IV. Societal Dredges and their Treatment Westgate buildings, which housed the apartments of Anne's friend and old governess Mrs. Smith, is shabby, dirty, and ill-kempt; much like Mrs. Smith herself. This is best described when Anne's father discovers were she had been visiting and exclaims “Westgate buildings!” said he “ and who is Miss Anne Elliot to be visiting in Westgate Buildings?...she is old and sickly. Upon my word, Miss Anne Elliot, you have extraordinary taste! Every thing that revolts other people, -low company, paltry rooms, foul air, disgusting associations, are inviting to you”(PGIDK). Here, Austen reinforces the assumption that a persons abode reflects their position is society; Presumptions are made about Mrs. Smith character …show more content…
She realise's's that true value is in character; not station or wealth. It is in Lyme were she gains a greater appreciation for nature and all natural things, not the manufactured beauty that is so used to, growing up in Kellynch. Austen's enacts a natural imagery with her words, “dark cliffs...[the]happiest spot for watching the flow of the tide”(117), “green chasms between romantic rocks, where the scattered forests and orchards of luxumant growth”(117), and “very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town”(116).With this, she creates a natural world, uninfluenced by society, and the parts that are, like the Cobb have “its old wonders and new improvements”, invoking an image to the reader of a return to the natural, a society were a person value is based on character. It also demonstrates that the old and new can coexist; a belief that has gone into shaping Britain during that time, a parliamentary democracy, with its kings, yet a government for the people, by the people. Everything was changing, the Great House, Lyme, and if Kellynch did not improve, it would be left behind, the old nobility will change to change or it will be …show more content…
This is especially evident in the description used to depict Mrs Wilson Apartments. Fitzgerald describes her apartment as “ one slice in a long white cake of apartment houses” (28) enacting a metaphor for Tom's relationship with Mrs Wilson; she is only a small tasting for Tom, not a permanent addition. Carraway mentions the apartment had “a small living room, a small dining room, a small bedroom, and a bath” (29) the bare necessitates of living and that “The living room was crowed to the doors with a set a tapes-tried furniture entirely too large for it, so that to move about was to stumble” (29). The cramped nature of Mrs Wilson space symbolizes a decidedly important aspect of her person; a want for more than she could possibly have. Her child-like hope that Tom would actually divorce his wife, Daisy for her, and her belief that at this occurrence she would ascend into the higher levels of society is not only naive, but somewhat deluded. In this, she is a social climber, similar to Gatsby, she has distasteful European decor, for instance the painting of “ ladies swinging in the gardens of Versailles”, however, the difference between the two is that Gatsby has enough money to be distasteful in a larger area while Myrtle is confined. Mrytle's shabbiness is a permanent one, it is one of not only lifestyle but of
Connected to the somber image of the town, The house is described with harsh diction such as “streaked with rust”, depicting the years of neglect. Affected by abuse, Petry describes the house as stained with “blood” in the form of rust. Despite the harsh outer layer, Lutie is drawn to it as her figurative and literal “sign”of refuge. A town that had been nothing but cold to her is finally seen as warm from the words on the sign; describing the house as “Reasonable” and open to “respectable tenants”.
...aughter, her gestures, her assertions became more violently affected moment by moment and as she expanded the room grew smaller around her until she seemed to be revolving on a noisy, creaking pivot through the smoky air” (Fitzgerald 35). Myrtle represents the “need” of women to be known for having money and wealth so that she is much more popular. Myrtle wears the dress to disguise her current status and act as if she is a part of the rich, but in reality she is poor and naive, but the transformation of the dress changes her to rich and conceited.
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.
“The apartment……. Meanwhile Tom brought out a bottle of Whiskey from a locked Bureau door” (Fitzgerald ch. 2). Tom owns the apartment, but as is described, really he does not care about it. This is evident by how none of the furniture really fits, the only possessions in it are that of Myrtle’s, and the first thing Tom does in it is get a bottle of whiskey. All of this indirectly shows how Tom really does not care about any of that, but is just in it for his affair with Myrtle. Furthermore the purchases within the apartment describe the characters attitude towards their relationship. Tom bought the apartment for Myrtle however Myrtle bought everything inside for her to enjoy such as the reading material and puppy. Wanting all of these possessions in the apartment makes Myrtle look much more caring compared to Tom. She thinks of the apartment really as her second home as is evident by how she wants to outfit it with things to make it more hospitable. Very differently however Tom is just paying for what Myrtle wants to make sure she continues to spend time with
In the term of realism, Emma’s society value view represented the problematic old society. Austen was very suspicious to sustain the significance of social class construction in “Emma.” The exi...
