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Jane austens impact on writing
Jane austen impact on english literature
Jane austen impact on english literature
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Fay Weldon’s 1984 novel Letters to Alice on First reading Jane Austen works to challenge ideals of the perfect women and marriage held in Jane Austen’s era that are shown through her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. Weldon displays comparisons between the world Aunt Fay grew up in as well as the world her niece Alice grew up in and that of Austen's, demonstrated through stereotypes of marriage and ideal women. Through a range of techniques, Letters to Alice challenges views held in the Georgian regency in Pride and Prejudice with its radical new world ideals.
One ideal that has dramatically changed over time, seen mainly in Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is the ideal of the perfect women. Many of the Bennet daughters were the epitome of what a perfect women should look and act like in Georgian England. As Caroline Bingley notes, “...A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to
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Weldon uses Elizabeth’s characterisation to convey how people now see Austen’s literature and how marriage is now more for love than it is for anything else, “We believe that Elizabeth should marry for love… “ and to further prove this, Aunt Fay also describes Elizabeth’s character as “Do not be misled, she is not ignorant, merely discreet: not innocent, merely graceful.” By use of this characterisation, Weldon can accurately demonstrate how women were viewed in the Georgian era compared to Weldon’s context. Weldon has since elaborated on this and has used tone to display how radically damaging the ideals of Austen’s era were, “There in Georgian England we had the microcosm … the village girls, whose face was her fortune, obliged to marry the old … to survive.” Through Austen’s text Pride and Prejudice, Weldon is able to challenge ideals of the perfect woman using her own context against Austen’s Georgian
The comparison of Fay Weldon’s 1984 epistolic novel Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen (here after ‘Letters’) enhances the understanding of the importance of values, issues and context in the 1813 novel, Pride and Prejudice (here after ‘Pride’). This is demonstrated through the examining of the similar and contrasting connections between the texts. Despite the large varsity between the contextual
Weldon, Fay. From Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austen. Taplinger Publishing Co. Inc, 1984 in Readings on Jane Austen. Ed. Clarice Swisher.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s journey to love and marriage is the focal point of the narrative. But, the lesser known source of richness in Austen’s writing comes from her complex themes the well-developed minor characters. A closer examination of Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s dear friend in Pride and Prejudice, shows that while she did not take up a large amount of space in the narrative, her impact was great. Charlotte’s unfortunate circumstances in the marriage market make her a foil to Elizabeth, who has the power of choice and refusal when it comes to deciding who will be her husband. By focusing on Charlotte’s age and lack of beauty, Austen emphasizes how ridiculous and cruel marriage can be in this time.
Sandwiching his analyses of the ambivalent lovers between his deliberations on Austen’s intentions and other critics’ inductions, Stovel is able to lodge his essay in a broad, meaningful context. However, this strength of Stovel’s essay is also a flaw, because as Stovel spews forth a list of what other critics think, the reader is left to wonder what Stovel himself thinks. When Stovel finally reveals his opinions, he speaks of “moral patterns” and “psychological states” as being ambivalent characteristics of Elizabeth (28). Although Stovel’s idea has great potential for expansion, he fails at explaining this concept clearly. It is difficult to grasp the connection between the “moral” engagement of Elizabeth in “protecting herself from her own sharp intelligence” and her being “humiliated by Charlotte’s defection” (29). After all, Elizabeth prides herself on being a “studier of character” (Austen, 38) and she is shocked at – not “humiliated by” – Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth cannot believe her friend’s defection, because she has previously told Charlotte that it is unsound to believe “it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life” (Austen, 21). Stovel states that Elizabeth’s “psychological predicament” is being unable to think well of others (Stovel, 29). This is untrue, because Elizabeth admires her sister Jane for thinking well of everyone, and she “could easily forgive [Darcy’s] pride, if he had not mortified [hers]” (Austen, 19). In short, Stovel is correct in uncovering the contrarieties of Elizabeth’s thoughts and emotions, but he does so with some poor examples from Austen’s text.
Women in the time of Jane Austen dedicated their lives to being good-looking (seen in the vanity of Lydia and Kitty especially) and accomplished to ensure they were marriage material, just as the maiden tried to be enchanting and desirable for The Prince. Both texts illustrate an imbalance and struggle for equality within the oppressive rules and expectations that revolve around women’s lives, and so, their relationships.
