At the end of Pride & Prejudice did you pine for Mr. Darcy or swear off men all together?
According to Emma Campbell Webster, Austen's romantic tales underscore an anti-matrimony narrative. Webster notes:
Over the past decades, as women have won increasing economic and personal freedom, marriage has fallen sharply. According to the Office for National Statistics, by 2031 the proportion of women aged 45-54 who have never married is predicted to rise from 9% to 35%.
There are a number of different reasons for the declining marriage rates, but the messages that are constantly sent to women in the guise of so called "romantic fiction" surely aren't helping. When you consider the ubiquity of these messages it is not surprising that many of us have started seeing a wedding as something disturbing, terrifying, as the end of a lifelong quest for adventure, rather than any kind of start.
Who finds weddings disturbing? Weddings are the only times I get to wear a pretty dress and get totally loaded while dancing barefoot with old people.
Okay, so mildly disturbing.
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