Myrtle, Gatsby, and Daisy were all affected by this. Myrtle is a married woman, but is not satisfied with her life as Wilson’s wife. Wilson does not provide to her standards which is to have the luxurious life Myrtle desires. Myrtle’s materialism is well known, and nothing will stop her from having it all. Myrtle has high hopes to gain a wealthy and famous life. She knows all the city’s gossip and will do almost anything to learn what’s new. The aspiration to have a luxurious life is what causes Myrtle to have an affair with Tom. The movie foreshadows the affair when Myrtle calls Tom during dinner with his family. As this affair continued, everyone in the city (including Daisy) knew about it, yet no one said a word Daisy simply described herself as a fool. Though Myrtle got her way, it was ironic how Daisy was the person who accidently killed Myrtle due to their history and her affair with
... But in fact her powers and beauty cannot change the foundation of her society. Emma’s circumscription within the boundaries of her class kept her world under control. This prevents her from considering another society beyond her existence. The confusion from her failed attempts with Harriet due to her guidance, allows her to embrace reality. Jane Austen uses Emma’s character to reveal the quality in the structures of the nineteenth century society. Based on the conclusion of the novel, when Emma is forced to look beyond the limited power and beauty she has and acknowledge the existing order and structure of the early nineteenth century English society.
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.
...f society and the desire to marry into a higher class, she is able to expose her own feelings toward her society through her characters. Through Marianne and Elinor she displays a sense of knowing the rules of society, what is respectable and what is not, yet not always accepting them or abiding by them. Yet, she hints at the triviality and fakeness of the society in which she lived subtly and clearly through Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars. Austen expertly reveals many layers to the 19th century English society and the importance of having both sense and sensibility in such a shallow system.
Austen was raised in an unusually liberal family where her father was a part of the middle-landowning class. They had a moderate amount of luxuries, but were not considered well off. Unlike many girls of her time Austen received a fairly comprehensive education. She received this mainly through the undivided support of her family. Austen and her sisters, like most girls of their time, were homeschooled. Austen’s zealous parents encouraged the girls to play piano, read and write. Her parent’s encouragement led to her interest in writing. Austen’s father housed an extensive library filled with books which kept Austen occupied for years (“Sense and Sensibility” 119). Through her observant nature and passion to read and write, Austen was able to eloquently write of the many “hidden truths” of social and class distinction during her time. They included daily societal changes some of which foreshadowed future societal leniency. Familial support also extended societal norm of marriage. Her parents attempt...
Over the centuries, women’s duties and roles in the home and in the workforce have arguably changed for the better. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen teaches the reader about reputation and love in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries by showing how Elizabeth shows up in a muddy dress, declines a marriage proposal and how women have changed over time. Anything a woman does reflects on her future and how other people look at her. When Elizabeth shows up to the Bingley’s in a muddy dress, they categorize her as being low class and unfashionable. Charles Bingley, a rich attractive man, and his sister had a reputation to protect by not letting their brother marry a ‘low class girl’.
Within the novel, Jane Austen’s exploits of irony are shown linked throughout Emma’s notions of love and the real within her own society. Emma’s lack of education on the concepts of love is quite evident within her apathy towards Frank Churchill as her opinions are deeply rooted within her own affections, as she states, “Emma continued to entertain no doubt of her being in love. Her ideas only varied as to the how much. At first, she thought it was a good deal; and afterwards, but little. She had great pleasure in hearing Frank Churchill talked of; and for his sake, greater pleasure than ever in seeing Mr. and Mrs. Weston; she was very often thinking of him. But, on the other hand, she could not admit herself to be unhappy, nor, after the first morning, to be less disposed for employment than usual; she was still busy and cheerful; and, pleasing as he was, she could yet imagine him to have faults,” (Austen 264). Emma’s sketch of Harriet is another illustration of irony surrounded by Emma’s arrogance as it does not portray an accurate depiction of Harriet as Emma has altered ...
The first element of the parties that should be examined is the décor of Myrtle Wilson's apartment compared to that of Gatsby's house. In the first line describing the apartment, the narrator, Nick Carraway, informs the reader of the lack of comfort in the apartment and the ensuing awkwardness of the setting: "The apartment was on the top floor - a small living room, a small dining room, a small bedroom and a bath" (33). Nick's description makes it amazingly clear to the reader how unhappy and unpleasant the situation was, not only for himself, but for Tom and Myrtle, as well as the other guests in attendance, Catherine, Myrtle's sister, and the McKees, neighbors who live in the same building. One can imagine the walls virtually closing in because of the overcrowding furniture, the overpowering size and strength of Tom and his ego, and the oversized picture of Myrtle's ...
During the 19th Century, first impressions were very important. The reader is presented with Meryton, a highly structured class society which judges people on superficial qualities, such as physical appearance, social status, clothes, possessions, behaviour, dialogue. The message Austen positions the reader to understand, is that a society which makes its judgements based on first impressions is immoral and unjust. (-She uses ‘humour’ to help convey this in a less-serious tone.)
Monaghan, David. Jane Austen Structure and Social Vision. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1980.