Lydia Bennet

Poor parenting and abusive home life portrayed in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice produces emotionally deep and interesting characters that far surpass those of the rural social scene of 18th-century England. The two oldest daughters of the Bennet family, Jane and Elizabeth, are by far more intelligent and well-mannered than either their mother or three younger sisters. Their father, Mr. Bennet, sits in the middle of this stark contrast. The sarcasm aimed at his insufferable wife and humorously cold attitude toward his family’s occasionally outrageous behavior allow the reader to applaud him for his intelligence and wit. However, these traits reveal his failings both as a father and husband. Constant mockery of his wife and younger

Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, wrote this piece in satire of her own life in which she grew up in. A society where you were told who to marry, and you knew you were doing it for the money. This type of conformity is based on marxism, or the analysis of social and class relations using a materialistic interpretation. Elizabeth Bennet is a main character, a daughter, and a sister in the book whom is trying to find a husband and a future estate. She breaks the societal norm when she abruptly turns down a proposal from a man of much fortune, Mr. Darcy, by saying, “From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that ground-work of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry” (Ch. 34). In the article about Jane’s life, the author states, “Feminine action is contracted by numberless difficulties, that there are no impediments of masculine exertion”(pg.2), in other words stating that a woman almost never has a right to disapprove someone in the way Austen wrote of Elizabeth to Darcy in his proposal. This proves that Austen was mocking the normality, and trying to focus the reader on feminism (advocacy of women’s rights), and the resistance against conformity (“marxism”). Jane Austen also portrays feminism through the character Lydia Bennet, another daughter/sister in the Bennet family who needs to marry in order to find money and a place to live. During this era, class was a big affair, in which it was highly scorned upon. In Sulloway’s

Pride and Prejudice tells a story of a young girl in the midst of a very materialistic society. Jane Austen uses the setting to dramatize the restraints women had to endure in society. As the novel develops, we see how women have to act in a way according to their gender, social class, and family lineage. Elizabeth Bennet’s sisters represent the proper societal lady while Lizzy is the rebel. Through her characters Austen shows how a women’s happiness came second to the comfort of wealth. As the plot develops, events are laid out to illustrate how true love is unattainable when women marry for intentions of wealth. Women have very specific and limited roles in a society where men are the superior. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Considering that Lydia is the youngest of five sisters, as already mentioned before, and that she was introduced to society by her mother at a young age (cf. PP 45), it is likely that she has been feeling ignored. As Jane and Elizabeth have been in the centre of attention due to their mother’s attempts to marry them to Mr Bingly and Mr Collins (source?), Lydia decides to regain the attention by her elopement on the assumption that especially Mrs Bennet would be overcome with joy. At the same time, she would surpass and triumph over her sisters by being the youngest daughter to be married first, which she ultimately accomplishes: “[Elizabeth] then joined them soon enough to see Lydia, with anxious parade, walk up to her mother’s right hand, and hear her say to her eldest sister, ‘Ah! Jane, I take your place now, and you must go lower, because I am a married woman” (PP

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

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice examines and critiques a society built upon gender roles. Austen does this by examining the obstacles women experienced in the Regency Period. Austen expresses how women were controlled, and objectified by men through their need to get married to a man. Additionally, the novel ridicules how women who could not afford to live without men were shadowed by their partner. This commentary is seen through the portrayal of the Bennet sisters. The females of the family are forced to marry because they do not inherit any wealth. The family is forced to comply with the same boundaries Austen was governed by. Therefore, Austen focuses on how the Bennet sisters overcome a society that suppresses them. This allows the reader to comprehend the strength, perseverance, determination, and assertiveness of the women in this time. Overall, Jane Austen addresses gender issues throughout the story. This is seen in the progressive image of Elizabeth, as she combats the inequality women experience. Although it was not common for women to criticize the patriarchy, the overall depiction of females is progressive. Elizabeth represents Austen’s feminist views, and the depiction of women in the novel is seen through her feminist image as she deals with Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy.

