A Comparison of Characters in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
There are several ways of comparing the potential of a man to be a
suitor, ranging firstly from the possible social gain that the woman
might achieve from marrying up a class, to the security that the man
could offer them in terms of life quality and economic status, and
lastly that they might actually be in love with each other and make
each other happy.
Mr Darcy, as a man, on first viewing, would appear to be the perfect
suitor for any eligible woman. He is a man of great wealth (definitely
within the top 1% wealthiest families in the country), and a man who
offers a possibly massive step up in social hierarchy - that could
increase the height of their family on the social ladder hugely. To
most of the women in Hertfordshire, he would be seen as an ideal
husband before they have met.
He has a good reputation amongst his class as being a superbly
mannered man, who is a brilliant dancer and a good friend, but the
impression that he gives to the whole of Hertforshire is immensely
different. When they first encounter him, he is seen by the mothers as
a great prospect to marry one of their daughters (indeed he is seen as
much more attractive than Mr Bingley), but this quickly changes. He is
seen to be far too proud - he deems but one woman at the Netherfield
Ball to be good enough for him to dance with (Bingley's sister), and
although his manners are gracious, he is merely going through the
motions; not being even nearly as sociable as Bingley. By the end of
the evening, every person in Hertfordshire perceives him to be a
stuck-up, prejudiced man who is nowhere nearl...
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...d to the extent that he can
gain a far higher social status and a great deal more money. When he
is unsuccesful with Darcy's sister due to Darcy's intervention, he is
bitter and attempts to enforce his revenge by turning Elizabeth (who
he probably acknowledges to be interested in Darcy) against Darcy and
to Wyckham.
However, his true colours soon emerge, but due to circumstances, they
are not publicly revealed. This allows him to elope with Lydia, a
silly, stupid girl, who has trouble perceiving people for what they
really are, and thinks that life is all balls and flirting with men.
The two seem to fit well together, Lydia has no concerns for what
happens when she elopes with Wyckham, and Wyckham believes that
despite (or through) all of his coniving he has still ended up with
the wife to exploit that he needed.
According to author Jane Austen, “Vanity and pride are diverse things; however the words are frequently utilized synonymously. A man might be pleased without being vain. “Pride relates more to our sentiment of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others consider us.” Who was Jane Austen? What kind of woman was she in the world she lived in? Did she ever find love so indefinable in her own novel? Jane Austen appeared on the scene on December sixteenth, 1775. Jane was born to Reverend George Austen of the Steventon parsonage and Cassandra Austen of the Leigh family. She was to be their seventh youngster and just the second girl to the couple. Her kin were made up to a great extent of siblings,
like a husband should. "My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?" Mr.Bennet replied that he had not, which he has.
It may be his strong point, but he feels that it should not be bragged about, especially in noble company.
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is well noted for its ability to question social norms. Most importantly, Austen explores the institution of marriage, as it was in her time, a time where many married for security rather than love. Her characters Elizabeth and Charlotte are renowned even more for their outspoken nature and different views on marriage. Though both Elizabeth and Charlotte yearn for a happy marriage, Charlotte has a more pragmatic and mundane approach while Elizabeth is more romantic and daring with her actions. Through the romantic involvements of both Elizabeth and Charlotte, Austen shows that happiness in marriage is not entirely a matter of chance, but is instead contingent on an accurate evaluation of self and others
Psychologist Robert Sternberg developed the "Triangular Theory of Love" which defines the three components of love needed for a "perfect" relationship as commitment, passion, and intimacy (companionship) (Wikipedia). "The amount of love one experiences depends on the absolute strength of these three components, and the type of love one experiences depends on their strengths relative to each other" (Wikipedia). In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, she introduces five couples which enter into marriages in all different types of love. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have an infatuated love that fades to no love at all, Charlotte and Mr. Collins enter into an empty love, Lydia and Mr. Wickham fall into a fatuous love, Jane and Mr. Bingley focus on a companionate love, and finally, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy find an all consummate love for each other. Throughout the novel, Austen uses these five variations of love to employ characters and define their futures.
