Destination in Novels.

The destination of a novel can often be apparent from an early point of the book, or even the first chapter, such as in Pride and Prejudice. The opening sentence, the famous line 'It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' instantly gives an insight into the novel's destination and themes, showing that a main focus may be on marriage. This opening sentence is also in its own paragraph, which makes it stand out even more to the reader and increase its impact.

The second paragraph discusses another idea, that such men entering a town are instantly spoken about as if they belong to a family's daughter. This idea is again in a standalone paragraph, increasing its effect to stay in the reader's mind. It also strengthens the idea that marriage and relationships may be prevalent in the novel.

Much of the rest of this opening chapter is devoted to conversation between Mr and Mrs Bennett, who are discussing marriage, and also a man who has just moved into the town, much like the kind of man described in the first two chapters. This makes the reader think that he will be part of a marriage, due to him linking with the first two chapters, further showing that marriage will be a significant part of the book, due to almost the whole first chapter discussing it.

The chapter ends with a very short description of Mr and Mrs Bennett, putting focus on the conversation between them rather than their physical attributes. This puts the reader's mind on the conversation of marriage, which, coupled with the final sentence 'The business of her life was to get her daughter's married; its solace was visiting and news' just strengthens the reader's idea that the destination of the book will be to do with marriage.