Part Three Analyzing the Differences and the Reasons of the Two Characters from the Perspective of Feminism
As everyone knows, although there are a lot of similarities in the two works, the endings of them are quite different. Pride and Prejudice has a nice ending, while A Dream of Red Mansions is a tragedy. The differences between the two characters are just one of the factors that lead to this outcome.
3.1 The Inevitability from the Character in Pride and Prejudice
Although Darcy is a man of noble birth, he has the economic base and he is a brilliant man with wide learning. Even though his family members have their own thoughts about his choice in the marriage, the influence is not completely enough to destroy his own choice. This is the pursuit of modern feminism. Now most of the women are looking for a financially independent, independent minded man. This is exactly what is
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The figure he modeled that was the reaction of the struggle for freedom and democracy in the embryonic stage of capitalism. In A Dream of Red Mansions, Cao Xueqin portrayed the love tragedy among the feudal nobilities, like Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, as well as other young men and women, which described the idea that all sentient beings are produced by the skandhas in the social life. So that it shines with brilliant masterpiece of realism as a mirror of that time. Based on the description of immersed in love, the author intends to tear away the dark social reality which is covered by prosperity to express the new ideal of life. From the perspective of the whole and the macro, Pride and Prejudice and A Dream of Red Mansions are both very profound to expose and criticize the darkness hided in the social reality. Especially in A Dream of Red Mansions, it involves all areas of the feudal ruling class, including politics, economy, ideology, culture, law and ethics. Eventually, it attacks the feudal system
Collins. The act that all women must marry a man displays the control males have over females. Regarding pride, in Pride and Prejudice, even the title uses the term, and it is referring to the pride of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me” (Austen 12). Mr. Darcy’s description of Elizabeth Bennet at the ball demonstrates how self-centered Darcy is, as he places himself above any woman, due to his wealth and reputable heritage. The emphasis on the term, me, illustrates how highly Darcy sees of himself; unique and significant. Darcy’s vice of pride is a flaw which negatively affects Elizabeth, as his rude remark about her beauty as Elizabeth detaches any potential cordial feelings for the egotistical man. “Darcy’s pride that, far from being morally reprehensible, are connected with family tradition” (Morini 10). With the use of critical thinking, Darcy’s gratification of himself is rooted back to family traditions. Darcy comes from a family of upper class and one with a fortune, and his misogynistic and prideful characteristics come from the people who raised him. Therefore, it is evident that in that era, it is common for a man to view himself superior to a woman, as it even dates back to generations prior. Due to the lack of respect displayed by Darcy, Elizabeth begins to despise of the man, and even later goes as far as
Pride and Prejudice is Austen rebel voice as women to the norms of marriage in the high english society. It’s a story of a Man, Darcy, Who
Mr Collins ' proposal was mainly fueled by the great convenience in Elizabeth marrying Mr Collins. However Darcy 's proposal is very far from convenient. Although technically in the same class, Darcy is viewed to be much above Elizabeth in society and a marriage between them would not be viewed as idea. Mr Collins is following the rules in his proposal; talking to Mrs Bennet, saying what he is supposed to and attempting to please Lady Catherine. In contrast Darcy is compelled by his feelings to break the rules, by not doing what society expects of him. Mr Collins ' proposal was greatly fueled by Lady Catherine and his desire to improve his standing in society. However Darcy is fueled by his feelings to go against society and potentially decrease his social standing. Darcy 's true love for Elizabeth overcomes all the sociable reasons for not marrying E. Darcy is a
What if you had to serve a specific lord in battle, provide shelter, and supply food in exchange for a small piece of land (OI)? This is what life and feudalism was like for nobles during the Middle Ages in the Roman Empire. The Middle Ages, or Medieval period, was a period that lasted from about 500 to 1500 AD. Created in the Middle Ages, feudalism was a system of laws for kings, nobles, knights, and serfs (Doc. 1). Feudalism was a social, economic, and political hierarchy during the Medieval period for many reasons.
Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a tall, handsome, self-absorbed aristocrat, Darcy experiences a change in personality and character. In order to dispose of his existent views on money and marriage, Darcy needed to feel something, to fall in love. Although he was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lesser economic status. The love of Elizabeth Bennet, however, changed his behavior.
