Jane Austen 's Pride And Prejudice

In the novel Pride and Prejudice, Austen conveys her opinion about marriage. Through Lydia Bennet and George Wickham, Austen clearly shows how a relationship on the basis of infatuation contributes to an unsuccessful marriage. Lydia is an immature, foolish young woman who presents a relationship based on physical gratification. Wickham too, is similar - he is self-indulgent, manipulative and would never deny any pleasure. Just like Wickham, Lydia has an aspiration to “attach herself to anybody,” as she experiences a passion for men in uniform. As a result of Lydia 's immaturity, she demonstrates that her love towards Wickham is only for enjoyment and imprudent motives; he being part of the regiment is the only reason her affections fluctuate for him. Despite the absence of admiration in their marriage, Lydia and Wickham suffer the consequences of their marriage with indifference for one another. They live a short period of happiness as their marriage is based on convenience, attraction and passion rather than love and

In the novel Pride and Prejudice, author Jane Austen explores the societal expectations surrounding marriage in early 19th century England. Austen uses colorful characters to illustrate a variety of contrasting ideas about marriage and incite conflict throughout the novel. Many characters clash because of this, but perhaps the most appropriate was the conflict between Elizabeth Bennet (Lizzy) and her mother. Both remained incredibly opinionated and voiced their beliefs quite vehemently when the occasion arose . Where Elizabeth was revolutionary in her ideas, Mrs. Bennets’s attitude towards marriage reflected society’s. Therefore, the conflict between mother and daughter represented the conflict between

Pride and Prejudice, a novel written by Jane Austen, is a story of overcoming pride and prejudices. The story takes place in Longbourn, where the Bennet family and their five girls live on their rented estate. Mrs.Bennet is obsessed to get her daughters to marry rich, as they are all still single. Their financial status is poor, placing them into a lower social class.

Of the five Bennet sisters, three of them get engaged/married throughout the book. Of those three, Jane and Lizzy have happy, loving marriages. The other marriage, Lydia’s marriage, was forced due to her scandalous relationship. Jane was ecstatic to be engaged and was truly in love with her fiancé: “Oh! Lizzy, why am I thus singled from my family, and blessed above them all! If I could but see you as happy! If there were but such another man for you”(Austen 300). Jane, and later on Lizzy, got engaged to a wealthy upper class man who she truly loved. Lydia’s relationship did not begin as joyfully as her sisters’. Lizzy demonstrated the issues of the marriage perfectly: “How Wickham and Lydia were to be supported in tolerable independence, she could not

From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. ---Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do’” (97). Mrs. Bennet makes a fuss over trivial things and is partial to exaggeration. These attributes prompt her children and husband to see her as unimportant and harmless. Although her word is ineffective in her household, Mrs. Bennet’s persistence to marry her daughters is ceaseless: “Not yet, however, in spite of her disappointment in her husband, did Mrs. Bennet give up the point. She talked to Elizabeth again and again; coaxed and threatened her by turns” (97). Mrs. Bennet can’t see past her marital ideals for her daughters and can’t understand why they don’t concern themselves as ardently as she does with them. In a fit of anger, Mrs. Bennet claims to disown Elizabeth for refusing Mr. Collin’s proposal by stating, “’But I tell you what, Miss Lizzy, if you take it into your head to go on refusing every offer of marriage in this way, you will never get a husband at all --and I am sure I do not know who is to maintain you when your father is dead’” (98). Elizabeth’s mother thinks that her threats have weight but all the Bennet children know her warnings are hollow. Even when Lydia runs away with Wickham and brings shame to the Bennet family, Mrs. Bennet is only concerned with the fact that Lydia is getting married: “She was now in an irritation as violent from

In the book Elizabeth, one of the Bennet sisters is a sweet, good mannered and intelligent girl with good humor. She and her sister, Jane, are very open and share every detail of their lives. In contrast to the film were Elizabeth is often rude and petulant. And where Jane and Elizabeth have a lot of secrets for each other.

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, she has specific criteria that her characters follow when choosing their mates. In today’s society, most couples still follow these criteria and more when choosing their ideal mate. What are these important criteria that Austen’s characters consider when choosing a mate? For Austen, the important criteria that she has for choosing a mate are that couples are personally compatible, they are in love with each other, and they must have a good moral character.

Her marriage to Wickham helps to set up her future happiness, not from love, but because it avoids her alienation from society. In the romantic era, any woman who was caught or was rumored to have had an extramarital affair was ostracized from society. This is a big concern for the Bennet girls (whom before the quick elopement, none were married), because it reflects badly on the family and the other girls. When Mr. Collins found out about Lydia’s choice, he expressed his deepest condolences. He wasted no time in expressing his knowledge to Mr. Bennet that “the death of your daughter would have been a blessing compared to this” (281); because, at least with the death of Lydia, the family would have been spared the embarrassment of raising a harlot. Some of the societal disgrace is avoided with Lydia’s marriage, it would have been worse for the family had she not been found and forced to wed. Her marriage illustrates the reality of the pressures young woman felt to marry. Lydia is too immature to understand her the consequence of her actions, but her sister Mary acknowledges the implications of Lydia’s choice. She tries to explain the lesson that all the Bennet girls will learn “that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable; that one false step involves her in endless ruin; that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful; and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the other sex" (275).

