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The theme of social class in literature
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Part 1 In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen begins her novel by emphasizing the significance of social status. The novel begins with the Bennet household. This family consists of Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet, and their five daughters. The Bennet family introduces an important idea of the novel, which is the difference in social status.
In the novel, the importance of social status is illustrated through the introduction Charles Bingley, a wealthy individual. Mrs. Bennet admires this wealthy individual because she wants to have one of her daughters to marry him. Mrs. Bennet desires that all five of her daughters get married to a wealthy man like Bingley. The author shifts the setting from a simple family atmosphere to a wealthier setting in order to display the difference of social status. At the dance Mrs. Bennet desires to get the attention of Mr. Bingley towards one of her daughters. This dance displays the difference of views of social status. As the wealthy display a higher sense of pride the standard individuals display more
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In the novel, the honor of an individual is based on the amount fortune that they withhold. This quote also implies that privileged of a man is greater in comparison to a woman.
Austen implies the theme of duty by stating that, “if I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield, said Mrs. Bennet to her husband, “and all other equally well married, I shall have nothing to for.” Mrs. Bennet views that it is her duty to get her daughters married into a wealthy family. She wishes for an alliance from a wealthy family because she desires that her daughter live in a highly respectable environment. As a mother Mrs. Bennet want the best and most comfortable lifestyle for her
This universal principle, relevant throughout time, is portrayed through the characterization of Darcy in ‘Pride’. The difference in class, landed gentry compared to middle class, remained a vital factor in Darcy’s behaviour and way of living. The use of verbal irony when Wickham comments, “He (Darcy) was to be above all company, in having been unworthy to be compared” and Mrs. Lucas implying that “With family, fortune, everything he has the right to be proud”, demonstrates the separation created through the class barriers. Austen challenges these social class barriers through satirically implementing the unorthodox unions of Darcy and Elizabeth in her novel, in defiance of the ironic social dichotomy (CHANGE) “Your alliance will be a disgrace, YOU(R) name will never be mentioned by any of us”. The characterization of Darcy also emphasises the importance (Over the top/ruling) of stratification, being at utmost importance and over ruling other positive assets in life such as love, relationships, freedom and being ‘happy’ – “Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections… whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” showing the importance aspect of Regency England and its relevance to the modern world.
Mrs. Bennet's role as an interfering mother is established from the opening scene. She declares that she is thinking of their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley, as a prospective husband for one of her five daughters.In her view, Mr. Bennet must pay his respects and establish an acquaintance with the wealthy and promising young man. We find it hilarious when she insists that her daughter Jane visit Mr. Bingley and his sisters on horseback, in the hope that the threatening weather will force her to spend the night at their Netherfield home.When Jane gets soaked and falls ill, we are amazed to find that Mrs. Bennet is thrilled. She maneuvers to make Jane stay on as long as possible, even refusing to send a carriage to fetch her home. Mrs. Bennet is a determined meddler. We are told, "The business of her life was to get her daughters married" (5).
Mrs. Bennet is a greedy and arrogant woman. Her business is to get all her daughter to marry the most richest man in England, and she is willing to take on any obstancles that stand in her way. "Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!". This quote shows how she believes in marrying for money instead of love. The percipient woman would rather her daughter's to die than not marrying. Quoted: Had she found Jane in any apparent danger, Mrs. Bennet would have been very miserable; but being satisfied on seeing her that her illness was not alarming she had no wish of her recovering immediately, probably remove her from Netherfield. I picked this quot because it shows she is a bad mother, because a mother should care about her daughter. The woman is malcontent until all her daughter's is married.
In Austen’s time, the inability to see past wealth when considering marriage is a cultural tie to the era and its norms. It’s a pitiable and vain cultural upbringing that is frowned upon in this century. One does not simply marry for the sake of wealth and reputation. Without love, marriage cannot last. It ends in a deadlock, or with two people living together but leading separate lives behind closed doors.
...hasize the influences that the upper-class social status has on a person’s lifestyle, behavior, and perspective of others. They also emphasize the social expectations and restrictions for the upper-class women, including their social role, appearance, and personalities. It is indicated from the authors’ literary works, that people are judged based on their social position. Woolf, Austen, and Wilde’s portrayals of the upper-class in their literary works show that an upper-class social status does not ensure happiness.
