The main values for the young women in the nineteenth century were their successful marriage and family. This fact can be explained by the dependent economic position of a woman in society.
Thus, to receive the economic security, a woman should be married or inherit the income from her male relatives. Traditionally, girls and their mothers became preparing for the further marriages in advance because it was the major event in the life of a young woman.
In spite of the predominance of this vision of the marriage and the womans role in society, Jane Austen in her Pride and Prejudice proposes several possible variants of realizing the scenario of meeting the further husband and the marriage which can be considered as rather controversial from the point of the ideals of that period.
Although marriage in the nineteenth century is the guarantee of the womans definite social status, Jane Austen accentuates that the happy marriage cannot be based successfully on the other factors differed from the mutual love, respect, and understanding.
The social status of married and unmarried women in the British society differed greatly, and mothers used any opportunity to help their daughters marry a noble man with the income. Thus, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife (Austen 1).
These words open the novel written by Austen and reflect the opinions of the majority of the women in Britain of that period. This idea was also interesting for Mrs. Bennet who could think only of her own unhappy marriage and successful marriages for her daughters in the future (Shapard). Mrs. Bennets example emphasizes the viewpoint that marriage depends not only on the amount of money and status but also on sincere and deep feelings. However, Mrs. Bennets personal vision is quite opposite to this statement.
That is why in the case of the unhappy marriage between Lydia and Mr. Wickham the problem of the family status was much more significant for Bennets than the question of real feelings. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance (Austen 14). Charlotte Lucas also agrees with this opinion and understands the law of the strict social rules and norms.
Her position seems to be strange for Elizabeth Bennet, the main character of the novel, who is inclined to contradict the social norms, if these norms and rules are opposite to her personal visions. That is why her ideal of marriage is based on the principles of love and respect. If it is difficult to marry such a man who can love you and be intelligent and noble, it is better to be unmarried.
Elizabeths position depends on her pride and prejudice. Nevertheless, following her principles, she can be happy in her marriage with Mr. Darcy who is the best part for her.
Moreover, examining all the variants of the marriage presented in the book and shifting from the rational approach to the romantic one, it is necessary to concentrate on the relations between Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley. These relations and their marriage are based on the sincere feeling of love which is not broken by possible social prejudices and personal rationality.
In her novel Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen vividly discusses the theme of marriage which is realized in the context of the British society of the nineteenth century. This context is familiar for the author. Austens rather ironical tone in depicting different visions of marriage accentuates her own position according to the issue with determining the principles of love and understanding as the key ones for marriage.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. USA: Dover Publications, 1995. Print.
Shapard, David M. Introduction . Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Jane Austen and David M. Shapard. USA: Anchor Books, 2007. xv-xxxii. Print.
Ibi Zobois remix of Pride and Prejudice explores different philosophical and moral questions. Embracing the worldwide novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Ibi Zobois remix addresses the essential issues of race stereotypes and gentrifications influence on identity formation. The novels characters move from unfounded prejudices to the understanding that race does not imply the material level and type of personality. The surrounding atmosphere and cultural specificities influence the characters personalities throughout the story and change their attitude towards the particular minorities and races. The essential concept that Zoboi addresses in her story is identity formation. The author of the book explores identity through family and cultural perspectives.
The novel depicts several families who have different wealth and personal relationships. Zuri, coming from a low-income family, hates rich people since they mostly proclaim gentrification as a positive change. The family, especially Zuris sister Janae, tries to persuade the girl that the prejudices against black people should be eliminated. (Zoboi, 2019). Being a member of a low-income family, Zuris personality is affected by living in such conditions. She treats all wealthy people as evil due to the inequity of opportunities people are born with. In expressing the negative attitudes towards Darius at the storys beginning, she implies that her identity is based on racial and material presuppositions caused by living and family conditions.