Bennet is a anxious, senseless, and woman, who is the mother of Elizabeth and her four sisters. While Mrs. Bennet has five unmarried daughters, she tries to arrange a marriage between Charles Bingley and her eldest daughter Jane. Mrs. Bennet is so foolish that she would put her daughters at risk just for the chance of a proposal, “...if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit if Mr. Bingley, and under your orders.” (30) Elizabeth makes this remark to expose Mrs. Bennet’s priority of marriage which comes before anything in her eyes. Mrs. Bennet is a greedy woman who will use anything as a weapon to tempt men, even her daughter Jane’s illness, “She will be taken very good care of. As long as she stays there , it is all very well. ” (30) Austen exposes the flaws of Mrs. Bennet, to display a mother’s view of marriage, which was a woman should marry for money and social status not for happiness. Another character that illustrates satirical elements in Pride and Prejudice is Lydia Bennet due to her over the top personality a lot of comic relief is given to the reader and shows her views on marriage in comparison to every else . Lydia shows no common sense and liability when she elopes and marries Mr.Wickham causing her

Mrs Bennet is the perfect example of how Austen uses satire and mockery to make a social comment on the connection between marriage and social structure. The readers are lead to find the character of Mrs Bennet to be irritating and ridiculous. Mrs Bennet is put into the scene in order to further display how ludicrous the nature of Mrs Bennet’s actions together with her language. Mrs Bennet gives Elizabeth the alternative of marriage or disownment. Charlotte Lucas is also a great example of society’s expectations were in terms of marriage for women. The same as Mrs Bennet was doing for Elizabeth, if she didn’t marry she would be subject to disownment by her mother. Charlotte was on a whole another level. If she were not to marry Mr Collins she would also be subject to disownment by the whole of society and become labelled as an “old maid”. This led her to the marriage without love in order for her to be secure within society and not disowned. Charlotte’s choices, to marry without love and as well as Mrs Bennet’s desire to see one of her “daughters happily settled at Neitherfields” appears more realistic and sensible to the responder. Because of the way society was structured in terms of the class system at the time. Satire with this perfectly displays Mrs Bennet sheer determination and persistence in marriage for her daughter. This further reflects the importance of social mobility of the

Jane Austen wrote the novel Pride and Prejudice during the Regency Era to argue against the views of society. She depicts the character Elizabeth as an atypical female to argue against the expectations of society. Austen utilizes Mr. Wickham to demonstrate everything that a gentleman should not be. In addition to using individuals, she also uses couples, such as Lydia and Wickham, to argue her ideas. Elizabeth Bennet is the epitome of what Austen thought a woman should be: independent, intelligent, and strong-willed.

Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in Pride and Prejudice, can be illustrated as witty, clever, and outspoken. Along with these traits, Elizabeth also suffered from being very judgmental, unforgiving, and overly confident. She was described as being the second most beautiful Bennet daughter, with brown, knowledgeable eyes, and a light and pleasing figure. Her family consisted of seven members, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Jane, Mary, Lydia, and Kitty (also known as Catherine). Elizabeth's family lives on a estate named Longborn, that is supported by roughly £2000 annually. The entire family can be ranked as gentlefolk, which categorized them as middle class to upper class. Because social connections was a huge determining factor in rank, the Bennet daughters were pressured to marry wealthy, from society, and also from Mrs. Bennet. With Jane outshining Elizabeth as far as looks, Elizabeth is prized as the most intelligent out of the family, making her a favorite of her father. Mrs. Bennet on the other hand, favorited Jane because of her looks, and Lydia for her eagerness for marriage.

The difference between Elizabeth and Caroline shows how Elizabeth sees gender inequality considering the women’s education. In comparison to Jane, Elizabeth has a genuine bold nature and it shows her assertiveness which attracts Mr. Darcy. Instead of hiding her feelings she puts herself out there and ends up incredibly happy because of it. Finally, in comparison to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth does not and will not bend to the expectations of women in society just so she can have financial security and in return she finds love. The traditional woman is shown through Caroline, Jaane, and Charlotte, they abide by the social normalities, changing their ways in order to secure a husband. Elizabeth demonstrates how women can be assertive, independent, and still attract a nice

Throughout Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice , there are many references to the unusual character of Elizabeth Bennet ; she is seen to be an atypical female during those times. Wit , bravery , independence , and feminist views all describe a most extraordinary model for women.

Darcy’s conception of Elizabeth was established on the fact that her family is embarrassing and discourteous, making her promptly inferior to him. However, Elizabeth’s strong-willed and independent character attracted Darcy’s difficult attention, proving to him her true and unique reeling personality. Particular plot twists throughout the novel have occurred that helped Darcy and Elizabeth reveal their true identities. Darcy’s boastful attitude backfires when he first proposed to Elizabeth, who immediately refuses his offer due to his unintentional insults concerning her class and familial relations. However, Elizabeth’s reason for rejecting Darcy was not only for his abusive remarks, but also because of his interference with Jane’s happiness owing to the fact of his belief that her social class and emotional status were not good enough for his dear companion. After the incident, Darcy and Elizabeth did coincidentally meet when Elizabeth and the Gardiners were visiting Darcy’s estate thinking he would be out of town. Darcy got to see the other half of Elizabeth’s family, who were well mannered and delightful. While Darcy and Elizabeth explored other sides of each other, Wickham was taking advantage of Lydia’s ignorance and ran away with her. When Darcy receives the news about what Lydia and Wickham have done, instead of just mocking how reckless the Bennet’s are he decides to help them. Having a