Mr. Darcy, as one of the main characters, is for the better part of the novel a focus of the theme of pride. His pride is very obvious. It is a part of his nature and is seen in his mannerisms and in his speech. Darcy has such a high opinion of himself that he does not care what others think of him or his prideful actions. He believes that he is the best in every way possible and finds that his standing in society gives him the right to be critical of those not as perfect as he.
Before discussing the change from identifying the characters’ traits as female to relating their actions more to a male identity, and vice versa, the relationships between the male and female characters must be explored
Austen explains that being born a woman in such a society suggests that even less alternatives on whom to get married to or not to get married to, or how to establish the nature of a person’s life. Furthermore, the way in which the society weakens and controls women is useful in explaining Mrs. Elizabeth Bennet 's panic concerning the marriage of her beloved daughters, as well as why such marriages should always entail both financial and practical considerations. Coming from noble
In stark contrast to all of the other marriages that have been discussed, the marriage of Darcy and Elizabeth is seen as an ‘ideal’ marriage by Austen. The ideology of marrying for love was not something that was commonly accepted during the time period of this novel. People generally preferred to view marriage as a means to greater wealth, financial security or superficial attraction. At the time, marriage was seen as a necessity, as opposed to recognition of love between two people.
Jane Austen uses the elements of both pride and prejudice to develop the satire in her novel. Austen presents pride as both a vice and a virtue. Austen first introduces pride as a vice of arrogance and prejudice, but as the characters in the novel develop so does the concept of pride. Towards the end of the novel pride becomes the vehicle for many of the noble actions taken by the main characters. Austen skillfully interweaves the two parts of pride, the plot, and the main characters so that they develop together in the book. When we get to the end of the novel, we are left with a fuller understanding of the complexities of pride.
Not only does Darcy resist the social expectations of Austen’s time and defy the norms of social class, he actually leaves his high connections behind. At first, even in the act of defying the social expectations of the townspeople at the ball, it can be argued that Darcy conforms to another social norm. When he starts getting to know Elizabeth and begins to fall in love with her, Darcy is held back from his own feelings by the knowledge of Elizabeth’s inferior connections. A wealthy upper class man should marry a woman of his own standing, his own class. However, later in the novel, when Darcy and Elizabeth discuss the letter, he states how wrong he was to judge Elizabeth based on her family. Darcy was in this way prejudiced towards the lower classes, nevertheless he started to overcome this prejudice because he fell in love with Elizabeth. Then after the repercussions of his first proposal and Elizabeth’s rejection he truly overcomes the teachings he got from his higher connections:
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
Living with a man who was not one’s husband was one matte; but marrying out of one’s social class is another action that society would denounce. Mr. Bingley was fascinated with Jane Bennet since their first meeting. His friends and family had gone out of their way to warn him not to marry her as it would ruin his relationships with his upper class acquaintances. One friend in particular, Fitzwilliam Darcy, had taken extra precautions to make sure that his friend would not tarnish his own reputation. “The first mentioned was that regardless of the sentiments of either, I had detached Mr. Bingley from your sister...” (Austen 168) These words, written in a letter from Darcy, are proof that he had derailed Bingley and Jane’s relationship for the good of Bingley’s character. Although society defamed people marrying out of their social class, Bingley and Jane had eventually found themselves together, despite the disapproval of his friends and family.
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a remarkable story showing the complications between men and women before and during their time of falling in love. The plot is based on how the main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, escape their pride, prejudice and vanity to find each other; however, both must recognize their faults and change them. Jane Austen follows the development of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship in how they both change in order to overcome their own vanities and be able to love each other.
When Elizabeth flatly turns down his marriage proposal, it startles Darcy into realizing just how arrogant and assuming he has been. Soon, there is reconciliation between Darcy and Elizabeth where each admits how much they have changed as a result of their earlier encounters. An example of this is when Lady Catherine visits to insure the marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth. She came in order to prevent it, but when Darcy hears the manner in which Elizabeth answered Lady Catherine, he realizes that Elizabeth regards him differently. He saw that her attitude of him had changed which prompted him to make his marriage proposal. Thus, we can now see that Darcy and Elizabeth both have balance in their relationship because they are able to reflect against each other and each is capable of undergoing a change. In the end, Darcy is willing to marry into a family with three silly daughters, an embarrassing mother and is willing to make Wickham his brother-in-law .It may be that he is more easygoing about other people's faults because he is now aware of his own.