Social class is an underlying factor to which all characters run their lives. It is always a priority and influenced most, if not every part of their lives. Most of the characters in the novel respect the rules of class and are always trying to climb the social ladder. Or if they are atop this ladder, they make it a mission that they remain there. Mrs. Bennet tried very hard to have her daughters marry the most socially advanced men and in the end the daughters chose socially respectable men.
Austen’s novel focuses on the social class known as the rural landowning gentry, and the people whose education or family connections enable them to associate with the gentry. Austen uses Marianne Dashwood to represent the "sensible and clever; but eager in everything; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation, she was everything but prudent" counterpart to her sister Elinor Dashwood who had "strength of understanding and coolness of judgment," neither of whom belong to the land gentry any longer. Austen juxtaposes the two sisters journeys as a way to shed light on the corruptness and instability of the social class system. By surrounding Marianne and Elinor with social climbing characters such as John Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars, Austen illuminates the ruthlessness that surrounds the sisters. The three men are too preoccupied with either getting...
The theme of social status and society is prevalent in the novel of Emma, through the characters Emma, Mr. Knightley, Mr. Churchill, and their situations and perspectives on life. Austen describes Emma as, “handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her” makes her outlook disparate from characters such as Harriet (Austen, Emma 3). Immediately through her description, Austen indicates Emma’s haughty perspective on society through her referencing her friends as “first set” and “second set.” Through Emma’s classification of her friends by their social status and importance, first set being the superior and second set being the inferior and locum, the reader is able to have a glimpse of Emma’s outlook on society and it’s classes. Knowledge Notes -.
Through these characters, the reader learns about Mrs Bennet’s biggest concern; to marry off all her daughters. The themes of the novel are mostly related to the title, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, there is an element of personal pride amongst the characters and also prejudice, particularly with Darcy and Elizabeth. The first chapter brings in the reader into the world of social class importance, marriage and women’s role in the 19th century, which is satirized by Austen.
Mr. Gradgrind only wants his students to be fact drones and it almost seems cruel when he says “ This is the principle on which I bring up my own children” in reference to teaching nothing but facts to his own children. It seems like a main theme of Pride and Prejudice will be social classes. This wealthy character “Bingley” is a prime marriage candidate for Mr. & Mrs. Bennet's daughters due to his fortune, this is apparent
...udice in the social ladder. The Bennet family, although wealthy, was looked down upon, is relation to their social status. They were seen as low on the social ladder, because they had "new money." Lady Catherine, is another example of pride and prejudice displayed through social status, "Now and then they were honoured with a call from her ladyship, and nothing escaped her observation…" Lady Catherine noticed flaws in everyone and used her position and title of "Lady" to rise above everyone and make herself seem superior to them. Her position gives her pride and she flaunts it in a negative way.
On the other hand, Mr. Bennet lets his family do as it pleases and almost does not care. The reputation of the Bennet family is blemished by the behavior of its members because the head of the household, Mr. Bennet, lacks the pride to protect it. Works Cited and Consulted. Austen, Jane. A. Pride and Prejudice.
...children to search for spouses, meanwhile, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst endeavor to persuade Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley not to marry women from lower social classes. Nevertheless, the reader learns to ignore the satirized characters of Mrs. Bennet, Mrs. Hurst, and Miss Bingley and true love prevails when Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy.
The roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are contrasted between a father who cares about what’s inside of people and a mother who only worries about vanity and appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s parental guidance is unique to their personalities. Because of their two opposing personas, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s ideas of marriage are contradictory for their daughters; Mr. Bennet believes in a loving respectful marriage whereas Mrs. Bennet values a marriage which concerns wealth and social status. Their aspirations for Lydia, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Elizabeth mirror their conflicting ideologies. Mr. Bennet seems to have a quiet deep love for his daughters while, on the contrary, Mrs. Bennet’s love is over-acted and conditional. Both parents help to shape their daughters’ characteristics and beliefs: Lydia reflecting Mrs. Bennet’s flighty and excessive behavior while Elizabeth inherits Mr. Bennet’s pensive and reflective temperament. Looking past their dissimilar personality traits and contradicting convictions, both parents hold the family together and play an integral role in the household structure.
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.