How Does Jane Austen Present The Treatment Of Women In Pride And Prejudice

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Jane Austen demonstrates in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, the experiences of young women and men who are growing up in the nineteenth century and the expectations of them, as well as the pressure that is put on them from their family and community to get married to a suitable partner that the woman or man can spend the rest of their life with, through a group of sisters and other family members and friends who were living during that particular time period. Women in Pride and Prejudice seemed to be treated fairly for the most part, except that men that were in a higher social class expected the women to be as wealthy and have more or as much experience as them. An example of this would be when Mr. Darcy lists all things women must possess to be desirable, such as reading numerous amounts of works so that the woman could “improve her mind” (Austen 29). All women were expected to marry young and start a family, and those who did not marry were most definitely looked down upon, since this showed a sign of being poor or undesirable.
Elizabeth in particular was looked down upon by Darcy in the beginning because she was not as wealthy as he was and also because Darcy had noticed how her …show more content…

Collins is also a very insecure man, and this is shown when he talked to Mrs. Bennet about marrying Jane, and when finding out she was already engaged, he immediately shifted his attention to Elizabeth and gave her no warning in his affections for her. This demonstrates how he is not looking for a woman to love, but just a woman who will be with him and keep his house in order, bear his children and project a good marriage. This relates back to the quote where men of good fortune must also want a wife (Austen 3) because he has the good fortune and knows that what he has to offer is going to be pleasing and attractive to many young women. Even though he is not the best character, he still is presented as a formidable partner who can offer social status and

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