The Social Fabric Of Late Eighteenth- And Early Nineteenth Century England

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.

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

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

The roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are contrasted between a father who cares about what’s inside of people and a mother who only worries about vanity and appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s parental guidance is unique to their personalities. Because of their two opposing personas, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s ideas of marriage are contradictory for their daughters; Mr. Bennet believes in a loving respectful marriage whereas Mrs. Bennet values a marriage which concerns wealth and social status. Their aspirations for Lydia, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Elizabeth mirror their conflicting ideologies. Mr. Bennet seems to have a quiet deep love

Bennet exclaims, “Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls” (2). Considering Mrs. Bennet’s lines, the reader acknowledges Austen’s first claims on marriage. Mrs. Bennet not only exemplifies the opening statement of the novel, but also justifies the effect it has on mother figures. As Mrs. Bennet’s character develops, the reader recognizes her obsession with the marriage of her daughters. Mrs. Bennet understands the importance of marrying ‘well’ in order to maintain a high standing in the social realm. However, understanding the consequences directly affects Mrs. Bennet’s desperate behavior. This interpretation becomes an inevitable experience for each of Mrs. Bennet’s daughters.

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.

It is another example of where men were still considered superior to women. However, women were gaining equity in legal, education, professional and personal aspects of their lives. In this story the roles of men and women start becoming less distinct than in previous time periods. One thing that did not change was the fact that men were still responsible to obtain the household and to provide for their families. Elizabeth, main character, was not afraid to stand up for herself and speak whatever came into mind. She did not think like her mom and her dad, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, who still strongly believed in traditional gender roles. Mrs. Bennet believed if Elizabeth married Mr. Bingley, he would be able to support her with all the income

In the novel, Mrs. Bennet’s role is mostly a mother. What the author depicts most is her image as a mother. For a mother, the most important center of her life may be her children. The children maybe the mother’s all. To be a mother, Mrs. Bennet is a good mother as other mothers, but she is not a successful mother. She lets Jane drive on horseback, which makes chance for them. She spoils Lydia, which leads to their eloping secretly. We can forgive her; the reason is that she loves her daughters. She does all the things for them. She is eager to marry her daughters to good family. “The business of her life was to get her daughters married.” She makes good future plans for them, because she knows her daughters cannot inherit the estate. She worries

Jane Austen’s novel is commanded by women; Pride and Prejudice explores the expectations of women in a society that is set at the turn of the 19th century. Throughout the plot, Austen’s female characters are all influenced by their peers, pressures from their family, and their own desires. The social struggle of men and women is seen throughout the novel. Characters, like Elizabeth, are examples of females not acting as proper as women were supposed to, while other women like Mrs. Bennett allow themselves to be controlled by men and society. Mr. Collins is a representation of the struggles males deal with in a novel dominated by women. The theme of marriage is prominent during Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Marriage can be examined in

In some novels, women either have a trivial role or contribute to the overall meaning of the work. In some fashion, women have an obvious or underlying hand in the grand scheme of the storyline. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is centered around the character of Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth’s character in itself is the embodiment of independence and non-conformity. In every aspect and trait of Elizabeth’s being, she constantly goes against the grain of what society perceives to be proper and correct. Through the use of Elizabeth’s appearance, adherence to social status, and concept of marriage, Jane Austen paints a character that has enough strong-will to challenge the strict social rules.

In Pride and Prejudice, the Bennet family tries to marry off their five daughters in hopes that they will take over the Longbourn estate after Mr. Bennet dies. Mrs. Bennet finds the opportunity to start marrying off her daughters when Mr. Bingley and his wealthy friend, Mr. Darcy, arrive to town. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Austen uses the motif of women and marriage to convey the importance of social status and family relations during the 1800s. In the beginning, Austen mentions the importance of women and marriage to the family’s financial situation.

future problems to come. Most importantly, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet rushed their marriage without investing the time to get to know the other person. For example, Jane Austen expresses, “Carried away by Mr. Bennet’s future wife’s lively youthfulness and beauty, Mr. Bennet married knowing little of her character” (Austen 236). This established no trust in their own marriage and relationship. Also, children learn by watching and as humans they will naturally model

Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship is contrasted with the other couples in the novel. It can especially be seen between the relationship Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have. The sensible characters in the novel accept the standard of intelligence and sensitivity and their relationships are determined by it. Mr. Bennet cannot be happy with his wife because he does not respect her. He retreats

In the exchange, Mrs Bennet’s overzealous attitude towards gossip and the marrying off of her daughters is first revealed. Her attitude however is not reflected in her husband, as Mr Bennet appears nonchalant throughout the entire exchange. Mr and Mrs Bennet are used by Austen to show the reader the result of marrying in accordance to something other than love. During this first conversation, and throughout the rest of the novel, Mr Bennet frequently appears to take pleasure from subtly teasing and mocking his apparently oblivious wife. The enjoyment Mr Bennet gets from this seems to be an attempt by Austen to show the results of marriage outside of love.

However, Mrs Bennet's insensitivity and pride in her daughters and towards her neighbours is seen as embarrassing, which creates problems in the lives of her daughters, especially the eldest, Jane, who is deceived by Mr Bingley's two haughty sisters. They see her as much beneath their brother and unsuitable for him, and later on in the novel try to separate them by drawing Mr Bingley away from Netherfield to London for the winter, and uniting efforts to increase the friendship between Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy's sister, Georgiana, who has inherited a fortune. And so we are lead, by the authoress, to believe that the possession of wealth by both gentlemen and women in these times was important especially for marriage, yet there are many setbacks. Towards the middle of the novel, we become aware of the fact that wealth also sets barriers on marriage.