Thanks to Madrinas guidance and family members support, Zuri realizes that differences make people unique. Madrinas Bushwick can be considered as a prototype of a supportive family. During the decisive periods of her life, Zuri seeks Madrinas support (Zoboi, 2019). Her identity changes positively due to the understanding that people should not be treated only by their status and race. For example, she realizes that Warren, coming from the same strata, has malicious intentions only thanks to Darius, who she hated most (Zoboi, 2019). This fact influences her identity and diminishes the role of the stereotype about race and wealth in her personality. Therefore, the author believes that the conditions in which a person was raised and the family support determine the identity-formation direction.
The cultural aspect and the surrounding political and economic conditions also can influence identity formation. Zuris character is strong, and she is faithful to her origins and culture. She believes that Darius is arrogant only because he comes from a prosperous family. She keeps in mind all the negative prejudices about wealth and race due to cultural peculiarities. First of all, Zuri is scared of the gentrification process, which can abolish her and her familys everyday lives. Zuri respects the cultural peculiarities of the minority she belongs to. As a result, she considers all the outsiders and intruders, especially rich ones, potentially dangerous for her friends and family. The pride of being a member of a particular society and the desire to protect what she loves makes her personality strong. As a result, the author of the book claims that identity formation depends on cultural background.
Therefore, the remix of the well-known novel Pride and Prejudice in the Ibi Zoboi representation addresses the essential question of identity-formation. The storys main character realizes that identity is a complicated phenomenon and that it cannot be conditioned by particular factors such as race or status. Factors that influence this multifaceted process are culture and family. Through these social determinants, people learn what personal pride means and respect other peoples pride.
Reference
Zoboi, I. (2019). Pride: A pride & prejudice remix. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen.
The novels Robinson Crusoe and Pride and Prejudice by Daniel Defoe and Jane Austen respectively, share a lot. Characterization and themes that the two novels portray are drawn from the medieval British society. This implies that the two novels use huge amounts of realism as a technical element that facilitates their themes.
At the one hand, it is recognizable in Defoes novel that the use of real events to steer the plot has been immense. In the novel, Robinson Crusoe, Defoe describes it as a history of facts that seeks to portray the social institutions and structures of the medieval British society.
Indeed, he uses real experiences of the protagonist who had spent quite some time alone. Undoubtedly, this is a reflection of the real life of Alexander Selkirk in uninhabited island.
The author uses his skills to describe minute details in such an elaborate way that the reader cannot question the presence of reality in the novel (Black 129). For instance, he describes the minute details of Crusoes activities like building the fence, harvesting his grains and digging the cave amongst many others.
Using circumstantial method, Defoe brings out the aspect of realism in the novel. According to Myers, he describes the success of the protagonist in growing crops that gives him a platform through which he brings on board the technical element of realism (176).
It is apparent that Defoe also introduces a wrecked ship in novel that facilitates the survival of Crusoe. Another technical skill that has typified Defoes use of realism is in the characterization. He portrays Fridays gratitude and behavior in a very natural way.
This is in consideration of the fact that Crusoe had saved his life from cannibals. It therefore becomes natural for him to show gratitude to the protagonist, which inspires the realism in the novel.
Finally, he narrates using precise dates that the protagonist stayed in uninhabited island after being swept ashore by unfavorable sailing conditions. In fact, these dates coincides with the real dates of the real character, Alexander Selkirk whose experiences have largely inspired the novel (Black 192).
On the other hand, Janes novel, Pride and Prejudice, depicts the reality of the society in the nineteenth century. Precisely, her depiction of events in the novel reflects the society of the time.
DeMaria says that it is clear that throughout the novel she uses such stylistic devices as irony and contrast to highlight the theme of social relationships in the society (591). Use of letters and other medieval means of communication throughout the novel are critical and realistic elements that portray the themes as being relevant to the medieval British society.
Like Defoe, Austen uses characterization to display the reality of social values and beliefs. The characters such as Bennets have used their subjective beliefs to choose the course of their lives. Apparently, society shapes peoples beliefs and values and imparts them on individuals during the process of socialization (Black 72).
Elizabeth (one of the Bennets) contrasts with Mr. Collins who believes that the social systems ideals dictated that women were supposed to submit to men. Besides, he believes that women should not acquire any property and act as custodians of mens wealth.
