The first time Jane and Mr. Bingley meet, the air is full of promise and romance. good luck, must need a wife. There are many women and men in this world who say they do not need to be bound by holy matrimony to feel complete or happy in their lives. Obviously, these women and men do not live in the world of Pride and Prejudice. Even the opening line states a truth so subtle it makes you wonder. At first it is seen as an ironic statement that tries to open up the comic and love atmosphere of the book. However, as you dig deeper, you see that there is more to this line than meets the eye. This sentence can summarize the goal of many women in this novel who are looking for a single man possessing good fortune like Miss Lucas, as it sums up the plot in many ways. Since he states that men must need a wife, he subtly suggests that the women in the novel are most likely looking for or desperately needing a [wealthy] husband. This line also gives little hints as to who are these men looking for these women? If you read on the same page on which this line is printed, you will notice that Mr. Bingley, who has just moved to Netherfield, is one of those men "Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of great fortune from the north of England... This quote states that Mr. Bingley is a man of great fortune which is similar to good fortune, indeed even better The meeting of each new male central character is attached to a descriptive phrase of his wealth As we read through the novel, we see that most of the women in the novel notice this wealth and also notice that these men actually take care of wives to marry and share their lives with first time Jane and Mr. Bingley meet, the air is full of promise and romance. They can be referred to this opening line where he says he is looking for mutual affection in his life which summarizes the behaviors of most of the male characters in the book; small exception of Darcy who is not looking for love even if it is surprisingly revealed to him.