Le Faye, Deirdre, ed. Jane Austen's Letters, 3rd. ed.
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.
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 Elizabeth’s view on Jane and Bingely’s relationship is more hopeful, while Charlotte possesses a more aggressive view.
The very first sentence of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen satirizes womens’ inability to be self sufficient and respected in society without a husband. Elizabeth Bennet resembles Austen as young women, as she chose to be old maid rather than be married inappropriately. Elizabeth cannot stand the frenzies her mother and sisters get in over superficial marriages. Unlike her sisters, Elizabeth is set on finding love, and will not sacrifice love for any absurd amount of money or status. Austen wrote during the uprising of the middle classwhich created an increase of individualistic views. Thus, Austen challenges class hierarchy by juxtaposing Elizabeth with the aristocracy in order to satirize the nobility’s divergence from the natural love of a man and women in holy matrimony, to marriages imposition as an artificial institution of society, used to preserve order and wealth. Austen challenges the ideals of class hierarchy and indicates ones’ status is independent of wealth, or heritage, and is decided by how close ones’ view of marriage matches the natural love between a man and women.
... Darcy and Elizabeth. Additionally, Austen sculpts the theme of social expectations and mores using the self-promoting ideology and behaviors of Lady Catherine as fodder for comic relief. Austen does not simply leave the image of the gilded aristocracy upon a pedestal; she effectively uses the unconventional character of Elizabeth to defy aristocratic authority and tradition. In fact, Austen's proposed counter view of the aristocracy by satirizing their social rank. Lady Catherine is effectively used as a satirical representation of the aristocracy through her paradoxical breach of true social decorum and her overblown immodesty. Evidently, Lady Catherine is nothing short of the critical bond that holds the structure of Pride and Prejudice together.
In 1813, a woman’s main goal was marriage. Females wanted to find a man who could provide for them and take care of them; not all women wanted love. Many were fine with living on a wealthy estate and living in an upper-class manner. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a novel about the Bennet sisters, five girls whom, in the time of 1813, are all unmarried and are looking for husbands. The central conflict is based around two young women, the eldest of the five Bennet daughters, Jane and Elizabeth. The girls have their similarities and differences, and can be compared and contrasted in many ways; in terms of which is stronger at handling the pressure of relationships, context clues give a valid answer. What the reader must interpret for his
In one of Jane Austen’s most acclaimed novel, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is her sassy independent protagonist. However, is she the ideal woman? Feminism in the Regency Era was defined by women wanting education and an equal position in family and homes. In this era, the ideal lady had to be modest, dutiful, beautiful, and rich, especially to gain a wealthy husband. With this narrow, cookie cut definition, not many women fit this criteria. This is greatly highlighted in this satirical novel of the upper class. Elizabeth Bennet is a feminist wanting equal positioning in society, but does not fit the mold of the ideal woman according to the Regency Era.
Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice portrays varying attitudes to marriage. "The intricate social network that pervades the novel is one that revolves around the business of marriage". Through her female characters the reader sees the different attitudes to marriage and the reasons that these women have for marrying. These depend on their social status and their personal values. The reader is shown the most prevalent and common view of marriage held by society in Austen's time, and through the heroine, a differing opinion of marriage is explored. We are shown how marriage is viewed by the very wealthy and the values they emphasise in marriage. Through the characterisation of these women and use of irony, Austen has influenced the reader's opinions on the characters attitude about marriage and that of their contemporaries.
Over the centuries, women’s duties and roles in the home and in the workforce have arguably changed for the better. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen teaches the reader about reputation and love in the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries by showing how Elizabeth shows up in a muddy dress, declines a marriage proposal and how women have changed over time. Anything a woman does reflects on her future and how other people look at her. When Elizabeth shows up to the Bingley’s in a muddy dress, they categorize her as being low class and unfashionable. Charles Bingley, a rich attractive man, and his sister had a reputation to protect by not letting their brother marry a ‘low class girl’.
The Role of Women in the Society Depicted by Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice