Love And Family In Pride And Prejudice And Lady Windermere's Fan

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Recommended: Class distinction and social stratification in pride and prejudice

Mauldrin Lwaki
English IV K
April 1, 2014
Spring K Research
In both Pride and Prejudice and Lady Windermere’s Fan, the main topic of discussion was love and family. Jane Austen discussed love and the different social hierarchy in Pride and Prejudice, while Oscar Wilde mainly focused on family. Both of the stories also discussed about manners, for example how Mr. Collins and his awkward social interactions. Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde can both be compared in their literary works when it comes to the concept of love and marriage.
"Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your apparel. Mrs. Benet is far from requiring that elegance of dress in us which becomes herself and her daughter. I could advise you merely to put on whatever of your clothes is superior to the rest—there is no occasion for anything more. Lady Catherine will not think the worse of you for being simply dressed. She likes to have the distinction of rank preserved." (Austen, 1813). The quote showed how Lady Catherine likes to look socially inferior, even though she does not have so much wealth. In Pride and Prejudice the main topic of discussion was social class. Whose family owned what, or how much a man is worth.
Lady Windermere’s Fan spoke some parts associating with social class, such as some people thinking they are better than others because of how much money they have or who they know. There was a tendency to ridicule the upper class men who consider themselves better than the rest. For example the Duchess of Berwick being portrayed as a dominant gossip girl, and Agatha portrayed as meek. “If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to bad it doesn’t. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism” (Wilde...

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...she would be miserable in an "unequal marriage"? Or does Mr. Bennet still think that in a relationship the man must be smarter than the woman, so that she would think him "a superior"? (Austen, 1892). Mr. Bennet in the end is looking out for his daughter and wants nothing but the best for her.
In Lady Windermere’s Fan, there was another main focus, marriage. For instance the dysfunctional relationship between Lady Windermere and her husband. The readers find out he is having an affair with Lady Windermere’s mother. Erlynne left Windermere’s life for years to preserve her reputation. “Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.” The main scandal or gossip of the play is who Erlynne really was, and also Lady Windermere’s troubles with her husband.

Word Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. 1813. Print.
Oscar, Wilde. Lady Windermere's Fan. 1893. Print.

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