Frederick Glenmurray Analysis

During the eighteenth century, marriage was a representation of not only the unity between man and women but it was also a representation of a woman taking a servile, less meaningful role in the household. Once married, women were expected to be completely submissive to their husbands. This was the norm across Europe and even in enlightened society. These relationships were hierarchical. It was not customary for women to attend schools that educated men the math and sciences. Women holding privileged positons in society traditionally allotted to men were seen as the exception. Yet these exceptions did not generally bother society because they did not lead to certain conclusion that women could do anything. In Gotthold Lessing’s novel “Nathan the Wise” and Francoise de Graffigny’s “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, both authors upset traditional expectations about what constitutes a novel’s happy ending by refusing to end either of their novels with weddings. In Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”, the rejection of marriage plot reflects a larger symbolic representation of religious tolerance. While in Graffigny’s novel “Letters from a Peruvian Woman”, the rejection of marriage plots illustrates a woman whose circumstances would make her the exception. Zilia, Graffigny’s main character, was an enlightened woman who chose sovereignty over servitude. Therefore, I would argue that the intentions behind both Lessing and Graffigny’s rejection of the marriage plot was not to serve the same

Pride and Prejudice is a novel written by Jane Austen in the Regency Period of England. The book represents to the reader how females, marriage and social class were viewed at the time, as well as demonstrates Austen’s opinion on these matters in a somewhat satirical sense. The two marriage proposals in the book towards the lead female character, Elizabeth Bennet, are put forth by Mr Collins and Mr Darcy, both of whom exaggerate the social norms of the time; as women were not expected to marry for love, but for financial gain, the terms for both proposals are focused more on the gains of both the man and the woman rather than true feelings towards the affair. The ridiculed etiquette shows how Austen held the ‘rules’ of the time in low regard.

“Pride and Prejudice” and “Letters to Alice” contains many similarities yet some obvious differences even when considering the fact that they were written hundreds of years apart. Both texts provide strong perspectives on a variety of issues and are very blunt in their approach. The key issue throughout both novels is the ideology of marriage in the sense of whether one should marry for love or financial stability and standing. Both novels are written in an epistolary format providing a different perspective for the reader from the standardised third person format. Similarities and differences exist between the changing values of women within the two texts on such issues as moral standards and behaviours or class and social rank however

Adeline's life is not only joyless but she always feels isolated because her loved ones were taken from her at a young age. She has no one to comfort her in her times of need and despair. She has to endure this desolate and sadness when she should be enjoying a carefree life.

Adeline is unloved and unwanted by most of her family, with the exception of her Aunt Baba and Grandfather YeYe. Because of her mother's sudden death after Adeline was born her siblings gave her no kindness nor respect as they believed she was the reason their mother died. “...But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been

Some expectations for women of this time period were succumbing to the authority of men and staying faithful in marriage. They were

Fay Weldon’s ‘Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen’ (1984) through the form of an epistolic novel, serves to enrich a heightened understanding of the contemporary issues of Jane Austen’s cultural context. In doing so, the responder is inspired to adopt a more holistic appreciation of the roles of women inherent in Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (1813). Due to the examination of the shift of attitudes and values between the Regency era and the 1980s, the reader comes to better understanding of the conventions of marriage for a women and the role education had in increasing one’s marriage prospects. Weldon’s critical discussion of these issues transforms a modern responder’s understanding of the role of a woman during the 19th century.

As the sun retires and the moon awakes, every night I would loathe upon the idea of my dad not even being observant of my own name. That isn’t the only time where Adeline was neglected. For instance when father demands,”Since you’re not happy here, you must go somewhere else!” (117) To Adeline’s amazement she was shipped off to boarding school as if she were cargo.

(Hodes66) With her sister’s family separated, working in the mill alongside the Irish, and her own father abandoning her it is no wonder why Hodes believed Hattie wanted to distinguish herself away from the scorned Irish. (Hodes67) Although Eunice found herself among the weavers, in a highly skilled and best paid position saved mainly for the literate Yankee women, Eunice did not stay in the drab mill for more than two months. (Hodes70) The self proclaimed “Alabama widow” still longed for the day when she could live on her own land with her entire little family. (Hodes63)

This develops the idea that her future with this man as a married woman provided a stable lifestyle where she would not have to live by the rigid patterns of society, reinforcing a modern day feminist reader’s view of the expectations and restrictions placed on unmarried women during the Victorian era.

“Pride and Prejudice”, a novel written by Jane Austen represents eighteenth century English women as illogical, domestic individuals who economically depend on male members in their household. Major decisions in their life are decided by their fathers and brothers. They perform subordinate roles, and are considered inferior to men. This novel reinforces the sexist stereotypes of women.The female characters in the novel possess these virtues in varying degrees depending on their role. Marriage is considered essential to secure a woman’s future ,they are expected to behave in a certain manner to earn the respect of the society, and are treated unfairly by the social and justice

Examine Austen’s presentation of what is called in the novel, ‘women’s usual occupations of eye, and hand, and mind’. In Jane Austen’s society, the role of women was controlled by what was expected of them. In most cases, marriage was not for love, and was considered as a business arrangement, in which both partners could gain status and financial reassurance. Though Austen opposed the idea of none affectionate marriage, many

Pride and Prejudice, a Jane Austen novel, is one of the most classical pieces of literature in history. It has been evaluated and critiqued a countless number of times, and has been adapted into several films. It can be argued that there is a lot to be retained by readers from this literary work, an important message that can be passed down from generation to generation. During Jane Austen’s time, in the early 1800’s, women were around to be married off, bear children, and cater to their man. Men were meant to work and instruct their women, and the more money you had, the more respected you were. A woman’s goal in life was to marry

In 1980s England, marriage was mostly made for love rather than wealth, and women had the right to vote and work due to the campaigns of second-wave feminism of the mid-20th century. Her juxtaposition of tense: “To marry was a great prize … no wonder Jane Austen’s heroines were so absorbed by the matter. It is the stuff of our women’s magazines, but it was the stuff of their life, their very existence” shows the relegation of marriage to a luxury rather than an important goal for women. Weldon reshapes readers’ critical opinions of Mrs Bennet, formed by 1980s society’s trivialised attitude towards marriage, by explaining her behaviour in relation to her society’s restrictive expectations of marriage and laws of entailment: “No wonder Mrs Bennet, driven half-mad by anxiety for her five unmarried daughters, knowing they would be unprovided for when her husband died … made a fool of herself in public.” Her critical tone: “It is too easy to believe that because something is traditionally women’s work, that it is worth nothing” demonstrates domesticity is no longer the sole option for 1980s women.

This view is an abrupt contrast to the views expressed by Anne Bradstreet of “To My Dear and Loving Husband.” Bradstreet is an interesting character. She lived through the 1600s, was married by age sixteen and was among the new settlers in Massachusetts. She lived in a time where a woman was expected to respect the man and be in a way submissive to the man. By analyzing Bradstreet’s writing we see areas where she seems to belittle her own self to her husband. She states “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold. Thy love is such I can no way repay (Bradstreet 387).” We see how Bradstreet praises the love her husband gives her. However, we see that she is submissive in saying she can never live up to how much he gives her. She treats his love as if it were a pot of gold, there is nothing in her life as important as her husband and their love.