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Theme and point of view of pride and prejudice
Discuss the themes of pride and prejudice
Brief introduction of themes of pride and prejudice
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Mr Collins: Character Review
We first hear of Mr Collins, one of Mr Bennet’s distant cousins, in a letter addressed to the family living in the house which after Mr Bennet’s death will become his own. In this letter he sounds very pompous, irrelevantly reiterating and repeating the name of his patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Mr Collins is honest that he has an ulterior motive for wanting to stay at Longbourn: he wishes to take the hand of one of the Bennet sisters in a marriage which would ensure that at least one daughter of Mr Bennet would remain comfortable, living at Longbourn as ‘Mrs Collins’. He does not ask to stay at Longbourn, he expects his stay to be welcomed, and even desired, by the Bennet family. “I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and daughter”: this quote shows how ingratiating Mr Collins is: a side of his character which the reader sees more readily during the rest of the novel.
Having previously thought Mr Collins was an “odious man”, Mrs Bennet is quick to change her mind after Mr Collins made compliments towards her daughter (and herself) in the letter.
Upon arrival at Longbourn Mr Collins assures that “the young ladies I come prepared to admire”. The word ‘prepared’ in this quote gives the implication that Mr Collins does nothing in a rash manner and has everything planned in what appears to be quite a sly way. Once inside the house Mr Collins begins to commend each and every item of furniture within it. Mrs Bennet would on any other occasion have been delighted at this, but she knows that when Mr Collins entails the estate all that he admires will be his own. Mr Collins believes that by ingratiating Mrs Bennet about her house he will please her,
but this begins to vex her a fair deal. “The girls were not the only objects of Mr Collins desire”, here we can see that Mr Collins views the girls as nothing more than materialistic, as objects.
By the evening, Mr Collins is getting somewhat tiresome as he “eloquently praises” his patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, with great vivacity and unstoppable
determination. “Lady Catherine was reckoned proud by many people”; Mr Collins cannot see that Lady Catherine is proud because he is proud himself and rates Lady Catherine very highly: perhaps high enough to warrant a little, or is Lady Catherine’s case a lot, of pride.
From the moment, Mr. Collins’ enters the novel; he is seen as a selfish and hypocritical man of the church. He puts himself first, before his duties as a parson, just as he puts his own
oppressive ideology, she is essentially yielding to it. When Mr. Bennet first announces that he has received a letter from Mr. Collins, his cousin and the heir of the Longbourn estate, Mrs. Bennet immediately declares, “‘Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it’” (59). Upon the very first mention of Mr. Collins’ name, Mrs. Bennet defines him as an “odious man.” This is not due to his character or behavior, but instead based solely on the fact that he is to inherit her home, and in her eyes, unrightfully so. Mrs. Bennet also mentions that she would have tried to keep the estate in her own family a long time ago if she had the power to do so, portraying her acknowledgement of the patriarchy and its oppressiveness.
Collins is the prime example as to why wedlock should not be solely for utilitarian purposes. Mr. Collins is the “neither sensible nor agreeable” cousin of the Bennets. Who 's entitled to inheriting Mr. Bennett 's property after he passes away. When Collins comes to visit the bennets, he sets his eyes on Jane the oldest who is the prettier one of the five sisters. When he hears that she is soon to be married to Bingley. He quickly acted “to change from Jane to Elizabeth while Mrs Bennet was stirring the fire”. He later on proposes to Elizabeth who rejects his request with certainty. He ends up proposing to her best friend Charlotte who quickly accepts his marriage solely on reason. As a 27 year old, Charlotte is considered a “old maid”,and believed she couldn 't waste this opportunity in fear of not having another chance. “Charlotte herself was tolerably composed. She had gained her point, and had time to consider of it. Her reflections were in general satisfactory. Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be imaginary. But still he would be her husband. Without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt all the good luck of it”. (85) This narrative illuminates the necessity of matrimony in 19th century England. Here we witness Mr. Collins’ disinterest in Charlotte, however continues to propose merely due to societal pressure to marry. Contrastly Ms. Lucas accepts his proposal exclusively because of his potential in raising her social worth and refining her already wilting public image. Moreover, this societal pressure to
After his wife has declared that the new man shall be “a fine thing for … [their] girls” , Mr. Bennet replies, “How so? How can it affect them?”. Although Mr. Bennet seems for a moment to be less set on the idea of marrying off his daughters, Mrs. Bennet believes that he “must know that … [she is] thinking of his marrying one of them.” The way in which Mrs. Bennet simply expects her daughters to marry this man shows a systematic and societal disregard for choice and women’s rights. Even more startling is the fact that Mrs. Bennet considers the prospect of marriage so obvious that her husband must know what she is planning. Austen clearly acknowledges how widespread the ideas are, which still making it clear that they are to be questioned, as Mr. Bennet did. Mr. Bennet, soon after acting as a critique on expectations, becomes a foil for the power held by his wife. When the idea of visiting wealthy, single men is broached, Mr. Bennet declares that the ladies “will not visit them” . The women in the Bennet family, and society as a whole are literally powerless to make their own choices or attempt to make their own matches since this must be done by their husband or father.
