Elizabeth as a Woman of Independent Mind in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
In Jane Austen's novel 'Pride and Prejudice', Elizabeth Bennet is
shown to be an opinionated, "headstrong" young woman. Her
unconventional independence challenges the 19th century stereotype of
high society women, who tended to conform to the expectations of
society. Though her prejudiced judgement of others fails her
sometimes, Elizabeth has "a lively, playful disposition, that"
delights "in anything ridiculous".
Although different in character to most women of her society,
Elizabeth still manages to express much propriety in the presence of
company. During the dance she shares with Fitzwilliam Darcy, her
temper is put to the test. His earlier declaration that Elizabeth was
"not handsome enough to tempt" him manages to offend her, though she
is "not formed for ill humour", therefore laughs it off as if she were
telling a tale. Elizabeth displays the same decorum in the presence of
the Bingley sister's. Though she dislikes them, she does not show this
in their presence. During her visit to Rosings, Elizabeth meets with
Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Upon being asked, "what is your age" by Lady
Catherine, Elizabeth replies politely that with "three younger sisters
grown up" she is hardly entitled "to own" it. Elizabeth's indirect
answer is evidence of her taking offence, but also of her ability to
conceal it with much propriety. Elizabeth's refusal to marry Mr.
Collins because her "feelings forbid it", much to the dislike of her
mother, depicts her independence and inability to be intimidated. Mr
Bennet's regard to Elizabeth holding "something more of quicknes...
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with Darcy at Hunsford changes her perception of both men
instantaneously. She feels "absolutely ashamed" of her behaviour
towards Darcy, and concludes that she has been "blind, partial,
prejudiced, absurd" for not realizing Darcy to be the "one with all
the goodness", and Wickham "the other with all the appearance of it".
After reflecting over her prejudice, Elizabeth shows herself to be
more humble than proud by accepting she must personally apologise to
Darcy.
To conclude, Elizabeth is the independent minded heroine of Pride and
Prejudice. Her morals and good sense distinguish her from other women
in society. Able to redefine and challenge gentility, Elizabeth is
Austen's image of a female protagonist who challenges the
conventionality of her day, and stills inspires the admiration of all
readers.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are the two main characters in Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy is presented as pride and Elizabeth prejudice but, that's not entirely true. Darcy is prejudice to the people lower than him which builds up his pride. Elizabeth is proud of who she is and also takes pride in her family even though they are considered poor. She's very prejudice against Darcy and judges him before she even knows him.
The Regency Period in England was an extravagant era often associated with prominent social, political, economic, and artistic advancements. It took place in the early 1800’s and was a time of much elegance and aristocracy. Movies and books set in this time period all seem to highlight the elegance and romance that was prevalent at the time. Famous Regency Era literary works, such as Pride and Prejudice, portray young English women getting their happily-ever-after endings with their true loves. Unfortunately, such endings did not actually happen to real women of the era because they lived very austere and vapid lives. They hardly had a choice in many of their lives’ decisions and had little to no career options. These women were raised from birth to be lady-like, obedient, and agreeable in order to attract respectable men to marry, as they were fully dependant on men. Women were essentially treated as property passed on from their fathers to their husbands. They had many restrictions placed on them and often weren’t even allowed to walk outside without proper accompaniment. Because the expectations placed on women were so rigid and absurd, some feminist authors from the time ridiculed these social standards in their writing. Famous novelist Jane Austen was known for satirizing many social customs of the Regency Period in her romantic fiction novels, placing a special emphasis on women’s rights. Pride and Prejudice in particular depicted protagonist Elizabeth Bennet as a smart, headstrong, free thinking individual who didn’t let negative outside forces sway her beliefs. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen challenges the social propriety and creates her own ideals for women through Elizabeth Bennet’s independence, intelligence, and stron...
The relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy, in Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” explores marriage and love. It shows how their class expectations and marriage play a major role in deciding how their relationship will end. When they meet each other at the first ball, Darcy says “She [Elizabeth] is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You [Bingley] had better...
Elizabeth from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is bright, direct, and unapologetic. Throughout the novel she proves to have her aspirations and goals clear and will not settle for any less. She refuses proposals from men in high places who would more than likely rise her hierarchal status, simply because the men would not make her happy. Austen makes it very clear that Elizabeth sets herself apart. When Darcy and Bingley are discussing what makes a woman accomplished, Elizabeth is quick to refute this claim because she, “never saw such capacity, and taste, and application, and elegance.”(Austen) Lizzy is typical in that she is a self-acclaimed woman who is “not like other women” but like all humans, she is susceptible to the effects
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.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is set in England during the 19th century. The story unveils the trials of marriage, love, and arrogance. In the end, the hardships the main families face will come around and resolve. One of the main characters that this novel is focused on is Elizabeth Bennet. She is the second oldest in the Bennet household. She has four other sisters, all who are unmarried much to the dismay of their parents. In this novel you will find use of figurative language, point-of-view, and characterization through the character Elizabeth Bennet.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice illuminates a social courtship between the proud Mister Fitzwilliam Darcy and the shrewd, unconventional Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth is proud of her own identity. She astutely justifies herself as “a gentleman’s daughter” (Austen 337) in her confrontation with the prejudiced and class-conscious Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mister Fitzwilliam Darcy, who shares Elizabeth’s sharp tongue, comes from a family of high social status; his privileged upbringing instilled in him “pride and conceit” (Austen 349) that blinds him from acknowledging the similarity and equality between him and Elizabeth. Upon first proposing to Elizabeth, he does not realize that he is not raising her social status by marrying her. They are of equal authority in marriage; their similar personalities makes them all the more equal and complementary to each other. Thus, their marriage, following a second, sincerely worded proposal, signifies Darcy’s recognition of Elizabeth’s worth, and through his recognition, Austen argues for the fundamental equality between husband and wife.
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.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy both go through dramatic changes in their attitude towards each other. Darcy is devoted to Elizabeth, but denies it because of her family and her lower status. Elizabeth believes Darcy to be arrogant and interfering. Through conversations these characters have, their true regard for each other is discovered. Austen effectively uses dialogue to develop the change in the principal characters’ moral temperament, and also to advance significant concerns in the novel such as marriage and wealth-based status.
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.
Main female characters always have a distinct personality that affects their choices and the outcome of their lives. Strong, independent, sarcastic, and witty are all what comes to mind when having to describe Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, the second of five daughters in a middle class family. She is a very intellectual individual who attempts to find romance although surrounded by the limitations and prejudice of social classes. Being raised in a narcissistic society that looks down upon her and family's status, she grew up to have a natural defensive remark to any insults. Her natural defensiveness led to her prejudice towards a very wealthy Mr. Darcy who shared the same impression of Elizabeth. After a realization of his true noble personality, Elizabeth then found true love with Mr. Darcy which cannot be said for the beautiful Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights, who is a daughter from a gentry family. At a very young age, an orphan named Heathcliff joined the Earnshaw family. Both Catherine and Healthcliff fell madly in love with one another since then. One would expect them to marry due to their strong attraction for one another but because Catherine has a immature desire for social advancement, she married Edgar Linton, instead of Heathcliff. Catherine is a very spoiled socialite which very well contradicts the honest and virtuous Elizabeth Bennet, but although they make different decisions and are different as a person, both these free-spirited women want to choose their own future that satisfies their desires.
Pride and Prejudice Essay 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. At the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth Bennett’s first meeting with Mr. Darcy was marred by Mr. Darcy’s pride to which, “Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.” At the end of the novel, after Elizabeth learns the truth and unravels her prejudice against Darcy, she begins to realize that she does have feelings for him.
In Pride and Prejudice, the main female character Elizabeth is shown to have extreme pride towards the main male character Darcy. This is because in their first meeting Elizabeth's pride is wounded by Darcy as he says She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me, and I am in no humour to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.' This thoughtless and proud comment causes Elizabeth to take an instant dislike to Darcy. It also clouds her judgement of Darcy's true nature.
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
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. At this ball, Elizabeth is briefly introduced to a man named Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is a rich and prideful man who is misunderstood by main characters throughout most of the novel. Upon becoming acquainted, Elizabeth uses first impressions and opinions taken from others to form her own opinion of Mr. Darcy as a prideful, pretentious snob with whom she wants nothing to do with. Elizabeth cites his arrogance as Mr. Darcy's major flaw after others influence her opinions. One of Elizabeth's closest friends says of Darcy, "I beg you would not put it into Lizzy's head to be vexed by such ill treatment; for he is such a disagreeable man that it would be quite a misfortune to be liked by him" (pg 18). This statement shows that Elizabeth was influenced by others to make negative opinions of Darcy, without taking the time to get to know him herself. One of t...