1. Pride and Prejudice begins with one of the most famous first lines in English literature: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (p.3). This sentence tells us much about the author’s purpose and attitude. It states one of the novel’s main themes: the relationship between money and marriage. It also sets an ironic tone. Based on your knowledge of Regency England and the “marriage market” of the time, explain how this opening sentence is ironic.

As the reader comes to understand the characters in this novel, it becomes clear that the character most likely to utter such a line is Mrs. Bennet. It is also clear that we are supposed to find Mrs. Bennet to be a ridiculous character with few redemptive qualities and no sense. She is a neglectful parent, failing to properly educate her daughters to secure the kind of husbands she insists they have; she is indulgent and at least partially responsible for Lydia's horrible temperament; she is witless and dull, taking more interest in balls and gossip than she does in practically anything else. Further, the fact that Elizabeth Bennet, a young woman who is kind and loving as well as witty and intelligent, is Mrs. Bennet's least favorite child tells us a great deal about her lack of judgment. Mrs. Bennet is loud when she should be discreet, rude when she should be polite, and entitled when she ought to be grateful. Throughout the narrator's descriptions of her, we come to understand that we are not to respect her character or agree with her opinions, and because we can most easily imagine her character taking the position stated in the first line, it is a good clue that we are not supposed to agree with it either.
In fact, Mrs. Bennet often says things that others think and feel but are too tactful to actually say aloud. For example, at the Netherfield ball, she speaks loudly of her expectation that Jane and Bingley will soon marry—a not unreasonable supposition, but one not to be spoken of since he has not yet proposed—and her happiness that it will "throw the other girls into the path of other rich men." Now, most mothers in her position would also rejoice at her daughter's good fortune in having caught the eye and heart of a man who is rich as well as handsome and kind. However, most mothers would know better than to shout it from the rooftops before the pair are even engaged. Further, most mothers in her position would equally rejoice at the advantages which one daughter's marriage will confer upon her other daughters, but these mothers would also know better than to crow—publicly—about their daughters' new proximity to wealthy bachelors. Mrs. Bennet, like most mothers at this time, wants the best for her daughters, and what is considered "the best"—what makes a match a good and advantageous one—is wealth. She is far from being alone in her belief that this is so; what sets her apart from her peers is that she is too tactless to keep quiet about it.
The narrator speaks this line, however, and not Mrs. Bennet, but given the characterization of Mrs. Bennet, and the marriage traditions of the era, we can understand this line to be an example of verbal irony on the part of the narrator. She, who is so apt to point out Mrs. Bennet's flaws (and, through her, society's flaws), does not believe that "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." The narrator, based on the love matches made between Elizabeth and Darcy, and Jane and Bingley, as well as the loving relationship of the most idealized couple in the book—the Gardiners—seems to believe that love should come first and foremost. Financial security will not necessarily make one happy: consider the Collinses and the Bennets. Thus, the narrator says the opposite of what she means in this first line; instead, the line gives voice to the idea that society would most support (though might not say aloud).