He asserts his arguments with confidence owing to the prevalent social values and norms (DeMaria 592). However, Austen introduces such characters as Elizabeth to appraise the discriminating social system that favored a patriarchy. The use of characters to depict reality of the society has as such, facilitated the novel to highlight major themes.
Further, realism is explicit in the novel when the author highlights the theme of marriage. In nineteenth century, women bore gender roles that openly discriminated them from decision-making processes of the society. Mr. Collins asserts this claim by believing that Elizabeth could not reject him after he makes a marriage proposal (Myers 87).
It becomes clear that he attributes his subsequent rejection to womens modesty of the time. This implies that it was very unusual during the nineteenth century for a woman to reject men advances. Indeed, society attributed rejection to pride borne by liberal women and young feminists (like Elizabeth).
It was therefore an exception rather than a norm. Austen compares with Defoe in depiction of dates that clearly depicts the periods that their novels portray. Austen shows the rise of gender equality and women empowerment that took shape in the century. She describes discriminative land ownership practices that had typified the era (Black 231).
Finally, the two novels contrast in their main themes. While Defoe chose to explore the rise of British imperialism, Austen tends to dwell on the pertinent issues that affected women and the marriage institution. The protagonists in the novels play different roles but present them in a very realistic way. Nonetheless, the depiction of reality in the two novels is overwhelming.
Discussion of Pride and Prejudice
The novel has wide variety of themes that are apparent in the plot. Mary points this out at the onset of the novel where she claims that human beings are vulnerable to pride. Pride blurs the ability of some characters to see the truth. This makes them unable to attain happiness in their lives.
Particularly, Elizabeths pride presents an impediment to her marriage with Darcy. Her vanity leads to impaired judgment of Darcy and Wickham in which she thinks well of the latter and perceives the former as evil. However, she comes to realize that her pride had led her to wrong inferences.
Further, Darcy is proud owing to his social status and disparages anyone who occupied lower social status. He also writes a letter to Elizabeth asking her to abandon vanity and begin to use reason (DeMaria 577). Austen also uses Prejudice as a major theme in the novel. It is important to point out that the prejudice is intricate to other themes.
Darcy uses social-economic prejudice to scorn other members of the society that occupy lower classes. Besides, Elizabeths prejudicial and unfounded beliefs make her to believe that she could make impeccable judgments. She realizes in the end that she could not and that she had been wrong in a number of occurrences.
DeMaria points out that Austen explores family institution as a major theme that characterized the medieval society (579). The novel depicts the family institution as that which is endowed with the responsibility of inculcating morals and intellect to the children.
For instance, Bennets fail to educate their children leading to explicit naivety, promiscuity and shame exhibited by Lydia. Elizabeths manages to get some positive virtues after she receives some informal education from the Gardiners. In fact, only the Gardiners are portrayed in the novel as a family that showed concern for the girls welfare (Myers 42).
This theme is in tandem with the roles of women and the marriage. All the characters in the novel hold the concept of marriage with such intensity that they all long for marriage. Elizabeth eventually accepts to get married to Darcy despite her beliefs regarding marriages. The context of family and marriage provides a platform that Austen uses to explore the idea of gender disparities.
In the 19th century, women suffered from myriad of injustices among them being discrimination due to their gender. Although Austen attempts to depict women as equal to men, it is apparent that the society had preservation for this perspective (Black 171).
It is a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the obedient and submissive to their husbands. The society denied women the rights to own property as well as access to education and employment opportunities. Evidently, the Bennets fail to educate their five daughters and remain convinced that women had no rights to education.
Finally, class and social stratification has typified the entire novel. In particular, Darcy represents a major character that is full of pride and conscious of his social status. He perceives class as a phenomenon that is not only composed of wealth but also inclusive of other factors.
Gardiners are depicted as occupying lower economic classes but their intellect and virtue have leveled their class with other characters that are affluent. Other than class, Austen also highlights the theme of individual and society. The society takes precedence even in the private matters of its members.
