Women of the 19th century experienced grave difficulties. Elizabeth Bennett's experiences demonstrated the lives of women who were under pressure to conform to society's expectations. Having broken down barriers, today women have the freedom to express themselves, to be educated and prosperous and, most importantly, to live without restrictions. “Pride and Prejudice,” written by Jane Austin, portrays the protagonist of the novel through the eyes of the author. Issues of marriage, class mobility, conformity, and restrictions on marriage represent just a few difficulties faced by Elizabeth and other characters throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, characters were faced with and forced to overcome the obstacles of love. Opinions on marriage differed from character to character. Women were uneducated and were forced to conform to societal expectations that prevented them from being independent. Therefore, Elizabeth Bennet's mother, Mrs. Bennet, forced her daughters into marriage. Elizabeth's engagement to Darcy was criticized because many did not think the couple were a good match for each other because he was a "proud" individual, and their economic differences and stature also prevented the couple from being a good match according to the company. Mrs. Bennet was happy when she heard of Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth saying: "How rich and how great you will be!"... what money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! (Austen 325). The focus of Mrs. Bennet's life revolved around her daughters or at least one of her daughters marrying well, so that not only will that daughter be taken care of, but Mrs. Bennett and any unmarried sisters will also be provided for. Mr. Bennett agreed that “his life goal was to get his daughters married; I... half of the paper... she didn't love him, knowing that he could secure her father's wealth. Elizabeth did not conform to her society's expectations and refused to marry for any reason other than true love, sticking to what she believed in most although opposing her society's beliefs. He placed more importance on interest, attraction and love. Bibliography Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, 3rd ed. Norton, 2001.Williams, Michael. “Vision: Jane Austen Study Guide”, University of South Africa Pretoria, 2002.Menon, Sindhu. "The literary network". Jalic Inc. March 3. 2015. http://www.online-literature.com/austen/prideprejudice/"Pride and Prejudice." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 22 March. 2015. .