The exact words
The joke in the first sentence
Pride and Prejudice begins with one of the most quoted sentences in English: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” It sounds like a confident general statement. It is actually a joke, and the joke is the key to the whole novel.
The very next sentence explains. However little is known of such a man’s feelings when he first arrives in a neighborhood, “this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.” The “universal truth” is not what the rich young man thinks. It is what the mothers of marriageable daughters want to believe.
How the chapter proves it
The chapter then shows exactly that. Mrs. Bennet, who has five unmarried daughters and no sons to inherit the family estate, rushes to tell her husband that a rich young man named Mr. Bingley has rented the nearby house of Netherfield Park. She is already planning which daughter he will marry. Mr. Bennet teases her mercilessly. In a few pages Austen has introduced the novel’s central subject: marriage as money, security and, occasionally, love.
The phrase “in want of” adds another layer. It can mean “wanting” or “lacking,” so the man is either eager for a wife or simply missing one, whether he likes it or not.
How to use it
The sentence is a favorite opener for wedding toasts, and it adapts well: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that…” can introduce almost any joke about the couple. In writing about the novel, focus on the irony. Austen’s narrator is not stating a truth but quietly laughing at the people who believe it.
What people get wrong
A sincere statement that wealthy single men are looking for wives.
It is ironic. The next sentences reveal that the “truth” is really what neighbors with unmarried daughters want to believe about any rich newcomer.
Timeline
- 1796–1797Austen, in her early twenties, writes a novel called First Impressions. A publisher declines to look at it.
- 1811Austen's first novel, Sense and Sensibility, is published anonymously “By a Lady.”
- January 1813Pride and Prejudice, a revised version of First Impressions, is published anonymously, opening with the famous line.
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
What does “It is a truth universally acknowledged” mean?
It introduces something everyone supposedly agrees on. In this case the “truth,” that rich single men want wives, is a joke about matchmaking families who want those men for their daughters.
Is the line ironic?
Yes. The following sentences say the “truth” is fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, who consider any rich bachelor “the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”
What does “in want of” mean?
It can mean both “wanting” and “lacking.” The line plays on both senses.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.