Lehman 1Taylor LehmanDr. Beth BradburnEnglish 31301 March 2018Love or Money?While reading both The Makioka Sisters and Pride and Prejudice, there were some obvious similarities and differences between them. First and foremost, the family attempted to arrange marriages for the women to suitors based on their birth order. Second of all, the suitors had to come from a wealthy family in order to marry the women in question. Third, the distinction in class between the women and their suitors caused tension between them throughoutthe novel. Finally, some of the women’s personalities had both some parallels and gaps between them. When exploring the major themes of marriage, wealth, class, and characteristics throughout The Makioka Sisters, they generate insights and interpretations in a near similar fashion as Pride and Prejudice. One of the major themes that occurred in both The Makioka Sisters and Pride and Prejudice was the marriage by birth order. For one, the family members in both novels attemptedto arrange marriages for the unmarried women to suitors of higher social and economic class. Although the family members showed a lack of concern for the women’s happiness, they turned every single suitor away. Secondly, both Tsuruko and Jane were the eldest women in the household, who married rich suitors, Tatsuo and Bingley, respectively. Not only did they both marry for wealth, but they also married for love. Finally, the youngest women, Yukiko, Taeko, Kitty, and Lydia, remained unmarried at the beginning of both novels. Given their rebellious nature, they eventually found suitors that were not of higher social and economic class, despiteLehman 2their family’s disapproval. In the end, they chose happiness and love over money and power, leading the reader to look at some of the variations within the marriages by birth order between both novels. Although marriage by birth order in The Makioka Sisters played out in a similar fashion as Pride and Prejudice, there were some noticeable differences between them. For one, the marital statuses of the second-eldest women at the beginning of both novels differed. While Sachiko is already married to an accountant named Teinosuke before The Makioka Sisters begins, Elizabeth, on the other hand, does not marry Darcy, a famous estate owner, until the end of Pride and Prejudice. Secondly, the storyline for the eldest women differed in both novels. While Tsuruko is already married before The Makioka Sisters begins, Jane, on the other hand, is married at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice. Finally, the husbands of the eldest women differed when they took the family name upon marriage. While both Tatsuo and Teinosuke took the surname of both Tsuruko and Sachiko, Jane and Elizabeth, on the other hand, took the respective surnames of Bingley and Darcy. After viewing some of the polarities within the marriages by birth order, the reader can see some of the likenesses of wealth in both novels.Another essential role that transpired in both The Makioka Sisters and Pride and Prejudice was that wealth became a huge factor within the marriages between the women and their suitors. For one, women were arranged to wed suitors from a rich family in both novels. Not only did this establish their relationships with them, but it also secured their future with themas well. Secondly, inheritance of the family estate was only restricted to the descendants once their parents have passed in both novels. These inheritance laws prohibited selling their deceasedfamilies’ properties, which is what the children benefited from. Finally, women depended on their men for their financial securities in both novels. Given that women married men withLehman 3substantial income, this was the only way they could have financial security for themselves and their future children. While examining some of the similarities of wealth, the reader can also see some of the dissimilarities between both novels.Although wealth in The Makioka Sisters appeared as alike as Pride and Prejudice, there were some obvious deviations between them. For one, the families’ inheritances differed in both novels. While Tsuruko and Sachiko owned their father’s family home and branch house respectively, Jane and Elizabeth, on the other hand, inherited their mother’s fortunes through a settlement with her. Secondly, the person who owned the estates after the families’ passing differed in both novels. While both Tsuruko and Sachiko obtained their father’s estates in both Osaka and Ashiya respectively, Mr. Collins, on the other hand, is inherited the Bennet family estate once Mr. Bennet had passed. Finally, the occupations of the women’s husbands differed in both novels. While Tatsuo and Teinosuke were bank accountants, Bingley and Darcy, on the other hand, were estate owners. After looking at some of the gaps in wealth, the reader can see some of the equivalences in class in both novels.A third central motif that existed in both The Makioka Sisters and Pride and Prejudice was the distinction of classes between the women and their suitors. For one, these differences became an obstacle rather than a benefit to them. Therefore, this created conflict between them throughout both novels. Secondly, the families’ disapproval of the youngest women’s marriages because of the class differences were similar in both novels. This was due to the fact that they believed their union would compromise their social and economic positions. Finally, the contrasts in class played a huge factor in the development of the plot and the characters in both novels. Due to the suitors’ high class status, this made them marketable to the women belowLehman 4them. While surveying some of the resemblances in class, the reader can also see some of the contradictions between both novels.Although class in The Makioka Sisters transpired in a similar manner as Pride and Prejudice, there were some transparent divergences between them. For one, the circumstances of the living situations differed in both novels. While the bank Tatsuo worked for relocated him to Tokyo with his family, Bingley, on the other hand, relocated to Derbyshire with Jane due to the disapproval of Mrs. Bennet and Mrs. Phillips. Secondly, the way the suitors were rejected differed in both novels. While Segoshi and Nomura were turned away by the women’s relatives after a formal interview in The Makioka Sisters, Bingley and Darcy, on the other hand, were harshly