Women Putting Down Other Women in Pride and Prejudice

The novel “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen depicts a social structure in which there are clear gender expectations. These gender expectations control and restrict the lives of both genders, most notably women. In. Austen’s world, women have few opportunities to support themselves, and have high expectations attributed to them. Men were held to similar standards. Upper and middle class men were expected to add to their families’ wealth, be charming, and eventually marry. Deviation from these spoken and unspoken rules, such as Lydia and Wickham’s elopement, would result in becoming a social pariah. In “Pride and Prejudice”, the characters of Elizabeth Bennet, her sister Lydia, and Mr. Darcy challenge the aforementioned gender roles put in

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813(Gary vii) a time when women had “few legal and economic rights or even receiving little respect, women can be seen as oppressed victims of a patriarchal society, subordinate first to their fathers and, then, to their husbands who had, of course, been selected by their fathers” (Swords, 76-82). At first glance one might think that Pride and Prejudice reinforces sexist stereotypes, however upon further examination of Jane Austen and her heroine Elizabeth it is clear that Pride and Prejudice in fact erodes the sexist stereotypes of women.

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).

Caroline Bingley is a particularly interesting character, whose chief purpose is to aid in plot complications and undoubtedly irritate the reader. Economically, she is very much like her brother. As a product of the new gentry, she possesses a dowry of £20,000, a large sum, even for her social ranking, which gives her an advantage in marrying up on the social ladder. Her negative qualities of hypocrisy and selfishness do not aid her in her pursuit of Mr. Darcy as a potential husband; in fact they discourage Darcy as he often responds to her compliments with silence (Austen 42). Upon recognition of Darcy’s interest in Elizabeth, she proceeds to criticize everything about the Bennet sister, right down to the hem of her skirt (39). This two-facedness portrays the hypocrisy of and the effect of elevated rank on the attitudes of the new gentry of Nineteenth

If we talk about conformity, then one particular instance from the book stands out where Elizabeth exemplifies the concept of the same. She is a nice and ideal women and like many other women of her era, she couldn't question the man in her life. When Victor asks her to marry and kept his secret as a condition in front of her, she happliy accepted the condition without questioning him for the second time.

In addition, Elizabeth’s early judgment of Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst cause her to sever future opportunities of amiability with the two by declaring that she could never like them (25).

Women are often looked down upon or even portrayed as the weaker partner in a relationship or in society. However, there’s the idea of feminism: women having equal social, political, and economic power in relations to men. There are women who believe in equality between genders while there are those who are simply ashamed of their gender and in result try to take away others masculinity. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter includes an important feminist, who is characterized as a powerful female in literature with strong ideals based on feminism. In contrast, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest includes a female character who does not seek equality between her and the men in the mental hospital. Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter

Since many people were jostling to get into upper society, certain rules regarding etiquette and dress

Though she parallels her female acquaintances in many ways, Elizabeth still possesses a unique spirit, portraying her to be a woman ahead of her time. For instance, when she arrives at Netherfield house, Elizabeth astounds her sister's hosts. Covered in several inches of mud, she arrives at the household to visit her elder sister Jane. The Bingley sisters, shocked by her appearance, perceive Elizabeth to lack decorum, and judge her to have "nothing, in short, to recommend her". Darcy, however, feels otherwise.

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

The families of Elizabeth and Charlotte play a very important part in their lives, and in the prospect of their future companions. Elizabeth’s family are more prone to exposing themselves and being ridiculous , and it is partly down to her family that Mr. Darcy is so adamant on Mr. Bingley not marrying her sister Jane. However, unlike her family, Elizabeth is socially graceful, sensitive and conscious of her appearance in the eyes of others. This leads to her acute awareness of the social failing of some members of her family, particularly her mother and youngest sister.

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.

The richest, best looking men were usually married off first that is why when Mr. Bingley came to town everybody introduced their daughters to him and his family. Mrs. Bennet say to her husband Mr. Bennet, who usually ignored her, “It is truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be want for a wife” (Austen 1-2) A rich man did not need a wife as much as a woman needed a man. A rich single good looking man, like most of the bachelors in the novel, was every girls dream; a girl’s father could only introduce his daughter to a man.

Through this conversation, Miss Bingley is implying Elizabeth and her family have nothing to offer. They are not wealthy, or judges like Darcy’s great uncle or even on the same social level. She also suggests that if Elizabeth is noticed by a wealthy man, her sisters may get the impression that they have a chance with well to do men. The intertwinement of wealthy and unwealthy people will create relationships that are unimaginable. Needless to say, there are immense amounts of tension between classes indirectly and directly.

Women’s rights have been a question greatly discussed for quite some time, and the debate is still continuing despite the possibilities offered to women today. Feminism nowadays has evolved into a movement in a number of directions, starting with women equality and ending with homosexuality. However, feminism originally is an ideology that is based on equal political, economic and social rights for women. Feminism theory deals with analysing women’s social roles and experiences in relation to gender inequality. Traces of this ideology are vastly represented and can be found in a number of literary works, as notable examples are novels written by female authors (the Brontë sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot and others) during the Age