Eligible bachelor

Jane Austen's novels are often concerned with the heroine's relationship with an eligible bachelor.

Jane Austen's Emma particularly concerns a woman's attempt to obtain a husband for her friend by embellishing the truth.

[3] In the past, if a man chose to remain an eligible bachelor for long, he may have been suspected of being homosexual.

[4] The euphemism "confirmed bachelor" has fallen from common usage, as past life patterns involving marriage, divorce, and prolonged bachelorhood have been altered for men since the advent of the sexual revolution.

[5] Lakoff states "women are given their identity in our society by virtue of their relationship with men, and not vice versa.