preview

Social Commentary In Pride And Prejudice

Good Essays

Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice Austen offers up commentary on a variety of themes — prejudice, family, marriage, class, and so on. Of all the themes, perhaps none is better developed than that of Pride. Pride and Prejudice is regarded as a brilliant piece of social commentary, offering a vivid peek into the British Regency life in 1813. The social milieu of Austen’s Regency England was particularly stratified, and class divisions were rooted in family connections and wealth. In her work, Austen is often critical of the assumptions, pride, and prejudices of upper-class England. Austen often satirizes England’s prideful individuals; the England she depicts is one in which social mobility is limited, and class-consciousness and pride are relatively strong. It seems that pride is what hinders the characters from revealing their potentially best nature. Firstly, pride is a constant presence in characters’ attitudes and treatment of each other, colouring their judgments and leading them to make rather foolish mistakes, especially in the case of Darcy and Elizabeth. The novel, Pride and Prejudice, implies that no one is ever completely free of pride. In fact, it is pride what prevents Elizabeth and Darcy from revealing their true feelings about each other. Austen’s plot often features characters forging their respective ways through an established and rigid social hierarchy. Darcy and Elizabeth’s love is shaped and hindered by pride, and therefore they must elude and

Get Access