Bingley In Pride And Prejudice By Jane Austen

However, Elizabeth’s active nature and her refusal to be passive, “You give your opinion very decidedly for a woman of your age” (Austen 159), overshadow the traditional qualities she possesses. Her personality makes her very disagreeable to Lady Catherine and Mr. Bingley's sisters. When Jane falls ill, Elizabeth walks miles through the mud to visit Netherfield. Upon arriving, Elizabeth shocks the Bingley sisters, “I shall never forget her appearance this morning. She looked almost wild.” (Austen 35). Lady Catherine also plays a role in contrasting Elizabeth with more traditional women of the time. The confrontation between the two at Longbourn shows Elizabeth’s willingness to stand up for herself against people of higher social standing, “`I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.''(Austen 332). Austen’s use of a limited social structure highlights the clear message about the expectations of women in Regency England and Elizabeth’s refusal to

Judging by reality and fiction, there is not a single person to exist that has been purely evil or purely good. Yet it is in human nature to judge others as good or evil. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of Pride and Prejudice was quick to judge Fitzwilliam Darcy, the second central character of the novel, harshly based on her false assumptions of the arrogance of the wealthy. His initial egocentrism, due to his belief in a structured social hierarchy, caused her to form a prejudiced opinion of him. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Fitzwilliam Darcy is shown to exhibit both good and evil qualities, although not always apparent to the narrator, Elizabeth. Jane Austen’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy as a morally ambiguous character uncovers the significance of class in English society during the late seventeenth century.

In today 's society, marriage is a significant bond that must be on the basis of love and understanding. Marriage is a relationship described as more for love and emotion rather than convenience or money. Through the experience of Lydia and Wickham, Charlotte and Collins, and Elizabeth and Darcy, Austen criticizes marriages based on infatuation, convenience and money, and emphasizes that marriage can only be successful if they are founded on mutual love.

A hastily drawn conclusion one might make about Pride and Prejudice is that it appears to reinforce the sexist stereotypes of women during the 18th century. The first sentence of the book reads “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 1). Dorothy Van Ghent described this opening sentence as being “read as the opposite-a single woman must be in want of a man with a good fortune” (Van Ghent 301). This also introduces one of the central themes of the novel and that is Mrs. Bennet’s desire to see her daughters married “Her mind was less difficult to develop she was a woman of mean understanding little information and uncertain temper when she was discontented she fancied herself nervous the business of her life was to get her daughters married” (Austen 3). Marriage was crucial to ensure a woman’s

Continuing her uncertainty of her sister’s judgement, Elizabeth concurs with Jane’s perception of Bingley while questioning “And so, you like this man’s sisters too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his” (11). Austen included this statement to show Elizabeth’s obsession with people’s manners and acknowledge society’s rules about manners, which Elizabeth has plentiful thoughts about. Simultaneously, Elizabeth ridicules the Bingley sisters’ manners and compliments Mr. Bingley’s. By asking if Jane likes the sisters, Elizabeth’s skeptical and scornful attitude towards people with poor manners is captured. Similarly, Austen demonstrates Elizabeth’s rejection of society’s idea about wealth and being a good person. While she acknowledges that this circumstance is true for Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth uses the Bingley sisters to prove this standard wrong. Without Elizabeth’s pessimism towards the Bingley sisters, the novel would lose

Through the writing, Austen makes each character unique and different. This technique is clearly shown in her novel, Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, Austen identifies the voices of characters, such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, through the dialogue. Both characters use a complex structure in dialogue. For Mr. Darcy, this shows his intelligence and high class. Whereas for Elizabeth, this shows her insecurity within her social class. Elizabeth competes with Mr. Darcy by using the same structure to showcase her intelligence and wit. Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Darcy’s first proposal demonstrates this concept. She says, “From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that the groundwork of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike” (Austen 131).

The characters of Darcy and Elizabeth are literary devices used by Austen to overcome the social pressures of the time in finding a ‘good’ match- meaning a

1), is from Mrs. Bennet’s viewpoint. This shows how narrow-minded Mrs. Bennet is because people like herself would believe this statement, but everyone else may disagree. This quote became an irony in the fact that the word “universal” does not pertain to all but only to some. The universal truth would then mean “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of no fortunes must be in need of a husband.” This is a well-known fact because women without a fortune are in danger in which by marrying a husband, they are financially secured and protected showing the predicament they are in. This is the reason why Mrs. Bennet is so obsessed with marrying off her five daughters. Mrs. Bennet is one of the most ridiculous and highly exaggerated character in the novel who Austen satirizes to mock how women would only desire to marry wealthy men because society taught them to want that which is part of the humor in the novel. Although Mrs. Bennet actions are well intended and she just want her daughters to be financially secure, her actions and characters masks her well-intention because of how ridiculous and silly she is. For example, in Chapter 7, when Jane was invited to dine with the Bingley

Charles Bingley -A good-natured and wealthy man who falls in love with Jane. Easily influenced by others, especially by his close friend Darcy.

