Book Analysis: 'Pride and Prejudice'

“The power of doing anything with quickness is always prized much by the possessor, and often without any attention to the imperfection of the performance.” (1) Said Mr Darcy. This is one of the world's most popular novels, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has charmed readers since its publication of the story of the amusing Elizabeth Bennet and her relationship with the aristocrat Fitzwilliam Darcy. During this essay it will explore the construction of characters, in particular it will be Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy also exploring the social situation in which the characters operate and exploring the cultural context (Victorian England).

The position of the writer Jane Austen, I find she is trying to say that power is an effect of social structure and not an absolute force imposed on it, nobody is completely powerful or powerless also that power is an effect of unequal relations between people that society recognises as people belonging to certain groups e.g. gender, sexuality, age or profession. Power is related to class and class is related to reputation. The lines of class are strictly drawn. While the Bennett’s, who are upper middle class, they may socialize with the upper-class people like Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. The main discourse of power represented in this book is Wealth, Class, Family, Marriage and Gender. These are all significant in this book because Pride and the prejudice was written in the 18 - 19th century, (the classic English society), “where in the rural England it was dominated economically and socially by the landowners whose vast estates were the core of rural life”(2), other being men. When females where only meant to maintain there own social and finical reputation by getting married ...

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...but the most major would have to be power. This essay explored the construction of characters in the novel most in particular Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy it demonstrated who is powered and disempowered on many different levels of this novel. Although this book is inviting to all readers even if the writing techniques are much different then the language these days it is the reader. In the end the novel it is completely evident that there is power and disempowerment through out the whole book, even if you do not notice it. Althrough the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Austen shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices (power). “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” (1) Said Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth.