War of the Classes

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Recommended: Personal character of characters in Pride and Prejudice

It is obvious that Jane Austen illustrates different characters according to their class by the way they interact with other characters. Pride and Prejudice illustrates the wealth of certain classes and the battle for power of others. The conversations characters take part in emphasizes their motifs and their true nature. The characters within the gentry class take part in more constructive conversations since they are satisfied with their class allocation, whereas characters amongst the professional class tend to act pretentious since they are not fully satisfied with their class allocation. The way the characters talk and the issues they talk about indicates how beneficial advancement of their status in society is to them. The characters like Miss. Bingley and Mr. Collins who are in the professional class would like to move up to the gentry class . This is evident through the dialogues they engage themselves in or the actions they commit. To both these characters connections and advancement of status is vital. Miss. Bingley is a proud woman who thinks much of herself and criticizes others with harshness. For instance when Elizabeth visits Jane at Netherfield while she is ill, Miss Bingley criticizes Elizabeth as having "no conversation, no style, no taste, no beauty." (7.34) Potentially seeing no reason further their friendship, this shows that Miss. Bingley is not a well educated person nor is she a good judge of character. When she declares this statement Mr. Darcy is in the room and at that point she senses an attraction between them but being a selfish person as she is unable to consider the positive aspects of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was in such a distraught state due to the fact that she walked three miles just to see her ... ... middle of paper ... ...hich she finds in Mr. Darcy. As seen in this novel, characters in the gentry class are illustrated as noble and well-bred people through their interactions with other characters and whom in this case are happy will their stance in society. Achieving power, gaining respect from others and feeling proud of oneself are all elements as to why characters in the professional class want to advance their position in society. Though not all the characters emphasized their interest in their own property and desire for wealth, in that day and age the poor did not live a decent life and non of the characters wanted to descend in the class system. Conversations between characters further illustrated the importance of class and how in society many of the male characters were associated with the property they owned or the fortune the characters gained from their family. CONCLUSION

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