Elizabeth Bennet: A Modern Influence
In the book Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen, one of the main characters of the book is Elizabeth Bennet. Pride and Prejudice has many characters, but the main one that people tend to form the closest relationship with his Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth is arguably one of the most renowned and well-known figures of all English literature. Jane Austen reveals the complexity of Elizabeth Bennet through her own actions and conversations as well as the reactions and comments that other people say about her. Throughout the book, Elizabeth struggles with her hasty judgment of others, her own prejudice, and in finding her true self and her true future husband that is right for her.
In the Bennett family, there are five sisters and Elizabeth is the second oldest. They live on the Longbourne estate which is near the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire England. Elizabeth is a strong woman who is very smart with a “lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous” (Chapter 3). Of the five sisters Elizabeth seems to be one of the favorites of her father. Elizabeth seems to have “something more of quickness that her sisters” (Chapter 1). However, even though she’s her father’s favorite, she is her mother’s least favorite. Elizabeth thinks about her own well being when it comes to getting married. Her mother however, thinks that when a man proposes, regardless of who it is, one should say yes. With this in mind, Elizabeth is careful in who she will open herself up to and because of this, she tends to judge others a little quickly. Elizabeths quick judgment shows the complexity of her character even though she has some simple aspects of her character as wel...
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...arn a lesson from her. She recognizes her flaws, accepts them, and changes them. She is an influence to anyone who reads the book and people should strive to be like she is. Many people today complain how their family is a burden and blame the family for their failures. Elizabeth’s family is the definition of dysfunctional. She has a father who dislikes his wife, an insane mother and embarrassing sisters who do whatever they want to do and disappoint the family name. Despite this dysfunctional family, Elizabeth overcomes the hectic lifestyle and becomes a stronger and better person in the end. She is an influence to the modern reader and will continue to be an influence to any future reader because of her story. Elizabeth Bennet’s character is known as one of the most well-knows characters of English literature, and she has truly earned that rewarding title.
...stantly trying to be agreeable and passive and allowed her to speak her mind and act upon her values. Elizabeth was very active in her life and expressed her thoughts when she wasn’t happy with something. This is in stark contrast with agreeable, passive women that were idealized by society in the Regency Period. Because Elizabeth was so independent and freethinking, Austen gave her an ideal ending and initiated the rewriting of societal norms for women in the process. Austen was known for her subtle but powerful social commentary in her books, especially on women’s rights and equality. Her ideas of how women should live and be treated were very ahead of her time and she helped pave the way for other feminists. Her character, Elizabeth Bennet, will always be iconic in the history of feminism for being one of the first to promote female independence and individuality.
In her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen used the character of Elizabeth Bennet to epitomize the harmonious balance between reason and emotion in a woman, making her a truly admirable and attractive character.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to love and marriage is the focal point of the narrative. But, the lesser known source of richness in Austen’s writing comes from her complex themes the well-developed minor characters. A closer examination of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s dear friend in Pride and Prejudice, shows that while she did not take up a large amount of space in the narrative, her impact was great. Charlotte’s unfortunate circumstances in the marriage market make her a foil to Elizabeth, who has the power of choice and refusal when it comes to deciding who will be her husband. By focusing on Charlotte’s age and lack of beauty, Austen emphasizes how ridiculous and cruel marriage can be in this time.
Elizabeth Bennett is no push over and definitely has a mind of her own. She is an intelligent woman who holds nothing back. In many situations this can be a positive or negative choice. In this book, it really seems to be both, when it comes to Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth can also be described as her dad’s favorite and the second child of the Bennett family. Her family was a very interesting group of people. They were different from each other in their own very unique way. Mr. Bennett was pretty relaxed and a lot of times tried to stay out of all the drama that was happening. It also appeared that even though he was much different from the rest of the family, he liked taunting his wife and girls. He especially did this when it came to situations that seemed really important to the females. Overall, he was very caring and loving towards Elizabeth and just wanted to make sure she was making the right choices. Mrs. Bennett was definitely not the smartest one of the family. She could be described as a worry wart, always worrying about everything. It seemed like her number one goal ...
In her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen portrays Elizabeth Bennet as "strong and intelligent, yet bewitching in a completely feminine way". Elizabeth's possession of these attributes: strength of character and moral integrity, great intelligence, and an attractive personality, make her an admirable person. Yet Elizabeth has faults, which makes her more human. Austen's portrayal of Elizabeth is realistic and masterful, often juxtaposing her with characters lacking her attributes to heighten our appreciation of her.
Throughout Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett faces many challenges to realize that she was in the wrong and her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was misguided. Austen emphasizes the importance of wisdom through Elizabeth who faces the challenge of overcoming her prejudiced judgement to reach maturity and recognize the man she loves.
