Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, initially, seems to be a shallow, boring novel recounting the lives of people during the Regency Era in Great Britain through fictitious characters. On the surface, the book looks to be a dull narration of the middle class and their struggles to achieve higher status in society. However, there is a deeper meaning: those thoughtless narration holds important criticisms and opinions by Austen through the actions and speeches of the characters on critical subjects that defined the Regency Era during her lifetime. The critical themes that Austen focuses heavily on are the institution of marriages, how marriages were based largely upon wealth and status instead of love; Austen criticizes the rich on their treatment …show more content…
From this quote, we see a glimpse of Austen’s world: wealth, not love, is the primary factor that people look for in marriages. Austen reinforces her claim by establishing the statement as “universally acknowledged” and provide examples through the characters in the novel. A prominent example that is introduced straight away is the conversation between Mr and Mrs. Bennet in Chapter 1. Mrs. Bennet tells her husband about about a gentleman named Mr. Bingley who has moved into Netherfield Park. When Mr. Bennet enquires in further details, his wife emphasizes that the person is a single man with a fortune of four or five thousand a year. She continues to states “what a fine thing for our girls!” (Austen 2). Austen reveals the flawed thinking that many people have concerning marriages during the Regency Era. Mrs. Bennet represents the systemic problem: she does not care who her daughters marry just as long as they are rich. The author criticizes the institution of marriages as a sham used by people to gain monetary and social …show more content…
The Regency Era had many social expectations that men and women were expected to follow: Austen portray these expectations through the interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth. Initially, both characters despised each other: Darcy is prideful and reluctant to marry Elizabeth due to her status and Elizabeth holds prejudice against the upper class. However, both fall in love as they realize how compatible they are. When Lady Catherine hears of this, she immediately tries to end it by pressuring Elizabeth to give up on Darcy, stating that “From their infancy, they have been intended for each other” (Austen 320). Lady Catherine is the epitome of the social chains that restrict people. She is a hardliner who wants to maintain the status quo, preventing anyone from straying away from social norms. Austin depicts this in order to show us how people conform to societal
A statement that remains true to this very day. Austen's first statement sets up the beginning of the novel. She states that a man, financially well off, but with no mate to accompany him. to share in his wealth, is undoubtedly in search of a wife. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy play the role of the rich men.
In Austen’s time, the inability to see past wealth when considering marriage is a cultural tie to the era and its norms. It’s a pitiable and vain cultural upbringing that is frowned upon in this century. One does not simply marry for the sake of wealth and reputation. Without love, marriage cannot last. It ends in a deadlock, or with two people living together but leading separate lives behind closed doors.
The Bennet daughters in the novel are at risk of becoming impoverished should their father die, for Mr. Bennet’s distant cousin, Mr. Collins, has been appointed to inherit the estate since the Bennets do not have a son (Austen 19). Because of this, Mrs. Bennet frantically encourages them to seek boyfriends or to marry, and she attempts to expose her daughters to young, wealthy gentlemen by having them visit the Bingleys and their friends, attend balls, and speak with other gentlemen around the neighborhood (Austen 1-2). Seeing her daughters well married is so important to her that she states the following: “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield...and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for” (Austen 6-7). However, Elizabeth, the second-oldest but the wisest Bennet daughter, does not wish to marry merely for money; she considers herself too smart and too wise to marry some fool simply because he is rich, and she even outright refuses to marry Mr. Collins, the heir of the Bennet estate, even though the marriage would have been advantageous for the entire family (Austen 72). Elizabeth’s constant refusal of advantageous, but potentially unpleasant, marriages worries her mother and at certain points in the
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is well noted for its ability to question social norms. Most importantly, Austen explores the institution of marriage, as it was in her time, a time where many married for security rather than love. Her characters Elizabeth and Charlotte are renowned even more for their outspoken nature and different views on marriage. Though both Elizabeth and Charlotte yearn for a happy marriage, Charlotte has a more pragmatic and mundane approach while Elizabeth is more romantic and daring with her actions. Through the romantic involvements of both Elizabeth and Charlotte, Austen shows that happiness in marriage is not entirely a matter of chance, but is instead contingent on an accurate evaluation of self and others
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of many works of literature that dealt with social issues during the Georgian Era. Pride and Prejudice is a classic that contains an intriguing love factor, yet also brings forth attention to sexist discrimination. During the Georgian Era, the oppression designed for women is normalized and Austen demonstrates its effects through the varying personalities of women from contrasting classes. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen focuses on sexism in her novel through satire, revealing the lack of independence and opportunities for women; she demonstrates societal expectations for women to be demure and contrasting it with her ideologies using the lower-class, independent Elizabeth and the wealthy Mr. Darcy.
England, under James 1st rule was a vastly altered period compared to our now modern society. So many of the values held during this time, have now been discarded and forgotten. Jane Austen grew up in the Romantic period and experienced a world which was divided, whether through education, class, status, fashion, abilities, gender and etiquette. Her novel, Pride and Prejudice is counted as one of the great classics of English Literature. Austen engrosses readers to live in her world for a time and experience a society filled with matchmaking, romance, marriage and gossip. Every one of her characters is so distinctive and has a clearly outlined caricature. Each of their diverse values conveys a different thinking of the time. Pride and Prejudice is preoccupied with the gentry and most of the social aspects which consumed these people’s lives. There were so many expectations of how you would behave in public, but of course not all of these were upheld. Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Mrs Bennet and Charlotte Lucas are four characters which keep such strong beliefs about the social norms. These characters are expressed so descriptively and through their personalities readers can learn just how the numerous social standards were received.