Specifically, Lydias elopement with Wickham is scandalous in the whole society and she becomes a disgrace to her family (Black 179). Besides, Darcys failure to reveal the Wickhams true behavior is seen as a failure to honor social obligations and duties. Despite the societys involvement in individuals private lives, Austen questions its capacity to make right inferences regarding different characters.
Historical Development of Realism
Realism emerged in the mid 19th century and reflected a shift from initial literary works that were typical of romantic idealism. It gives more attention to the subject matter and characters and depicts the true nature of the contexts. Although it coincided with the Victorianism, realism has the ability to remove subjectivity in the novels.
It employs journalistic approaches of reporting as is without imparting personal beliefs and values. Harrison asserts that much of the literature work that have realism as a core element stand out from the rest for their true portrayal of the events and characters as they happened in the real world.
Henry Fielding has often been referred as the pioneer of the style. In the novel, Joseph Andrews, Fielding uses a wide scope and keenly observes the requirements of realism. His perception of the medieval England portrays a true picture of England at the onset of Industrial revolution (Black 171).
The novel highlights characteristics of human nature through characterization. For instance, he portrays selfishness and meanness of humans after Joseph had been robbed and left for the dead. The only reason the community rescues him was the fear of being held accountable for his death.
This aspect of realism is also manifest in the novel Pride and Prejudice in which Austen portrays the society in a true way. The presence of class disparities is typical of the two novels making it possible to portray realism (Myers 73). Although Daniel Defoes novel, Robinson Crusoe was published earlier, he is not short of realism.
He depicts the British society during the exploration of the world by giving the real occurrences in the life of Alexander Selkirk. It is in such novels whose use of realism was able to appraise social system and structures.
Realism has been used in different novels to give shape to themes. In Pride and Prejudice, it is apparent that the Austen describes the characters of the novel with emphasis of minute details. Through realism, she is able to address social issues that affect specific social groups.
As such, realism gave writers platform where they could appraise prevalent social system. Similarly, Virginia Woolf in the novel To the Lighthouse uses realism to highlight the need for equality within the society. Henry Fielding also used realism to appraise particular aspects of the society.
Conclusion
In sum, Defoe and Austen bear similarities in the manner that they explore their themes. Although they differ in their central themes, the use of realism is evident throughout their novels. Austens novel, Pride and Prejudice uses characters and real events of the 19th century to highlight the themes of pride, prejudice, social class, gender inequalities and marriage.
Realism has been typical of many novels since the 18th and 19th centuries. At the very minimum, it helps novels to meet the demands of reality with objectivity and giving details to characters, events and objectivity.
Works Cited
Black, Joseph. British Literature: A historical Overview, Toronto: Broadview Press, 2010. Print.
DeMaria, Robert. British literature, 1640-1789: an anthology, New York: Blackwell Publishers, 2008. Print.
Harrison, Martin. Realism in Literature, London: Routledge, 1998. Print.
Myers, Walter. The later Realism: A study of characterization in the British Novels, London: Ayer Publishing, 2001. Print
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most well-known works of English literature and is a classic Regency novel written by Jane Austen in 1813. In this novel of manners, the author describes the character development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, and depicts the society of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century England with its values and flaws. Special attention in the novel is given to the image of a woman and sexist stereotypes imposed by society. The aim of this paper is to prove that in her book, Austen managed to reinforce sexist stereotypes about a woman through the portrayal of British society and its views. Stereotypes related to gender inequality, marriage, and an image of an accomplished woman will be discussed in detail to illustrate this point of view.
The first stereotype about women that the author proves is that female characters are less powerful in society than men. Women in Austens novel are limited in rights and cannot be free in their decisions. The theme of inequality is one of the most important not only in Pride and Prejudice but also in other works of Austen, including Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion (Jones 358). Heroines in these novels demonstrate womens condition in material terms, at least to be one of precarious dependency (Jones 358). As a result, marriage was almost the only solution to improve the financial situation of a woman.