Bennet fails to fulfill the duties assigned to a husband and father that are necessary to create a self-sufficient society. Unlike Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet, as a man, more than likely had access to education and has more of an ability to provide for his children in the way Wollstonecraft outlines. However, he fails to do so, and allows his children to depend on marriage for provision rather than teaching them self-sufficiency. Wollstonecraft equates fatherhood to God’s role in humanities life saying “He—the common father, wounds but to heal,” (Wollstonecraft, 270). However, Mr. Bennet fails to heal after he has wounded. Instead he acts selfishly for his own amusement. Mr. Bennet encourages Mr. Collins eccentricities saying “his cousin was just as absurd as he had hoped,” instead of attempting to resolve the issue of the entail that forces his children to rely on marriage as their savior (Austen, 66). Mr. Bennet also encourages Elizabeth’s love for Mr. Wickham, not for her own benefit, but so she would be “crossed in love,” as her sister, which Mr. Bennet would find amusing (Austen, 123). In combination to failing his children, Mr. Bennet fails to fulfill the duties Wollstonecraft assigns to the role of husband. Instead of choosing a wife for her cleverness as Wollstonecraft suggests, he was “captivated by youth and beauty,” of the young Mrs. Bennet (Austen, 203). He consequently marries her, without considering the long term effects of her personality. After
Elizabeth Bennet is the central character as we spend a lot of time with her intimately; when she is alone, thinking, reading, reflecting. Though she is immediately drawn to Darcy she will not admit the attraction until later when she sees him at Pemberley. We empathise with her lack of power, uncertain futures and her struggle to forge an individual identity, distinct from her ‘embarrasing’ family.
From the beginning, the reader can see how Mathilde Loisel truly feels about the world. At first, she claims to have simple tastes, since she could not afford any other. These tastes quickly change, however. She then appears to be very unhappy and is plagued with vanity. She believes he belongings cannot compare to her beauty. So, naturally, the woman craves to have more. She wants objects to love. When her husband presents her with an invitation to a fancy party, she begins to
To analyze this chapter a little deeper we can start with the very beginning and see that even the first line of the story tells us so much about what the rest of the plot will have to deal with. The first line explains that a man who already has “good fortune” is only missing a wife in his life. This also explains why the rest of the chapter deals heavily on the Bennet family wanting their daughter to be the missing piece in Mr. Bennet’s life. To add to this, the Bennet family has values like that of many individuals during the 1800’s. It is because of these values that gives us reason to believe the Bennet’s would feel a sense of fulfillment of their parental duties by having their daughters marry a wealthy man. This sense of fulfillment come from the financial status of the families. Mr. Bingley is a wealthy man whereas the Bennet’s are not as wealthy, and this means that having their daughter marry someone wealthy would be a big accomplishment for the
During the late 1700’s to early 1800’s love is almost nonexistent. Love is simply a bonus, not a necessity. A woman’s husband determines her social standing during this time period because women are restricted from legally owning property. For this reason Mr. Bennet must leave his estate to his nephew Mr. Collins, rather than to one of his daughters. Mrs. Bennet desires that one of her daughters marry Mr. Bingley because throughout this time British culture centers on the accumulation of wealth within the family. In Chapter 1, Mrs. Bennet says, "Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls,” (1). Not concerned with Mr. Bingley’s personality or mannerisms, Mrs. Bennet considers only that one of her daughters might marry into his immense wealth. The first line of the novel states, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,” (...
