Charlotte Lucas Pride And Prejudice Essay

Austen shows the reader a strong sense of duty through her character Charlotte. Of Charlotte, Austen says “marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune,”(22). Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas soon after Elizabeth rejects his offer. Charlotte knows that her friend Elizabeth has declined Mr. Collins’ offer. Charlotte also knows that it is not socially acceptable for Collins to propose to someone else so soon after he is rejected. The quick rebound also shows that Collins does not have any affection for Elizabeth or Charlotte. Charlotte however, accepts his proposal. When asked about her reasoning for doing so, Charlotte tells Elizabeth that acceptance was her only option because she might not receive another offer of marriage. Charlotte believes Elizabeth foolish for rejecting Mr Collins’ proposal of marriage for this reason. Charlotte believes that her duty, and Elizabeth’s duty, as women includes

Thesis: Throughout the text of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen challenges gender and social norms in the Georgian Era through the development of Elizabeth Bennet as she interacts with characters in the novel.

This includes her marriage to Mr. Collins in which Charlotte responds to Elizabeth’s disgust, “I am not a romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state” (Austen, 75). Elizabeth did not agree with the fact that Charlotte was only marrying in order to have security for herself and not out of

Charlotte’s indecisiveness as a woman causes her to be taken away from home by a strange man because she does not have the fortitude to form her own principles and to stand by

One of the first signs of this is when she tries on the sailors Garb that Zackariah had given her, mainly out of curiosity (71). However just before this she said “ I took this as a warning that i had been forgetting my station” (71). Which would mean that she still knew that is was her proper place as a young lady, to wear skirts and dresses, as well as act like a woman of the time, but she did not. Some of these are when Charlotte climbed into the rigging for the first time (70), and when she started to listen to their yarns and language which she soon started to use when talking to the men (69). These examples are all proof that charlotte is starting to differ from the beliefs that she has been taught all of her

Charlotte see’s how rude the people in court are and doesn’t think this is right. She realizes that Bingley and Jane as a couple are plausible, and she is

Charlotte is your happy-go-getter. She is so sweet, like a strawberry, and is willing to drop everything to to help you as shown in the quote “That chick (Charlotte) would do anything for you, Ben,” (Chapter 24). She is the type of girl that you would want to bring home to meet your parents. Charlotte is the girl that everyone wants to because she is so kind. In the quote “It was her inner beauty. It was her friendliness, her kindness, that pleasant aura that always hung around her. She was a person you could spill your secrets to and she wouldn't judge you one whit. She could smile at you and it would be like all your problems were gone,” (Chapter 18). It shows what Benjamin think about Charlotte and how she is selfless she is. She is not shallow and she is one of the few people that would be there for you. Charlotte is the type of girl that would put people before her. If she can do it, then she will try. An example is “She looked like a woman who would give you the world on a platter if it would make you happy,” (Chapter 10). And let's not forget her smile. Charlotte has the smile that can defeat a dragon. “She smiled that smile that made it seem like she could fix the entire world,” (Chapter 8). People always says that her smile is perfect and because of her smile, she is so easily approached for

Elizabeth’s father is more sensible than her mother and is described as ‘so odd a mixture of quick arts, sarcastic humour, reserve and caprice’ . Her mother however is not so difficult to work out, she is ‘a woman of mean understanding, little information and uncertain temper’ , and the business of her life is to get her daughters married3. Charlotte’s mother, Lady Lucas, is not much different from Mrs. Bennet. She described as being ‘a very good kind of woman4’, and like Mrs. Bennet she was also set on getting her daughters married . Charlotte’s father is Sir William Lucas, and he is a very pleasant man known for his civil manners .

Lucy is “bewildered,” knowing this does not make any logical sense (12). However, this is the mindset of a woman that has never been married. Charlotte is very proper, the way a lady should be, however the reason why I think she isn’t totally Victorian is because of her conversations and actions with Miss Lavish.

Collins. Charlotte is older and is not likely to get proposed to, and when Mr. Collins does, she accepts knowing that she does not have a large amount of income and knows that this might be her only opportunity. “I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home…” (83). This quote shows how Charlotte only accepted because she knew it was her last chance at any income.

This marriage provides economic security, a better place in society, and a fairly tolerable situation that will provide Charlotte with a stable future, even if it is not necessarily ideal. Without this marriage, she would have a very low status and had little chance of earning

After Collins proposes to Elizabeth, Charlotte, knowing she needs a husband, jumps straight in with her tactics.  She doesn't however tread

She is described as (Austen 13), and it can be assumed based on the narrator leaving out any qualities relating to her appearance as well as her older age (for the time period) that she is not remarkably attractive. She desires to be away from her parents home and really does not want to be forced to grow old alone, with no financial stability. When Mr. Collins proposes to her, she accepts the proposal" (Austen 83), because he can provide for her all that she is currently lacking. In Regency England, a woman's only job was to find herself a husband so that she could begin a family, have a home and be secure. It was completely natural for a woman to accept a proposal of a man she may not love because she knew that this could be her only chance to marry, and she would be fulfilling her duty in civilization. Charlotte's decision to marry Mr Collins is practical and logical as a woman who is growing older, and she ultimately chooses a secure future over love and romance, as many women did in the 18th and 19th

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.

Charlotte is a neighbour and friend of Elizabeth, who is older and unmarried at the beginning of the story. She is simple in her values and does not question a women's role in society. Charlotte's main achievement in the story occurred when she was able to secure a proposal of marriage from Mr. Collins after he had been rejected by Elizabeth, who asked why she accepted. Charlotte explained "I am not a romantic you know. I never was. I only ask for a comfortable home; considering Mr Collins's character, connections, situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is fair, as most people can boast on entering a marriage state" By this Charlotte is questioning Elizabeth's values, believing she is over her head in her ideas. She is simply happy with what she has been dealt