...ews of these ideologies. While Elizabeth does accept many of the norms of the period she also challenges the purpose for marriage and has an outspoken mind. Her confident personality doesn’t allow the fact that she has less wealth than many others and is constantly being scorned at to interfere with her happiness. She doesn’t permit the social expectations of her times to hinder her strong beliefs and fate in life. Pride and Prejudice is so vastly different to most other novels during the early 19th century that Jane Austen must have held some very alternative views. The heroine Elizabeth challenges the most social expectations of that time and she ends up the happiest of all the characters. This theme must have opened Romantic readers minds, perhaps to the way society should be and this I believe is why this novel is one of the great classics of English literature.
Elizabeth is a romantic, and wants to find a man worthy of her love. On the other hand, Charlotte believes “happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance.” Elizabeth laughs at her friend, and replies, “You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself” (24). However, Charlotte soon enters into a marriage that offers her a good home and security, but a repulsive husband. With these two characters, Austen illustrates the two kinds of marriages most common in the novel: Charlotte’s is an example of a secure, if not pleasant, marriage arrangement. Elizabeth eventually marries Darcy out of genuine love for him, not for want of money or prospects. Unfortunately, others still see the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth as
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a remarkable story showing the complications between men and women before and during their time of falling in love. The plot is based on how the main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, escape their pride, prejudice and vanity to find each other; however, both must recognize their faults and change them. Jane Austen follows the development of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship in how they both change in order to overcome their own vanities and be able to love each other.
The roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are contrasted between a father who cares about what’s inside of people and a mother who only worries about vanity and appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s parental guidance is unique to their personalities. Because of their two opposing personas, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s ideas of marriage are contradictory for their daughters; Mr. Bennet believes in a loving respectful marriage whereas Mrs. Bennet values a marriage which concerns wealth and social status. Their aspirations for Lydia, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Elizabeth mirror their conflicting ideologies. Mr. Bennet seems to have a quiet deep love for his daughters while, on the contrary, Mrs. Bennet’s love is over-acted and conditional. Both parents help to shape their daughters’ characteristics and beliefs: Lydia reflecting Mrs. Bennet’s flighty and excessive behavior while Elizabeth inherits Mr. Bennet’s pensive and reflective temperament. Looking past their dissimilar personality traits and contradicting convictions, both parents hold the family together and play an integral role in the household structure.
In one of Jane Austen’s most acclaimed novel, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is her sassy independent protagonist. However, is she the ideal woman? Feminism in the Regency Era was defined by women wanting education and an equal position in family and homes. In this era, the ideal lady had to be modest, dutiful, beautiful, and rich, especially to gain a wealthy husband. With this narrow, cookie cut definition, not many women fit this criteria. This is greatly highlighted in this satirical novel of the upper class. Elizabeth Bennet is a feminist wanting equal positioning in society, but does not fit the mold of the ideal woman according to the Regency Era.
Fraiman, Susan. "The Humiliation of Elizabeth Bennet." Unbecoming Women: British Women Writers and the Novel of Development (1993): Rpt. in Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Ed. Donald Gray 3rd ed. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 2001. 356-368
To Elizabeth, she felt as though “her family made an agreement to expose themselves as much as they could during the evening” (Austen 70). Had Elizabeth’s sisters been taught to behave properly in public, this whole fiasco would have been avoided and the drama that would have occurred later in the novel would have never been. The blame is not entirely the girls’ fault, as it was in fact the parents who did not set the precedent of proper behavior during an outing. Mr. Bennett providing an ok example, flitting from fellow to fellow chatting away, but it was his wife who embedded in their daughters to be tiresome, as it was after all she who rambled on and on about such a match for her Jane and how such a match would for “her younger daughters […] throw them in the way of other rich men” (Austen 68).Being a loud talker and insensitive about who hears ones conversation, Mrs. Bennett should bear the fault entirely of her daughters’ folly, for it was she who provided the poor example, and how could one learn to act accordingly if one’s own mother does not behave prudently for public affairs. Yet Mrs. Bennett is not the only one to blame.
The main protagonist of the story, Elizabeth Bennet (nicknamed both Lizzy and Eliza), is the second daughter in the Bennet family. Second only to her elder sister in beauty, Elizabeth’s figure is said to be “light and pleasing,” with “dark eyes,” and “intelligent…expression” (24). At 20 years old, she is still creating her place in society. Known for her wit and playful nature, “Elizabeth is the soul of Pride and Prejudice, [she] reveals in her own person the very title qualities that she spots so easily” (“Pride and Prejudice”) in others. Her insightfulness often leads her to jump to conclusions and think herself above social demand. These tendencies lead her to be prejudice towards others; this is an essential characteristic of her role
On the surface, Jane Austen's 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of how three of the five daughters of a family living in 19th century England become engaged to be married. Underlying themes of the story, however, reveal a message about growing up and the judgments of people based on either outward appearances, behavior, or secondhand information from another person. The title of the novel proves to be extremely fitting, as Elizabeth, the main protagonist, learns that too much pride, along with many unjustified prejudices come to result in ignorance as to who a person really is inside and renders one incapable of finding true love. Elizabeth is introduced as the second eldest and prettiest of the five Bennet daughters. Towards the beginning of the novel, the Bennet daughters attend a ball in Netherfield with hopes of finding a man that they could perhaps end up marrying.