The Romantic era of literature was characterized by many different authors, male and female. Jane Austen was just one of many authors of that era, and one of the most enduring; through his many novels, he shows different points of view on love and marriage. In Jane Austen's critically acclaimed novel, Pride and Prejudice, Austen spares no character, male or female, in her critique of the conventional wisdom that the only path to happiness was marriage. Jane Austen never married, which influenced her portrayal of marriage in many of her years. novels. Each character exhibits different marital standards expected in the time period. In a biography of Jane Austen by Jack Lynch, Rosemary Reisman explains that although neither Jane Austen nor her sister Cassandra ever married, both were engaged at some point. Jane's engagement did not last long, in fact it lasted only one night, and in the morning she rejected her suitor (8). Austen's marital status and limited interactions outside of her family led her to develop a keen sense of human interactions. Through her experiences of “pain and joy with family and friends, mothering nieces and nephews, worrying about the effects of her unsettled times on those she loved,” she is able to portray time through her characters (9). During the Romantic era, very few occupations were open to women, as most had to manage their husband's household. For women who remained unmarried (by choice or circumstance), opportunities to earn money were very limited. One of the most common choices available to a young single maid is to be a housekeeper. While this was never a first choice, it was one of the most readily available jobs for women and involved a lack of resources... half of paper... I fought against all odds for the most desired marriage, a marriage of happiness. Ignoring the fact that Jane is now financially secured (and her future children); can happily fill the role of wife in need; because as everyone knows, "that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" (Austen 1). Works Cited Works Cited Austen, Jane and Robens Myretta. "Jane Austen - Letters - Brabourne Edition - Letters to Cassandra, 1811." Jane Austen | The Republic of Pemberley. Np, nd Web. 30 April 2012. .Austen, Jane and Vivien Jones. Pride and prejudice. London: Penguin Books, 2003. Print.Lynch, Jack. Jane Austen. Pasadena, California: Salem Press, 2010. Print.Murstein, Bernard I.. Love, Sex, and Marriage Through the Ages. New York: Springer Pub. Co., 1974. Print.