One of the most evident examples of inequality in the novel is demonstrated in the structure of the legal system. Austen explicitly describes entailment, or the order of inheritance, which proves the low status of a woman in society. The property of Mr. Bennet is entailed to the cousin of the five daughters, Mr. Collins, since in Mr. Bennets family, there are no males to inherit the Longbourn estate (Austen 85). Moreover, the inferior status of female characters and their financial vulnerability are expressed in Mrs. Bennets fury when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collinss proposal. These examples show that in both legal and social realms, women are limited in rights and freedom of choice and depend on men.
Another significant stereotype about an English woman of that time is related to marriage as the reflection of a womans financial stability and social status. In British society of the 19th century, marriage was mainly motivated by materialistic values rather than the sincerity of a relationship (Jabborova and Alimova 269). Moreover, marriages were often organized by parents, who saw matrimony as means of achieving happiness (Jabborova and Alimova 269).
In Pride and Prejudice, this idea is expressed through the character of Mrs. Bennet, the mother of the protagonist and her four sisters. The business of her life was to get her daughters married, Austen writes about this obsession (4). Indeed, Mrs. Bennets desire to arrange her daughters weddings can be explained by social attitudes towards marriage, which was believed to define the happiness of a woman and her status in society.
The experiences of young unmarried female characters of the novel prove the conservative views on marriage described above. According to Jones, for Austens financially precarious heroines, marriage, with its promise of security, becomes the grand feature of their lives (360). For example, Charlotte Lucass marriage to Mr. Collins is motivated by her desire to gain social and economic stability. Being older and not very attractive compared to the five sisters, she is happy about the opportunity of the advantageous proposal. In contrast, for Elizabeth, morale and personal values appear to be more important than marriage and social status.
For example, despite Mr. Collins financial state, she refuses his proposal. Similarly, she is not attracted to Mr. Darcy in the beginning since he appears proud and arrogant. According to Simpson, Miss Austen believed in the ultimate possible happiness of every marriage (293). Marriage based on true feelings is demonstrated through the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. This contrast reinforces the stereotypical view of marriage as an advantage-based solution for a woman to improve her financial and social status.
Finally, one of the stereotypes is related to the image of an accomplished woman, an ideal in which the outside elegance is appreciated more than personal qualities. This idealized image is demonstrated in Miss Bingleys description of a successful British woman. According to her, a British lady should demonstrate intelligence and multiple talents and be an example of perfect manners and appearance (Austen 27). Men, on the contrary, are not subject to such social requirements; for example, Mr. Collins, with his ridiculous behavior, is still considered a desirable party for marriage because of his wealth.
At the same time, Elizabeth is depicted as the complete opposite of who can be called an accomplished British woman. In Austens portrayal of the protagonist, one can see the reflected position of the author, whose characters are usually far from ideal (Simpson 294). Indeed, Elizabeth is shown as a young woman without the perfect manners and grace of a British lady. Some of her actions are considered disgracing: for example, her decision to walk three miles to see Jane in Netherfield causes disapproval of her mother. The latter explains that Elizabeth will not look appropriately after the long walk. The abovementioned examples prove that women were constantly under the pressure of society and its stereotypical views about an image of a perfect successful woman.
In conclusion, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen indeed reinforces sexist stereotypes of women at the turn of the nineteenth century. First, women were considered inferior to men in the social and legal spheres of life. Secondly, according to stereotypical views on marriage, a single woman was regarded as financially unstable and unsuccessful. Finally, the stereotypical role of a woman in society was to be a perfect example of intelligence and elegance. Therefore, Austen introduces both stereotypical and non-typical characters in her novel and describes the common social attitudes, proving the pressure of sexism imposed on women of that time.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 1-256.
Jabborova, Hilola, and Mukharram Khayatovna Alimova. The Problem of Gender Equality in the Novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. E-Conference Globe, 2021, pp. 266-270.
Jones, Vivian. Feminisms. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 357-367.
Simpson, Richard. The Critical Faculty of Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 293-295.
Austen uses gardens to advance the themes of class, love, parental relationships and family honor. She also reveals Elizabeths, Darcys and other peoples character through the gardens.
