Pride and Prejudice: Social Class Essay

Austen shows the reader a strong sense of duty through her character Charlotte. Of Charlotte, Austen says “marriage had always been her object; it was the only provision for well-educated young women of small fortune,”(22). Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas soon after Elizabeth rejects his offer. Charlotte knows that her friend Elizabeth has declined Mr. Collins’ offer. Charlotte also knows that it is not socially acceptable for Collins to propose to someone else so soon after he is rejected. The quick rebound also shows that Collins does not have any affection for Elizabeth or Charlotte. Charlotte however, accepts his proposal. When asked about her reasoning for doing so, Charlotte tells Elizabeth that acceptance was her only option because she might not receive another offer of marriage. Charlotte believes Elizabeth foolish for rejecting Mr Collins’ proposal of marriage for this reason. Charlotte believes that her duty, and Elizabeth’s duty, as women includes

       In any literary work the title and introduction make at least some allusion to the important events of the novel. With Pride and Prejudice, Austen takes this convention to the extreme, designing all of the first and some of the second half of the novel after the title and the first sentence. The concepts of pride, prejudice, and "universally acknowledged truth" (51), as well as the interpretation of those concepts, are the central focus of the novel. They dictate the actions of almost all the major characters (not just Darcy and Elizabeth), and foreshadow all of the major events in the novel, especially in the first few chapters, involving the first ball at Netherfield. While Darcy

Pride and Prejudice is a movie directed by Cyril Coke in 1980 that is inspired by the original book of the same title, written by Jane Austen. The characters and scenes played in the movie, showed more substantial details compared to the previous black and white film on 1940, directed by Robert Z. Leonard. Jane Austen was an English writer who gained her fame through her books that showcase critiques on the British landed gentry by the end of 18th century. Her successful books include Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and many more. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen portrayed five unmarried Bennet daughters who were pressured by their mother to marry, and were thrilled upon the arrival of two wealthy noblemen. Through Elizabeth Bennet, the author showed how Lizzie must overcome her own false prejudice against class-conscious Mr. Darcy, and overcoming her lower status to find romance. This book also showed the significance of wealth for marriage and the control parents have over their children’s marriage in the 19th century Britain.

“Lady Catherine will not think the worst of you for being simply dressed. She likes to have the distinction of rank preserved” (Austen 127). Distinction of social classes has been slowly fading away in today’s modern society, but contributed to create a society dominated by a ironclad hierarchy prior to the twentieth century. Jane Austen published Pride and Prejudice in 1813, which revolves around the love story between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. Both Elizabeth and Darcy have to overcome various issues of the Regency era, and learn to accept each other towards the end of novel. Jane Austen showcases the nineteenth century turmoil between the upper class and the working class through the strict social hierarchy and conflicts between the characters in Pride and Prejudice and ultimately proposes a solution towards the end of the novel.

Most importantly, due to his religious duty. As she told her friend, Elizabeth, about accepting a proposal from Mr. Collins, Elizabeth full of of shock replied, “Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte, -- impossible” (Austen, 122). Elizabeth’s shock is because she believed he would not be the right person for her. However, Tony Tanner agrees that Charlotte views her marriage strictly as a “preservative from want” (Bloom, 66). This symbolizes Charlotte marries Collins because she did not want to be a load for her family especially her mother who went through difficulties to find her a mate Marrying Collins helps Charlotte than it did for him because she received advantages such as financial, security, and unburden to her family as well as getting a higher rank. She coldly admits to Elizabeth, “…I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins 's character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state" (Austen, 123). Charlotte’s train of thought is Mr. Collins is her last option of marriage to have her own life instead of living with her parents. Their marriage is based on societal norms and she agrees to marry him, even with the knowledge that they have different personalities. She marries Collin in disregards of her self-respect and his undurable personality.

Bennet was mesmerized by the external beauty. In a wealthy and educated household, he was brought up to polish his external life. Mr. Bennet believed that the possession of a beautiful woman will bring a beauty in his life. Whereas, Mrs. Bennet was raised in a middle class family, where inner qualities were not on their lists of priorities. Similar to Charlotte, she was desperate to attain a future and a man.