England, under James 1st rule was a vastly altered period compared to our now modern society. So many of the values held during this time, have now been discarded and forgotten. Jane Austen grew up in the Romantic period and experienced a world which was divided, whether through education, class, status, fashion, abilities, gender and etiquette. Her novel, Pride and Prejudice is counted as one of the great classics of English Literature. Austen engrosses readers to live in her world for a time and experience a society filled with matchmaking, romance, marriage and gossip. Every one of her characters is so distinctive and has a clearly outlined caricature. Each of their diverse values conveys a different thinking of the time. Pride and Prejudice is preoccupied with the gentry and most of the social aspects which consumed these people’s lives. There were so many expectations of how you would behave in public, but of course not all of these were upheld. Elizabeth Bennet, Mr Darcy, Mrs Bennet and Charlotte Lucas are four characters which keep such strong beliefs about the social norms. These characters are expressed so descriptively and through their personalities readers can learn just how the numerous social standards were received.
Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a tall, handsome, self-absorbed aristocrat, Darcy experiences a change in personality and character. In order to dispose of his existent views on money and marriage, Darcy needed to feel something, to fall in love. Although he was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lesser economic status. The love of Elizabeth Bennet, however, changed his behavior.
His pride triumphs in the end, leading him to believe his daughters wouldn’t deceive him, for they truly love him.
Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen It centers on the elder sisters of the Bennet family, Jane and Elizabeth. Their personalities, misunderstandings and the roles of pride and prejudice play a large part in the development of their individual relationships. The spirited Elizabeth and softhearted Jane have to deal with not only their own feelings but also the status of their family, both of which affect the outcomes of their marriages. The struggle is very believable and realistic because the story takes place a long time ago. The way people interact with each other today is quite different than how they would interact with each other back
Jane Austen is known for her never ending satirical criticism towards England’s social stratification in “Pride and Prejudice” along with her other works. We see the difficulties Elizabeth Bennet faces with the marriage system and her social class rank that was faced by women all over the world. Elizabeth Bennet’s personality complexity breaks the women stereotype in this novel, showing how independent and logical they could be. “Pride and Prejudice” is a reflection of gender oppression and social roles influenced by Jane Austen’s life during eighteenth century England.
Relationships and marriages play a crucial role in the novel, Pride and Prejudice. Some of the important relationships shown in the novel are out of pure love while, most are together for the sense of security, money, and convenience for the both of the partners. Each character holds a different perspective on love and marriage. A handful of characters even become involved in each others’ “love life.” In this particular time period, the parents of the daughters purposefully try to marry them off based on money and looks. In this case, we see Mrs. Bennet play the role of the crazy mother who wants her daughter to be married off to any man with money. Mrs. Bennet does not care one bit if they do not love each other, her one care is money money money. Mr. Bennet doesn’t push the marrying off of his daughters because of the fact, that he feels indifferent about his marriage with Mrs. Bennet. The marriages in the book are either hits or misses.
In Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, Austen uses Mr. Bennet to help develop the characters; in like manner, Austen uses Mr. Bennet to help develop the plot.
The main protagonist of the story, Elizabeth Bennet (nicknamed both Lizzy and Eliza), is the second daughter in the Bennet family. Second only to her elder sister in beauty, Elizabeth’s figure is said to be “light and pleasing,” with “dark eyes,” and “intelligent…expression” (24). At 20 years old, she is still creating her place in society. Known for her wit and playful nature, “Elizabeth is the soul of Pride and Prejudice, [she] reveals in her own person the very title qualities that she spots so easily” (“Pride and Prejudice”) in others. Her insightfulness often leads her to jump to conclusions and think herself above social demand. These tendencies lead her to be prejudice towards others; this is an essential characteristic of her role
Literary Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The novel Pride and Prejudice, is a romantic comedy, by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is a story about an unlikely pair who go through many obstacles before finally coming together. Pride is the opinion of oneself, and prejudice is how one person feels others perceive them. The novel, Pride and Prejudice, uses plot, the characters of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and the status of women and social standing, to portray the theme of the novel - pride and prejudice.
Class distinction is one of Jane Austen’s themes in the novel, and the differentiation related to it is evidently depicted. Reading the novel from the first chapter, I realize that the author clearly illustrates that class is what matters most in many of the incidences displayed by the characters. Unless an individual is of a given class, the idea that he or she has money is not valued, since only birth in a certain background is what is of value. When a person openly values money over class, such a person is frowned upon. In general terms, the Novel shows a social world extremely stratified and full of pretension and class struggle.