Significance of gardens in the novel
The novel Pride and Prejudice does not rely heavily on symbolism because it has more dialogues than descriptions. Nonetheless, certain physical elements still stand out in the narrative. One such case is Darcys estate, which residents know as Pemberley. This garden is at the heart of the book. First, it is reflective of Darcys character since he owns it.
When Elizabeth pays Darcy a visit, the picturesque gardens impress her totally. She begins to warm up to this man and his wits and charm impress her even more. In the novel, the author compares this garden to Darcys perception of himself. Austen (140) describes a nearby stream that appears to swell with its own natural importance. She adds that the stream achieved this without appearing artificial.
The same thing may be said about Darcys character. He possessed a natural importance that made him appear proud. Nonetheless, this pride still coexisted with a lack of artificiality just like the stream; Darcy is not too rigid or too superficial.
Mr. Collins character also comes out through the mention of his garden. When Elizabeth and Collins take a stroll in Collins garden, he uses the opportunity to elevate his accomplishments and virtues. For instance, he talks about his fondness for the garden, and the fact that he enjoys working on it. Collins also talks about every single detail in the garden without giving the ladies a chance to share their views on the same.
He boasts about how he knows the number and the location of each and every tree in the garden. This behavior implies that Collins is quite self-centered (Delany 35). He wants everyone to know about what he did for the garden, but does not care about their opinion. Additionally, Collins is a proud and boastful man; he likes to show off his vast knowledge of the gardens and the tree.
He also wanted to prove to the ladies that he was in charge of the place. Such preferences indicate that Collins was also a controlling person. In fact, Charlotte often asked Collins to go to the garden and show off his talents. The garden was Charlottes escape from Collins pompousness. When carried out activities, in the garden, she could enjoy her private time and space.
Indeed, the garden is also symptomatic of class differences and family honor as seen through Charlottes eyes. The garden clearly illustrates how foolish Mr. Collins was; however, a lady as intelligent as Charlotte still chose to stick with him. Charlotte had to choose between two extremely difficult decisions; she could decide to stay with her parents, and thus strain their financial resources.
Alternatively, she could choose to marry the ineffable Mr. Collins and just do what she could do within those circumstances. This reflected how society placed heavy expectations upon unmarried women.
They often sacrificed their own happiness for a chance to improve their social status and maintain their family traditions. Furthermore, wealth warranted the forgiveness of ones vices; the lavish gardens and picturesque estates especially envisaged this.
In one scenario, in the book, Austen (45) describes how Elizabeth crossed a bridge when she first came into this estate. This had a symbolic effect because it reflected the start of a new romance. When Elizabeth crossed the bridge, she was also crossing the line between love and loneliness. This bridge in the Pemberley garden also reflected the gap that existed between the two individuals as a result of class differences.
Gardens also play a pivotal role of highlighting change in the story (Le Faye 44). Most dialogues occur inside a house. Therefore, when the author mentions the outdoors, she often does this to cue a significant change in the novel. For instance, Elizabeth comes into contact with Mr. Darcy for the first time when she goes to see Mr. Collins and Charlotte; she did this by passing through a garden.
This scenario is what builds up to Darcys proposal. The second time that she takes a journey through the Pemberley gardens, she realizes that her affections for Darcy are growing stronger. In that instance, the gardens symbolize a transition from indifference to affection for Darcy.
In the third instance when Austen mentions a journey in a garden, she wanted to illustrate the threat that would come upon the Bennet family if they did not find Wickham and Lydia. When Darcy tracks them, he illustrates just how devoted he is to Elizabeth.
The author uses gardens to advance the theme of class struggles. The Bennets have an ordinary house, and because of its small size, the home has no picturesque gardens. This simplicity reflects the social status of the Bennets. Conversely, Bingley, Darcy and Lady Catherine have lavish gardens in their homes. Bingley has Netherfield Park while Lady Catherine has the Rosings estate.
As mentioned earlier, Darcy had Pemberley. These gardens showcased Darcys, Catherines and Bingleys enormous wealth. They are also crucial indications of social status. When Elizabeth sees Darcys garden, she thinks about how delightful it would be to stay there. Even someone as composed and sensible as Elizabeth could not help herself when she saw the beauty and elegance of the landscape.