The progress between Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship, in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) illustrates and explores several the key themes in the novel. Their relationship highlights class expectations, pride and prejudice, and marriage, and how they play a major role in determining the course of their association. These are outlined through their first prejudiced dislike of each other when they first meet, the stronger feelings for Elizabeth that develop on Darcy’s side, her rejection in Darcy’s first proposal, then her change of opinion and lastly the mutual love they form for one another. Pride and Prejudice is set up as a satire, commenting on human idiocy, and Jane Austen

For Charlotte she married Mr Collins. Mr. Collins was not Charlotte first choice but she wanted to have security. She no longer wanted to be aberdon on her mother and father, as well as she was right on the edge of the age in which women were considered old if they had not married yet. The reason for marriage is polar opposites when comparing Charlotte to Elizabeth. Elizabeth believes in marrying for love and affection. Charlotte on the other had marries for security she may not have turley loved Mr. Collins, but she now knows she has a home and a husband. It is believed that Elizabeth deals with relationships in a pragmatic way. Not taking things fast, You can see this in the novel when she denies the marriage proposal from Mr. Collins. She found Mr. Collins to be rude and over controlling. Her mother was in disbelief and her father agreed that if she didn't want to marry Mr. Collins was her

First Impressions First impressions are very important. In the Victorian age, people based their whole opinion of someone on first impressions. Most times the first impression of someone is not the way they truly are. Sometimes a first impression can cause you to think negative of someone but later you find out that they are very nice and a very positive person. One example is when Mr. Darcy meets Elizabeth in the book ,Pride and Prejudice.

  While Pride And Prejudice is demonstrably concerned with the subject of love, from Lydia's physical passion for Wickham, through Jane's slightly too patient and undemanding feelings for Bingley, to Elizabeth's final "perfect" match with Darcy, it would be doing the novel and its author a great injustice to assume that it is merely a love story, and has no other purpose or design. The scope of the novel is indeed much wider than a serious interest in who will marry who and who will have the manor that is worth the most money, or even the less shallow subject of women trying, failing, and succeeding at finding their perfect mates on a romantic level. While the investigation of love in its

Pride and Prejudice: The Class Battle Novelist Jane Austen, in the classic novel, Pride and Prejudice, tells the story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth bennet: who are both are blinded by the rigid rules of the social class system that they are bound by to realize that they are in love. Austen uses characterization, irony, and a satirical narrator to support convey her message that the which is to convey that if people are too quick to judge others by their status, they could miss out on forming wonderful relationships. Austen use of satire throughout the book can be seen through the portrayal of some of the novel's major characters. Mrs. Bennet comes across a woman who is overly obsessed with marrying off her daughter into wealthy families;

The fact that Mr Bennet knows that his marriage is unsuccessful is important.  We know that he is conscious of it, as he warns Elizabeth against an unequal marriage,

“Society made me do it.” This phrase is a reality for many people in the world who live their lives through society’s expectations. Having a perfect reputation and living exactly by society’s rules is not always easy when faced with challenges such as restrictions amidst social classes. In Jane Austen’s novel, Pride and Prejudice, social classes are a common theme throughout the book. This theme is strongly influenced by the culture and desires of people in the Georgian Era, when the author began working on this book, which dictates the major choices in the characters’ lives. For example, something that people value most in this era is reputation. Main characters in Pride and Prejudice like the

Pride and Prejudice, a novel written by Jane Austen during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century is often thought of as simply a love story and although on the surface this is true, it is in fact much more than that. Austen focuses greatly on the class system and lack of social mobility allowed in England during this period (the Napoleonic Wars, 1797-1815) and the pride and prejudice that these social divides reveal, as well as the personal pride and prejudice shown by individual characters and how these interlink. The novel is in many ways a comedy of manners (that is, a comedy that ridicules a particular social group because of their attitudes and behaviour, in this case the Upper class and to some extent the Middle class).

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is set in the 18th century, when the future of society relied on social class. According to social class, the relationship between Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth should have been impossible, but they are able to break through these restrictions.The progression of Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship through the obstacles of breaking through social class dominates the novel. Jane Austen illustrates the restrictions of the social construct of class based on wealth along with her own views on social class in the fiction novel, Pride and Prejudice, through the relationship of Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy.