Headstone's Argumentative Essay
Back in the 19th century, becoming married was a completely different thing than it is today. The man would often send a letter to the woman he wanted to marry with some sources to back him up, like a patroness or a relative, in an almost business-deal like fashion. In the two passages from Pride and Prejudice and Our Mutual Friend, William Collins and Bradly Headstone each gives the woman of their dreams many arguments, positive attitude, and positive assumptions to try and win her over. I believe that Headstone’s proposal was superior because of how truthful it is.
Collins makes an attempt to persuade his love, Elizabeth Collins to agree to marry him by giving her a straight up list of reasons to do so. He starts off his letter with “My
reasons for marrying are…” which doesn’t sound very good at all, considering that he’ll be spending the rest of his life with this woman. He also says that “Twice has she (his patroness) condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this subject.” This quote shows that Collins didn’t actually make this decision for himself; rather he let some old lady do it for him. The way that Collins had phrased this reason gives the illusion that he does not care much about this marriage if he couldn’t even make the decision for himself. Finally, he adds, “I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness…” When Collins explains this reason, it seems as though he is only doing this for himself and his own pleasure, and that he doesn’t actually care about this woman at all. All he wants to do is boost his prestige even more than it already is by marrying someone.
Collins makes an attempt to persuade his love, Elizabeth Collins to agree to marry him by giving her a straight up list of reasons to do so. He starts off his letter with “My
reasons for marrying are…” which doesn’t sound very good at all, considering that he’ll be spending the rest of his life with this woman. He also says that “Twice has she (his patroness) condescended to give me her opinion (unasked too!) on this subject.” This quote shows that Collins didn’t actually make this decision for himself; rather he let some old lady do it for him. The way that Collins had phrased this reason gives the illusion that he does not care much about this marriage if he couldn’t even make the decision for himself. Finally, he adds, “I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness…” When Collins explains this reason, it seems as though he is only doing this for himself and his own pleasure, and that he doesn’t actually care about this woman at all. All he wants to do is boost his prestige even more than it already is by marrying someone.