One can even compare the relative social status of the people who owned those estates through the quality of the gardens in their estates. For instance although the gardens in Rosings were impressive, they did not possess the same level of elegance that existed in Pemberley.
Gardens also signify familial relationships in the story. Austen talks about the relationship between Darcy and his son Colin, in the thirtieth chapter. One morning, Darcy wakes up feeling rejuvenated and energetic. He feels glad to be alive for the first time in an unusually long time. Darcy then proceeds to wake up his son and offers to take him out for a walk in the garden.
This is a unique bonding moment for the two as Darcy relieves his own childhood. He promises his son that he will teach him how to ride horses and to swim. In fact, he had no idea that his son did not know these things, yet his age mates were well aware of the same. Furthermore, Colin got to learn a lot about his familys history. Darcy talked about his sister and mother and their escapades as children.
He talked about the lessons and reprimands they underwent when they misbehaved. For the first time, this son and father had an exciting conversation together. Additionally, the experience was also reflective of Darcys own lessons. He got to appreciate the value of family experiences and heritage (James 56). It reinforced his views about himself and the things that mattered more to him.
Conclusion
Gardens emphasized the characters of the owners and the people who came to see the estate; to Darcy, the garden reflected his self determination and dedication towards Elizabeth. It signified a change in perception about Darcy to Elizabeth. The gardens brought out Mr. Collins arrogance and self centeredness; they also emphasized Charlotte helplessness in choosing a spouse.
Audiences can learn about the importance of family heritage during Darcys and Colins morning walk. Furthermore, one can also learn about class differences in this society as seen through the aristocrats lavish gardens.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. London: Bantam Classics, 1983. Print.
Delany, Samuel. About writing. NY: Routlege, 2006. Print.
James, Edward. The Cambridge companion to fiction. Cambridge :CUP, 2003. Print.
Le Faye, Deidre. Jane Austen: The World of her novels. NY: Harry Abrams, 2002. Print.
The novels Robinson Crusoe and Pride and Prejudice by Daniel Defoe and Jane Austen respectively, share a lot. Characterization and themes that the two novels portray are drawn from the medieval British society. This implies that the two novels use huge amounts of realism as a technical element that facilitates their themes.
At the one hand, it is recognizable in Defoes novel that the use of real events to steer the plot has been immense. In the novel, Robinson Crusoe, Defoe describes it as a history of facts that seeks to portray the social institutions and structures of the medieval British society.
Indeed, he uses real experiences of the protagonist who had spent quite some time alone. Undoubtedly, this is a reflection of the real life of Alexander Selkirk in uninhabited island.
The author uses his skills to describe minute details in such an elaborate way that the reader cannot question the presence of reality in the novel (Black 129). For instance, he describes the minute details of Crusoes activities like building the fence, harvesting his grains and digging the cave amongst many others.
Using circumstantial method, Defoe brings out the aspect of realism in the novel. According to Myers, he describes the success of the protagonist in growing crops that gives him a platform through which he brings on board the technical element of realism (176).
It is apparent that Defoe also introduces a wrecked ship in novel that facilitates the survival of Crusoe. Another technical skill that has typified Defoes use of realism is in the characterization. He portrays Fridays gratitude and behavior in a very natural way.
This is in consideration of the fact that Crusoe had saved his life from cannibals. It therefore becomes natural for him to show gratitude to the protagonist, which inspires the realism in the novel.
Finally, he narrates using precise dates that the protagonist stayed in uninhabited island after being swept ashore by unfavorable sailing conditions. In fact, these dates coincides with the real dates of the real character, Alexander Selkirk whose experiences have largely inspired the novel (Black 192).
On the other hand, Janes novel, Pride and Prejudice, depicts the reality of the society in the nineteenth century. Precisely, her depiction of events in the novel reflects the society of the time.