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice portrays varying attitudes to marriage. "The intricate social network that pervades the novel is one that revolves around the business of marriage". Through her female characters the reader sees the different attitudes to marriage and the reasons that these women have for marrying. These depend on their social status and their personal values. The reader is shown the most prevalent and common view of marriage held by society in Austen's time, and through the heroine, a differing opinion of marriage is explored. We are shown how marriage is viewed by the very wealthy and the values they emphasise in marriage. Through the characterisation of these women and use of irony, Austen has influenced the reader's opinions on the characters attitude about marriage and that of their contemporaries.
The balance of power is a highly problematic social issue within the early 19th century Britain. Affecting the entirety of its population by categorizing people in terms of their money, status, achievements, race, and specifically gender, Jane Austen within Pride and Prejudice is able to display such normality’s through complex characters, settings, and the language used; and all without ignoring or diminishing the inglorious and raw oppression which societal division causes. A love story by nature, the conflicts existing within the structure of the British Regency Era shapes this work into an exciting, intriguing, and breathtaking adventure. The effects of a social hierarchy upon the reputation of women is one issue which is showcased exceptionally
... middle of paper ... ... Jane Austen’s famous novel Pride and Prejudice promotes change in the way the English society during the 19th century viewed marriage. Through the use of conservative characters that were socially accepted in England during this time, Austen provides the reader with necessary details that show how insane these people were.
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.
Pride and Prejudice is the most enduringly popular novel written by Jane Austen. It talks about trivial matters of love, marriage and family life between country squires and fair ladies in Britain in the 18th century. The plot is very simple. That is how the young ladies choose their husbands. Someone said that "Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the novel, flatly rejected William Collins' proposal, who is the heir of her father's property and manor, and refused the first proposal from the extremely wealthy nobleman Fitzwilliam Darcy later,"(1) all this makes it clear that Elizabeth "seeks no fame nor fortune, but self-improvement and high mental outlook."(1) It's right. From the view point of Austen, Elizabeth's marriage, who finally marries Darcy, as well as Jane-Bingley's, composing money and love, is the ideal marriage people should after. But in other marriage cases in this novel, we can see that if money and love can't be held together in one marriage, love would always make a concession to money because of the special social background. After reading through the whole book, we will find that money acts as the cause of each plot and the clue of its development. It affects everybody's words and deeds, even Elizabeth Bennet. Tony Tanner once said, "Jane Austen, as well as other authors, is very clear that no feeling could be extremely pure and no motive could be definitely single. But as long as it is possible, we should make it clear that which feeling or motive plays the leading role." (2)
Her viewpoints and reasons for marriage are similar with other women in the fact that marriage is the only way a woman can escape a danger of becoming a burden on her family or destitution, in which that is her only way in advancing in society and life. Austen stresses the value society places on making a good marriage in the novel in which a good marriage is a prerequisite for a wealthy life in which that is the main reason for happiness. For example, Austen satirizes the public’s opinions about Mr. Darcy at the Meryton ball stating, “ … but his [Bingley] friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report which was in a general circulation within five minutes after his entrance of his having ten thousand a year. … the ladies declared that he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley” (Ch. 3, Pg. 8). The reason that Mr. Darcy was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley was because of his wealth and income. Mr. Bingley and his family is new money where they made their fortune through their occupations, however, Mr. Darcy is part of the aristocracy and is made of old money, making himself more prestigious, powerful, wealthy, and more attractive than Bingley. Austen satirizes how society is through their opinion and perception on someone showing how society is so
Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a female centric novel. The contrast between Austen’s strong female protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, and the theme of marriage as a driving force throughout the novel suggests that, for an author whose own life was independent from a man, Austen was providing social commentary on women in society and could thus be seen to challenge traditional female roles. This is particularly important when taken into account the time period the novel was produced in. Austen was writing during a time where feminism was not a developed idea. As a female writer she was viewed as highly unusual for not marrying and having a career, something which ran contrary to the middle-upper class view for women as the domesticated, subservient housewife.
... Darcy and Elizabeth. Additionally, Austen sculpts the theme of social expectations and mores using the self-promoting ideology and behaviors of Lady Catherine as fodder for comic relief. Austen does not simply leave the image of the gilded aristocracy upon a pedestal; she effectively uses the unconventional character of Elizabeth to defy aristocratic authority and tradition. In fact, Austen's proposed counter view of the aristocracy by satirizing their social rank. Lady Catherine is effectively used as a satirical representation of the aristocracy through her paradoxical breach of true social decorum and her overblown immodesty. Evidently, Lady Catherine is nothing short of the critical bond that holds the structure of Pride and Prejudice together.
Literary Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The novel Pride and Prejudice, is a romantic comedy, by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is a story about an unlikely pair who go through many obstacles before finally coming together. Pride is the opinion of oneself, and prejudice is how one person feels others perceive them. The novel, Pride and Prejudice, uses plot, the characters of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and the status of women and social standing, to portray the theme of the novel - pride and prejudice.