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Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice Essay

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Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice

Attitudes to love and marriage in the nineteenth century was very different from the comparatively liberal approach of today, and strict codes of etiquette were applied to Courtship for all but the lower classes of society.

At the time of Pride and Prejudice, women's role was firmly in the home and the young ladies portrayed in this middle and upper class, occupied themselves with singing, playing the piano, sewing and other such accomplishments that would enhance their prospects of suitable marriage. Courtship was almost a formal procedure, and often engineered by parents, wishing a suitable match. Jane Austin demonstrates this when
Bingley, a rich bachelor, is quickly drawn into the …show more content…

In this book we see many sorts of marriages. This included marriage of love, marriage of duty and marriage of propriety. We see marriage of love between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth and Mr Bingley and Jane on the other hand it is also a little of marriage of duty because Mr and Mrs
Bennet know that there daughters will be sorted financially. Also had
Elizabeth got married to Mr Collins we would have seen marriage of duty as they would have got to keep their house. Finally we see marriage of propriety between Charlotte Locus and Mr Collins.

Jane Austen uses humour to present her views by satirising many of her characters especially Mrs Bennet. In Chapter 1 we are introduced to her business, which is the basis of the novel: 'The business of her life was getting her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news'. We laugh at Mrs Bennet because her stupidity is shown during every crisis in the book. When Jane receives an invitation to dine at
Netherfield, Mrs Bennet works out a way to enable Jane to spend the night there and saw her off "with many a cheerful prognostics of a bad day"(Ch.7 p.24)

Similarly, when Jane and Elizabeth wished to return earlier than expected from Netherfield, Mrs Bennet is so obsessed with the daughters courtship that she "could not bring herself to receive then with pleasure before", the week was over despite the fact that
Elizabeth had written begging 'that the carriage be sent for

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