heights. Elizabeth Bennett also goes through her own period
of transformation as does Mr. Darcy. Elizabeths transformation begins after she receives Mr.
Darcys letter, her change however, is mostly internal. Mr. Darcy is able to overcome his pride
to some extent- and asks Elizabeth to marry him twice. Through this, we will realise that love in
these two cases, is in fact brought about by the conscious exchange of commodities. This does
not detract from the emotive side of the relationship but instead allows us to see it exactly for
what it is.
In a romance novel, the financial nitty-grittys that informs the concept of love is sugarcoated or glossed over in order to make the story more appealing and fairytale-like to the readers.
Money and/or possessions are a vital part of any relationship. The degree of importance that it
carries depends mainly on the participants and societal norms. It is however important to note
that the author provides a medium through which the writer is able to see the situation bluntly as
it oftentimes occurs. This occurs firstly in the person of Charlotte Lucas; when there is a shocked

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reaction at Mr. Collins engagement to her, She states quite bluntly that she is getting older and
that she needs the marriage for financial reasons. Here we see a single woman who desires the
security that only a successful marriage can procure (Charlotte Lucas) and then we also see a
male that possesses the necessary funds to facilitate this and requires a wife (Mr. Collins). Hence,
an exchange of commodity is done in this instance as they are both able to satisfy each others
needs/wants on some level. Therefore, an effective exchange is possible and as such is also done.
It is interesting that though both heroines require money to better their stations, they have proven
time and time again that they cannot be bought. Elizabeths initial refusal of Darcys proposal of
marriage and Vivians refusal accept Edwards money when he has degraded her after she
confronts him about telling his friend about her occupation is testimony to this fact.
In looking at the concept of courtship in a relationship, it is almost quite easy to see
where consumerism or commodity exchange can play a vital role. The novel, The Psychology of
Love, Volume one, pg. 47, speaks to the idea of how the process of dating and impending
marriage can squarely reflect on the man and his ability to provide for the needs of the female in
question. It goes on to say that romantic love [is] initiated within the appropriate patterns of
consumption while dating [is] sustained and even strengthened by the appropriate use of
commodities in marriage. In that, the interrelation between courtship and marriage in a culture
of consumerism can be clearly seen. Women required money in order to buy clothes and
cosmetics to dress-up and be attractive to a man during the dating or courting process, while the
cost of treating a woman would fall squarely on the shoulders of the man; buying movie
tickets, chocolates, jewellery, flowers etc. This continues through the process of courtship and
into marriage.

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As one looks critically at the concept of a normal courtship, it can be said the man pays
for what he wants through behaviours, cash, kind and various other methods- and the woman
reciprocates the affection and in the end provides the man with what he wants. In order for a
courtship to be deemed normal, there has to be some prospect of marriage on the horizon
somewhere. Edward and Vivian in my view do not have a normal courtship process; their
courtship initially had no prospects of marriage due to the many obstacles that separated them.
This film, I believe, is heavily steeped in the concept of commodity exchange. Edwards money
is the vehicle through which Vivian is able to effectively transform and is then somewhat deemed
to be acceptable in society. Edward in turn receives a female companion minus the normal
tediousness that he once had to endure from his previous feminine companions. Vivian and
Edward enter into their agreement with the clear knowledge that a commodity exchange is taking
place; they are aware that they are exchanging social companionship and sexual gratification in
exchange for financial gain. Neither is looking to find love; therefore, no long term goals are set
as such, initially, marriage is not in the cards-.This is in stark contrast to the courtship of
Elizabeth Bennett and Charles Darcy. In their society, it is expected that a successful courtship
will end in a marriage and it is the goal of every woman to attempt to secure a good marriage, the
greater the spending power of the male figure, the better.
The incident that occurred with Lydia-Elizabeths younger sister- and Wickham is another
testament to the concept of commodity exchange. They run off together and suggestions are
made of them living together out of wedlock. It is interesting to note that although Lydias
reputation and that of her family are at stake, Wickham only agrees to marry her after he is
promised an annual income this paid by Mr. Darcy-. It is not clear if love was actually a part of

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their courtship but it is indeed evident that there is an exchange of commodity was done in order
to facilitate their union of marriage.
The match between Bingley and Elizabeths older and beautiful sister, Jane, could also be
said to be that of a normal romance as this led to marriage. However, one could ask the question,
did they marry for love? Yes they did, they loved each other deeply but a better question would
indeed be, Would Jane still have married Mr. Bingley had he not possessed such great financial
promise? Most likely she would not have married him. A womans most important goal during
that time was to marry and marry well. Therefore, their union could also be said to be that of a
commodity exchange. Money does in fact play a vital role in ones selection of a husband, the
fact that Mr. Bingley was rich was the main attraction, that he and Jane were also able to fall in
love proved to just be the icing on the cake.
A journal article entitled, Money and marriage in Pride and Prejudice, further speaks to
the issue of money and marriage in the text.
The heartbeat of romance lies in a good income. That is the universal truth about which there is no doubt in most
contemporary womens fiction. The economic imperatives are clear, and the social contract reinforces this. Most
women only have one chance to marrythat is their most pressing business in the majority of Victorian novels.

Therefore, if the heartbeat of a good romance is a good income, we can then clearly see that
without a man possessing, enough money, his prospects of acquiring a wife are bleak indeed.
Money is mentioned liberally throughout the text and this further lends to the importance of
money and the effect that it has on stirring a romance. It could be said to be the foundation on
which a romance could be built. In Jane Austens world, marriage is the end result of a good
romance and money is the starting point. Therefore, this denotes that if there is no money, there
can be no romance. In looking at Vivian, though she was never a part of Austens world, she was
very much a part of the system of commodity exchange. She walked the street at night and
offered sexual favours to men who could pay the right price. She was attracted to Edward

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because of his money and this became a springboard for romance as well. In the end, there is the
suggestion that marriage may be in the future between her and Edward. The heroines in both
stories were able get their fairy tale ending. In the end, the process is always the same.
In almost every good romance, it can be deemed as vital that the man be rich and the
woman be poor. They meet, fall in love and the woman gains wealth and social status- becomes
equal to the man while the man in turn acquires a life-mate/companionship with the prospect of
one day having a family. This, I believe is a fair exchange. Courtship is merely an exchange of
commodity by two consenting parties. We live in a commodities driven society and most people
are swept away by consumerism each holiday comes with the hope of something being boughtas they go about their daily business. This has been the norm in Austens day and is still the norm
today. Though money may be one of the most frequently used commodities, it is not always the
only one used to trade. It could be your time, affection, love or security, in courtship, things are
constantly being exchanged. When the rose coloured glasses are removed, I believe that is all
written in black and white; love courtship and marriage all form a vital part of the real world that
is commodity exchange.

References
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Austen. J, Pride and Prejudice

Marshall, G. (Director). (1990). Pretty Woman [Film]. Los Angeles:MGM

Paludi. Michele A, The Psychology of Love Vol. 1- Pg. 47 ABC-CLIO (2012)

Wei-wei, SHEN. "Money and Marriage in Pride and Prejudice." US-China Foreign
Language, ISSN 1539-8080, USA 80th ser. 8.5 (2010): 59-64. Print.

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