"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." (Austen 1).
This sentence, being the opening to the novel, sets up right away a theme to the story, and states one of its central points. It immediately brings up the topic of matrimony, which is the driving point for all of the plot changes and shifts. The happiness of all characters depends upon marriage, either for themselves, as is the case with Darcy, Bingley, and the Bennett sister, or for their relative, as it is for Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and Lady Catherine.
This sentence also shows right away some of Austen's irony. This sentence seems as though it could be spoken by Mrs. Bennett, who is foolish and giddy, and chases any man with a large fortune that she thinks may marry one of her daughters. However, by saying that this way of thinking is a universally acknowledged truth, Austen is perhaps pointing out the foolhardiness of her entire culture and society that thinks the way Mrs. Bennett does.
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