Collins is also a very insecure man, and this is shown when he talked to Mrs. Bennet about marrying Jane, and when finding out she was already engaged, he immediately shifted his attention to Elizabeth and gave her no warning in his affections for her. This demonstrates how he is not looking for a woman to love, but just a woman who will be with him and keep his house in order, bear his children and project a good marriage. This relates back to the quote where men of good fortune must also want a wife (Austen 3) because he has the good fortune and knows that what he has to offer is going to be pleasing and attractive to many young women. Even though he is not the best character, he still is presented as a formidable partner who can offer social status and
Bennet had some flaws too, but he learned from his mistakes. He was sarcastic and teased his wife, but never once laid a hand on her for any reason. Mr. Bennet didn’t love his wife either though and his daughter Elizabeth saw it. She said that, “her ignorance and folly had contributed to his amusement” (Austen 159). He liked to tease and make fun of Mrs. Bennet and their daughters. One example is when an eligible young man moved in near the Bennets. His wife and daughters had been pleading him to invite the neighbor over for dinner so he could possibly become interested in one of the daughters. Mr. Bennet refused to extend the invitation but later went behind their backs to invite him over and didn’t tell his family until just hours before he arrived. He found great amusement in this and explained how, “The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest” (Austen 4). This is just one example of his emotional cruelty. Although Mr. Bennet may be emotionally abusive at times, he does attempt to talk and consult with his wife, unlike Torvald with his wife Nora. The Bennets don’t always agree but they do take the first step and hear each other’s opinions. On one occasion, their daughter Elizabeth had just been asked by Mr. Collins to marry him. Elizabeth didn’t want to marry him and tried to tell him no, but Mrs. Bennet strongly felt that she should. Mrs. Bennet went to go get her husband and said, “Mr. Bennet, you are
Mr Collins, a cousin who will inherit the Bennet estate as Mr Bennet's nearest male relative, arrives for a visit. He is also "in want of a wife", and intends to marry one of his cousins, thus atoning for his position as entailed heir and healing the breach in the family. A pompous buffoon of a clergyman, he has been ordered by his imperious patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh (who is also Darcy's aunt), to find himself a suitable wife. Finding that Jane appears destined for Bingley he switches his sights to Elizabeth, who refuses him absolutely despite the threats and entreaties of her mother. Eventually, to Elizabeth's surprise, he is accepted by her friend Charlotte Lucas, who neither loves nor respects him, but wishes to escape the fate of becoming an old maid. Elizabeth does not regret the loss of her suitor, but is disppointed in Charlotte and unsure how happy she will be as Mrs. Collins.
Our views of love and marriage are contrasting yet my regard for her is still equal. I am content in this new life. I have a comfortable home and my happiness is adequate. Mr Collins is often absent for days on end and does not force his presence upon me. It is clear this is everything that Lizzy would deny. My years of early adulthood were depleting before my eyes and my unmarried social status was heading me towards spinsterhood. It was this that was beginning to burden my family name and becoming a nuisance to my family’s reputation. Although Mr Collins was not the most handsome of men, I had little to no choice of marrying such an amiable and respectable man and I deem that these reasons should validate my actions for
Mr. Bennet's character reveals itself in his conversations with his wife and his daughters. When we first meet Mr. Bennet, the women in his life are encouraging him to introduce himself to the wealthy new habitant of Netherfield. Mr. Bennet's wife believes that Mr. Bingley, the new owner of Netherfield, would make a good husband for one of her five daughters however Mr. Bennet, does not see the importance of his visiting Mr. Bingley and this upsets Mrs. Bennet,. " Mr. Bennet,, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my nerves' " (7). This quote is from Mrs. Bennet, addressing Mr. Bennet, and is quite typical of her dramatization of her life, Mr. Bennet, responds to accusations in a way that causes Mrs. Bennet, ever more suffering. " You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least' " (7). Mr. Bennet, is a character of few words, though when he resides with six women who enjoy conversing it is most presumably an ordeal for one to speak his thoughts or opinions unless they are requested. Mr. Bennet's response to his wife's claim of infliction of vexing is an early example of the character's dry wit which accompanies him in every situation. Later on in the novel his beloved daughter, Elizabeth, is proposed to by a rather slimy character, Mr. Collins, a cousin of the family and when Elizabeth rejects his proposal Mrs. Bennet, runs to Mr. Bennet, for support in making Elizabeth wed Mr.
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.