Nontraditional Women in Jane Austen´s Pride and Prejudice

A rush of finery descends from the stairs as three women enter the ball. Each wears a striking gown, rustling with each step they take down different paths, deviating from the expected and taking the unexpected route to find their own bliss. The party whispers their names, silently admiring the three commanding attitudes of these nontraditional women. For the 19th century, these women express attitudes that deviate from the typical stereotype. Pride and Prejudice offers Jane Austen’s take on the traditional 19th century woman through indirect characterization, tonal elements, and heavy satire and irony to portray the idea that flawed women (in the 19th century sense) hold the key to success.

Charlotte Lucas, the rational, plain often overlooked character in Austen’s novel is one of these nontraditional women. She is older than many of the central characters in the novel, and right away this poses a problem, for women past the age of twenty-five are seen as too old for courtship. Austen takes this idea and develops a character that is overly pragmatic and sensible in comparison to the other female leads in the novel. Charlotte’s acceptance of her marriage to Mr. Collins is described as “pure and disinterested” (105) regarding the establishment of shared property and wealth-this is expressed as purely sarcastic. After the engagement takes place, Lucas describes her motives “I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home” (108), she states with a certain degree of steely acceptance not seen in other more idealistic characters. She conveys a begrudgingly accepting tone in this instance, and through this lackluster tone, Austen’s view of sensible women comes to light. When the narrator describes Charlotte as “...

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...n really being imperfect. However flawed, Lydia (and not to mention Charlotte) end up married and secure in their own right. Through indirect characterization that expresses the central paradox of Lydia, she gets married-achieving the epitome of success for a 19th century woman, even through her flaws.

Austen observes through the female characters of Pride and Prejudice that the perfect woman, by 19th century standards, doesn’t seem to exist, and when she does there is some degree of misfortune in her path. She explores this notion chiefly through satire and irony, as the type of woman the female characters strive for is not always the most desirable. Through indirect characterization and tone, it becomes apparent that each female character is characterized positively or negatively, which allows for each character’s conclusion to be fully explained and understood.