The Pursuit of Virtue in Pride and Prejudice Essay

‘A deeper understanding of relationships and identity emerges from pursuing the connections between Pride and Prejudice and Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen.’

The value of literature delineates an opportunity for humanity to achieve collective growth. The intellectual capability of both individuals and communities are affected by the importance assigned to literary works. Lack of such regard results in a limited capacity for sociological cohesion consequently shaping the discourse of an era. Austen inadvertently expresses the minimal regard for written material in her society through Pride and Prejudice. The exclamation “there is no enjoyment like reading!” highlights the passion felt for such an activity. However, this desire can be attributed to discourse. Austen exhibits this through the cultural expectation that a woman “must have thorough knowledge”, furthered by the dialogue of gaining cognizance

Continuing her uncertainty of her sister’s judgement, Elizabeth concurs with Jane’s perception of Bingley while questioning “And so, you like this man’s sisters too, do you? Their manners are not equal to his” (11). Austen included this statement to show Elizabeth’s obsession with people’s manners and acknowledge society’s rules about manners, which Elizabeth has plentiful thoughts about. Simultaneously, Elizabeth ridicules the Bingley sisters’ manners and compliments Mr. Bingley’s. By asking if Jane likes the sisters, Elizabeth’s skeptical and scornful attitude towards people with poor manners is captured. Similarly, Austen demonstrates Elizabeth’s rejection of society’s idea about wealth and being a good person. While she acknowledges that this circumstance is true for Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth uses the Bingley sisters to prove this standard wrong. Without Elizabeth’s pessimism towards the Bingley sisters, the novel would lose

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

Love has been known to change people for the better. In the book “Pride and Prejudice”, Jane Austen uses various characters to demonstrate the selflessness of love despite the many obstacles that come with love. Love’s selflessness can come in many forms, such as helping others with nothing expected in return and setting aside one's personal beliefs to benefit another person. However, these altruistic moments come with many obstacles as well, like unrequited love and having to swallow one’s pride.

Jane Austen develops a strong illustration of how challenging emotional circumstances can initiate a change in character, using Elizabeth Bennet as an effective demonstration in Pride and Prejudice. Cases such as Mr. Darcy's proposal, Charlotte's marriage, and the discovery of Mr. Wickham's past are compelling support for Austen's idea that alterations to one's behaviour and actions can occur as a result of being placed in a strenuous emotional position. Each influences Elizabeth in a different way, some causing rapid change, while others cause a slower, more gradual one. Self-reflection and the reconsideration of a character's worldview allow Austen to highlight the importance of change in trying situations.

Virtue is, by definition, the excellent performance of an object’s function (Nic. Ethics, 1097b25-30). A thing’s function is determined by eliminating every ability that isn’t exclusive to what it is to be that thing (Nic. Ethics, 1097b30-1098a5). For example, a

In the novel 'Pride and Prejudice', Jane Austen has presented both positive and negative aspects of the two main theme—Pride and Prejudice. She has used a range of good examples and characters to demonstrate these two characteristics. She has also set different rewards or punishments for different characters, showing us both sides of being pride or prejudice.

According to Miss. Bingley to be an accomplished woman “A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing drawing , dancing, and the modern language, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of voice, her address and expressions,” (Austen 29). On Elizabeth’s decision, to walk three miles alone to see Jane, her mother responds against it, because Elizabeth “will not be fit to be seen” (Austen 24). When Elizabeth reaches Netherfield all dirty from her walk, she does not get admired by the sisters of Bingley. Instead in their eyes Elizabeth appears to possess “abominable sort of conceited independence” (Austen 26) and they went on to criticise her dirty and messy appearance after the walk. Whereas, Jane is admired as “ strength of feeling, composure of temper and a uniform cheerfulness of manner, which would guard her from the suspicions of the impertinents” (Elfenbein 332).

Just as the characters unknowingly follow Darcy's example of pride, they commit Elizabeth's crucial mistake, prejudging people (especially Darcy) according to horribly inadequate experience. Elizabeth's positive judgement of Wickham and negative one of Darcy prevent her from seeing Wickham's devious and whimsical nature and Darcy's honest efforts to improve despite the apparent lack of incentive. Like Elizabeth, the rest of the Bennets, and indeed the rest of those living in the vicinity of Meryton, believe Darcy to be a wholly disagreeable man. (In fact, he began as such, but even when he began to change, everyone refused to realize it, and maintained their dislike of him because of their previous judgements.) Mrs. Bennet is prejudiced against all other mothers with young daughters, believing them to be just as ambitious and scheming as she herself is. When told that Mrs. Long promised to introduce the Bennet sisters to Bingley, Mrs. Bennet hisses

Through the writing, Austen makes each character unique and different. This technique is clearly shown in her novel, Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, Austen identifies the voices of characters, such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, through the dialogue. Both characters use a complex structure in dialogue. For Mr. Darcy, this shows his intelligence and high class. Whereas for Elizabeth, this shows her insecurity within her social class. Elizabeth competes with Mr. Darcy by using the same structure to showcase her intelligence and wit. Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Darcy’s first proposal demonstrates this concept. She says, “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 the groundwork of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike” (Austen 131).

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, is a remarkable story showing the complications between men and women before and during their time of falling in love. The plot is based on how the main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, escape their pride, prejudice and vanity to find each other; however, both must recognize their faults and change them. Jane Austen follows the development of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship in how they both change in order to overcome their own vanities and be able to love each other.

Austen has also guided the reader to have the same opinions, as Elizabeth and this is the point in the reader realises that they too have formed inaccurate opinions and prejudices against characters. At the beginning of the novel the reader is intended to dislike Darcy. Austen creates this through the use of language by the omniscient narrator. Without realising it the reader has been forced to form a certain opinion of each character by the narrator, which is later reversed.

Austen has set out to save the rising art form of the novel. In this address to the reader she glorifies what a novel should be: the unrestrained expression of words conveying the wide range of raw human emotion. This veneration of the novel is necessary to the development of Catherine's fiction-loving character as it justifies the narrator's right to remain fond of this flawed heroine.

Thesis: Throughout the text of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen challenges gender and social norms in the Georgian Era through the development of Elizabeth Bennet as she interacts with characters in the novel.