“Allegories have one mission to accomplish convey a certain message” (Foster 105). So what is the mission and message that Jane Austen has so kindly given her readers is, that simple sentence outline the inter novels theme of wealth and marriage. However the certain message that is given is wealth over powers true lover, Jane Bennet I believe truly loves Mr.Bingley but Janes mother is only happy she is marrying Mr.Bingley because he can take care of Jane and bring her as well as her family’s social status up. Mrs.Bennet does not describe Mr.Bingley character at the being of the novel but his status and wealth, from her the reader can soon concluded early on that Mrs.Bennet does not care if her daughters truly love the man that they are marrying but the man’s money and states can benefit the

Bennet is also an impediment to love; her only concern is to marry off her five girls. She never really cares about their happiness. Mrs. Bennet only cares about her outlook. At the time, having an unmarried daughter was a disgrace. People considered an unmarried daughter a pariah. Mrs. Bennet embedded one core message in all of her children: A man’s approval determines a woman’s “worth.” For instance, after Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane, a relieved Mrs. Bennett comments, “I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing” (Austen 337) asserting that beauty tops all. Mrs. Bennet considers wealth the most important attribute when looking at a suitor for her daughters. She clearly explains that “a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year” (Austen 6) is the best thing for her girls. Mrs. Bennet’s indifference when considering a suitor is the ultimate impediment to love. The girls adopt their mother’s prejudice and constantly judge others based on their wealth. Elizabeth ironically calls Darcy “the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world” (Austen 12) while failing to swallow her own pride and admit she has feelings for Mr. Darcy. Of the two, Elizabeth is judgmental and bases her opinion completely on wealth and status rather than Darcy’s emotions, actions, and

This type of marriage is very uncommon in contemporary culture, but it was the societal norm during the regency period. The author, in the earlier chapters of the story, describes Charlotte as “sensible, intelligent young woman.” (Austen 16). Charlotte is a sensible woman so her actions were typically frivolous. “Remember, Eliza, that he does not know Jane’s disposition as you do. ‘But if a woman is partial to man, and does not endeavor to conceal it, he must find it out’.” (Austen 20). Elizabeth and Charlotte are having a typical conversation about Jane and Mr. Bingley. The author describes Charlotte as being a kind and normal person. She is a great friend to Elizabeth and seems to converse easily. The portrayal of Charlotte being normal shows that her actions and thoughts were common of the women of the time period.

After seeing Jane together with Mr Bingley at the dinner party, Darcy’s first impressions (which allow him to think that he has the right to interfere in their relationship) force him into believing that Jane (coming from a family less wealthy then his own) is only after Mr Bingley for security, and financial stability. Instead of realising the love they have towards each other, Darcy allows his pride to blind him of the truth and foolishly assume that only a lady of equal status (as his) is worthy of Bingley's love.

However, Mrs Bennet's insensitivity and pride in her daughters and towards her neighbours is seen as embarrassing, which creates problems in the lives of her daughters, especially the eldest, Jane, who is deceived by Mr Bingley's two haughty sisters. They see her as much beneath their brother and unsuitable for him, and later on in the novel try to separate them by drawing Mr Bingley away from Netherfield to London for the winter, and uniting efforts to increase the friendship between Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy's sister, Georgiana, who has inherited a fortune. And so we are lead, by the authoress, to believe that the possession of wealth by both gentlemen and women in these times was important especially for marriage, yet there are many setbacks. Towards the middle of the novel, we become aware of the fact that wealth also sets barriers on marriage.

She uses this unspecified person, who is outside of all the novel's action and gives explanations, as a medium of communication to present her own opinion in an allusively open way. This narrator is the first means of making ironic remarks. Through the narrator a certain mood is created that prevails throughout the novel. The very first sentence of the novel shows this with the following sentence, It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife (Pride and Prejudice, p. 3). The irony of this statement is the universal validity with which assumptions are made in that upper-class society. It is assumed that there is nothing else for a man of high rank to want but a wife to complete his possessions. Along with his money, land, riches etc. she acts as nothing more but another piece of property, which was a common attitude in those days. Austen manages to make the attitude towards matrimony upheld by this upper class look rather ridiculous and incredible. Another ironic description is given, for instance, when Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst take care of the sick Jane, who stays at their house. They present themselves as very affectionate and caring friends to Jane. However, that does not stop them from talking very bad about Jane's relations. The real ironic comment is that the