Pride and Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice) Is this true or false? This line not only begins the novel Pride and Prejudice but it also begins a lot of disputes. Many people, even in our own class, have different ideas on what Jane Austen is trying to say and what she means by this line.
Personally, I don't think Jane Austen meant much by it. She acknowledges that during the time period in which she was writing, this statement was true, or so every woman thought. Mrs. Bennet proves to be an excellent example of this. Her only wish is to marry off her daughters and once she hears that a single wealthy young man is coming to town her first thought is that he will of course want to marry one of her daughter. This does not mean that he will marry her, but considering that it is common knowledge that a man with a good fortune is only in want of a wife, he must.
As i continue reading i find more and more evidence that Austen's first line of this novel is her opinion on how most women during that time viewed men. They thought that every man wanted a wife, which is usually true but not always. Mr. Darcy seems to be a good example of a wealthy man that truly has no desire to marry. He does not want a wife nor is he looking for one. He, like Elizabeth, is waiting for it to happen. I feel that Austen wrote this first line so that she could provoke thought in her readers to make them think about why men are proposing and why marriages are taking place.