Decorum, By Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813(Gary vii) a time when women had “few legal and economic rights or even receiving little respect, women can be seen as oppressed victims of a patriarchal society, subordinate first to their fathers and, then, to their husbands who had, of course, been selected by their fathers” (Swords, 76-82). At first glance one might think that Pride and Prejudice reinforces sexist stereotypes, however upon further examination of Jane Austen and her heroine Elizabeth it is clear that Pride and Prejudice in fact erodes the sexist stereotypes of women.

According to Miss. Bingley to be an accomplished woman “A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing drawing , dancing, and the modern language, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of voice, her address and expressions,” (Austen 29). On Elizabeth’s decision, to walk three miles alone to see Jane, her mother responds against it, because Elizabeth “will not be fit to be seen” (Austen 24). When Elizabeth reaches Netherfield all dirty from her walk, she does not get admired by the sisters of Bingley. Instead in their eyes Elizabeth appears to possess “abominable sort of conceited independence” (Austen 26) and they went on to criticise her dirty and messy appearance after the walk. Whereas, Jane is admired as “ strength of feeling, composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinents” (Elfenbein 332).

His sense of her inferiority–of its being a degradation of–the family obstacles which judgment had always opposed to inclinations were dwelt on...” (Austen 12). These words reflect Mr. Darcy’s excessive pride and heightened awareness of social status, while inducing him to recount all the ways in which he and Elizabeth are an illogical union, rather than relaying anything complimentary. In response to this insult-ridden proposal, Elizabeth proclaims that if he had acted in a more “gentlemanlike manner,” she would have been more inclined to express sympathy following her rejection of his advances. Despite Elizabeth’s clear message that she will not observe his insensitive words in submission, Mr. Darcy endures in the conviction that his prideful manners toward Elizabeth are well-justified and merely detail the truthful, adverse nature of her inferior social standing with the utmost sincerity.

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

Pride and prejudice is a novel that was written by Jane Austen concerning manners, pride and intolerance. Austen is a writer of distinction that manages to catch the attention of the audience in issues such as marriage, class, love and deceit. The novel is a love story; however, its author was also aimed at explaining the unfairness and discrimination that presides over the relationships that exists between people as well as how it impacts the choices of men and women. She was also concerned about how women make decisions concerning marriage. Austen depicts a society where different choices for people are rather limited, on the basis of almost entirely on a family 's connections and social ranking (Austen, 13). Austen 's novel “Pride and Prejudice” brings into spotlight various critical moral concerns in relation to the subject of the institution of marriage as well as other significant issues related to it.

The families of Elizabeth and Charlotte play a very important part in their lives, and in the prospect of their future companions. Elizabeth’s family are more prone to exposing themselves and being ridiculous , and it is partly down to her family that Mr. Darcy is so adamant on Mr. Bingley not marrying her sister Jane. However, unlike her family, Elizabeth is socially graceful, sensitive and conscious of her appearance in the eyes of others. This leads to her acute awareness of the social failing of some members of her family, particularly her mother and youngest sister.

After the incident of chasing to find Lydia and Wickham, Elizabeth realizes that it is most unlikely for Darcy to propose again because now Wickham is a part of the Bennett family which only seperates the two of their social standards even further. If he were to though, she would gladly accept. When Elizabeth finds out that Darcy was in the church at Lydia's wedding and he is truly the one who paid off Wickham she comprehends that his love for her is unyielding. After Mr. Bingley's proposal to Jane, Lady Catherine approaches Elizabeth and informs her that she believes Darcy will propose again but she is not to accept it because she finds her daughter a better fit for him considering they are in the same upper class. As Lady Catherine attacks the Bennett's social status compared to Darcy's, Elizabeth finally gains the nerve and declares her independence from the ideas of her family's social status controlling her life from Mr.Collins, Lady Catherine, and Miss. Bingley.

Picture this: You are a woman living in late 1700s. You are expected to be presentable at all times, petticoats and all. Though you are still quite young, your search for a husband is not a task to be taken lightly. Swirling in your mind are the opinions of annoying sisters, overbearing mothers, and rude old women. Although you are by no means poor, your family’s connections are not the best, making you a somewhat unsuitable bride. Just when you are about to write off the idea of love altogether, you meet a man who is rude to you yet gentlemanly toward his family and close friends. Neither one of you admit that you find the other interesting because you can hardly admit it to yourselves. His affections grow more rapidly than yours, but you reject him because This is what the life of Elizabeth Bennet was like. Though her culture and geographical surroundings played a big part in Lizzy’s character, she is very unlike the ordinary woman of her time.

Darcy’s pride and his sense of superiority are considered rude and ungentlemanly behavior, and no amount of money or fine looks can save him from falling into disgrace with the people of Hertfordshire. Later, when Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth, she shocks him when she angrily exclaims that “had [he] behaved in a more gentleman-like manner” (168), then she may have felt

What is the central role of social etiquette and propriety in this novel? What ironies and hypocrisies can you identify? What is Austen’s purpose in drawing attention to them?

The character flaws of Darcy and Elizabeth in the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen come to a pinnacle when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth. Darcy, permeated with offensive words, explains Elizabeth’s inferiority and lack of social connections. Elizabeth’s prejudices become apparent in her response to his insulting proposal when she pridefully reviles Darcy’s dealings concerning Wickham and Bingley. Both Elizabeth and Darcy display prejudice behavior based on their first impressions at their first introduction. Pride in their own discernments prevents them from seeing different motives behind certain actions.

The importance of having a character that represents the norms of society is to show that Elizabeth is different than most women. Elizabeth believes that Charlotte’s ideas about marriage are not sound. “You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act this way yourself.” (Austen 22). Elizabeth believes that Charlotte’s ideas of marriage are crazy and that she must be joking because her ideas are just absurd. Elizabeth

The novel Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, and play written by Kate Hamill, exemplify many different things; the society of the late 1700s, romance, and status. They combine it all to give the them of the play, which is, how a society can overshadow true love with money and status. This is found by looking at the conflict of the play, setting, climax, costume design, scenic design, and lighting design. Jane Austen’s goal is to explain that if you abide by what society is telling you, you may be missing out on the love of your life and not even realize that you are.

“The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love” (Austen 11). This quote in Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility highlights the main conflict in the novel. Also, it describes how Elinor Dashwood, the main character of the novel feels about love. In this novel social class is important because most of the characters belong to upper-class families. Since there are conflicts with love and social class is of importance in the novel, two of the many themes from Sense and Sensibility include love and wealth.

Elizabeth’s snobbish pride hinders her from understanding her friend Charlotte Lucas’s best interests in regard to her desire to marry Mr. Collins. Elizabeth “prides herself on being a perceptive “studier of character,” as Mr. Bingley calls her, but how well does she really know her very good friend Charlotte…” when she “responds with amazement and horror” upon hearing that Charlotte wants to marry a man who is “dull”, “pompous” and “physically unattractive”. Elizabeth’s excessive pride blinds her from recognizing that Charlotte is “not much interested in men and very much interested in marriage” (Moler, 26). Elizabeth could have ruined the prospects of Charlotte’s marriage because of her self-importance in the way she