Lydia Bennet shows what will happen to someone if they solely focus on themselves. Near the beginning of the book, a military regiment lodges in the Bennet’s town. This causes Lydia to spend her time receiving attention from the regiment. Even when the regiment moves to a new town, she follows after them. As Lydia does this, she pays almost regard for neither her nor her family’s reputation. These actions cause her to fall for Mr. Wickham, and for them to eventually run “off to Scotland” together to get married (Austen 260). Mr. Wickham had no intention of actually marring Lydia, he was using her to get what he wanted and planned on leaving her. Through the interference of another character, Lydia and Mr. Wickham eventually do get married but soon their “affection” for each other “sunk into indifference” and their money runs out (Austen 366). Lydia lives her life focusing on herself and superficial beauty, she receives

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a satire, which took place during the Napoleon Wars set in Longbourn, England. The main characters are three women: Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist, and Lady Catherine and Miss Bingley, the antagonists. The conflict occurs when Mrs. Bennet is looking for husbands for her two single daughters. As a result of news that a wealthy man is coming to England, Mrs. Bennet thinks he will be good for her daughter. Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and she feels that it is fake so she refuses. Even though, Wickham lied to Elizabeth about Darcy he agrees to marry Lydia if he is paid. Mrs. Bennet is successful in which all her daughters are either engaged of married. Austen’s novel shows how pride can

Her father [Mr. Bennet], captivated by youth and beauty, and that appearance of good humour which youth and beauty generally give, had married a woman whose weak understanding and illiberal mind had very early in their marriage put an end to all real affection for her. (Austen 339).

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

Women’s roles in history have shifted and changed from century to century. From housewife to CEO, women have come a long way to having their independence. In Pride and Prejudice, the character Jane Bennet is a woman of her time period, her focus on getting a husband, and female pursuits such as balls and gowns. In comparison, Elizabeth Bennet, her sister is focused on marriage for love, and rejects some of the ideals of her sister. She shows an attitude not usually found in women in the 1800s. Elizabeth Bennet compared to her sister Jane, exhibits characteristics that are associated with modern women.

Fashion in the late 1800’s was a form of constraint for women, prohibiting them from living freely and restricting them to simple activities. Looking closely at period fashion offers better understanding of an author’s characters. The silly and frivolous characters in Pride and Prejudice, such as Lydia and Mrs. Bennet, are concerned with finery, while the sensible and realistic Lizzy could care less. During Jane Austen’s time, women were judged on their natural beauty and their ability to enhance it with clothing.

In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet, the mother of the protagonist, Elizabeth, is generally portrayed as a buffoon who is an adversary for he daughter that is trying to force her into a marriage she does not want. One may wonder how she can be justified in any way, considering that she is known to embarrass her family members and behave idiotically. However, in the time period they live in, a marriage is necessary for all of the family to avoid a terrible fate. Mrs. Bennet, while often behaving improperly, does try to do the best for her daughters based on the world she lives in.

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

Jane Austen’s well-known novel, Pride and Prejudice, discussed multiple social themes in the 19th century. Austen mainly criticized marriage during her era, when she says that, “it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” (Austen 3). As she explains that it was valuable to women since it provided them with security and a social title. The author explored the diverse motives behind matrimony in her time period by using a humorous and romantic plot to discuss the social issues. For instance, Charlotte Lucas’s unreasonable marriage to Mr. Collins is a vital example of how women needed to secure a future and attain social status. To conclude, Lydia Bennet’s meaningless marriage to George Wickham shows that entering the marriage estate could have also been for mainly financial purposes. Contrastingly, Jane Bennet, the heroine’s older sister, marries Charles Bingley for love, security, and a social ranking. On the other hand, Elizabeth Bennet marries Fitzwilliam Darcy after months of misunderstandings and romantic drama for none other than true love. Thus, Austen uses her leading characters’ marriages in Pride and Prejudice to exhibit the various attitudes and reasons for marrying in the 19th century. (Lane 2015)