DeMaria says that it is clear that throughout the novel she uses such stylistic devices as irony and contrast to highlight the theme of social relationships in the society (591). Use of letters and other medieval means of communication throughout the novel are critical and realistic elements that portray the themes as being relevant to the medieval British society.
Like Defoe, Austen uses characterization to display the reality of social values and beliefs. The characters such as Bennets have used their subjective beliefs to choose the course of their lives. Apparently, society shapes peoples beliefs and values and imparts them on individuals during the process of socialization (Black 72).
Elizabeth (one of the Bennets) contrasts with Mr. Collins who believes that the social systems ideals dictated that women were supposed to submit to men. Besides, he believes that women should not acquire any property and act as custodians of mens wealth.
He asserts his arguments with confidence owing to the prevalent social values and norms (DeMaria 592). However, Austen introduces such characters as Elizabeth to appraise the discriminating social system that favored a patriarchy. The use of characters to depict reality of the society has as such, facilitated the novel to highlight major themes.
Further, realism is explicit in the novel when the author highlights the theme of marriage. In nineteenth century, women bore gender roles that openly discriminated them from decision-making processes of the society. Mr. Collins asserts this claim by believing that Elizabeth could not reject him after he makes a marriage proposal (Myers 87).
It becomes clear that he attributes his subsequent rejection to womens modesty of the time. This implies that it was very unusual during the nineteenth century for a woman to reject men advances. Indeed, society attributed rejection to pride borne by liberal women and young feminists (like Elizabeth).
It was therefore an exception rather than a norm. Austen compares with Defoe in depiction of dates that clearly depicts the periods that their novels portray. Austen shows the rise of gender equality and women empowerment that took shape in the century. She describes discriminative land ownership practices that had typified the era (Black 231).
Finally, the two novels contrast in their main themes. While Defoe chose to explore the rise of British imperialism, Austen tends to dwell on the pertinent issues that affected women and the marriage institution. The protagonists in the novels play different roles but present them in a very realistic way. Nonetheless, the depiction of reality in the two novels is overwhelming.
Discussion of Pride and Prejudice
The novel has wide variety of themes that are apparent in the plot. Mary points this out at the onset of the novel where she claims that human beings are vulnerable to pride. Pride blurs the ability of some characters to see the truth. This makes them unable to attain happiness in their lives.
Particularly, Elizabeths pride presents an impediment to her marriage with Darcy. Her vanity leads to impaired judgment of Darcy and Wickham in which she thinks well of the latter and perceives the former as evil. However, she comes to realize that her pride had led her to wrong inferences.
Further, Darcy is proud owing to his social status and disparages anyone who occupied lower social status. He also writes a letter to Elizabeth asking her to abandon vanity and begin to use reason (DeMaria 577). Austen also uses Prejudice as a major theme in the novel. It is important to point out that the prejudice is intricate to other themes.
Darcy uses social-economic prejudice to scorn other members of the society that occupy lower classes. Besides, Elizabeths prejudicial and unfounded beliefs make her to believe that she could make impeccable judgments. She realizes in the end that she could not and that she had been wrong in a number of occurrences.
DeMaria points out that Austen explores family institution as a major theme that characterized the medieval society (579). The novel depicts the family institution as that which is endowed with the responsibility of inculcating morals and intellect to the children.
For instance, Bennets fail to educate their children leading to explicit naivety, promiscuity and shame exhibited by Lydia. Elizabeths manages to get some positive virtues after she receives some informal education from the Gardiners. In fact, only the Gardiners are portrayed in the novel as a family that showed concern for the girls welfare (Myers 42).
This theme is in tandem with the roles of women and the marriage. All the characters in the novel hold the concept of marriage with such intensity that they all long for marriage. Elizabeth eventually accepts to get married to Darcy despite her beliefs regarding marriages. The context of family and marriage provides a platform that Austen uses to explore the idea of gender disparities.
In the 19th century, women suffered from myriad of injustices among them being discrimination due to their gender. Although Austen attempts to depict women as equal to men, it is apparent that the society had preservation for this perspective (Black 171).
It is a patriarchal society where women were supposed to be the obedient and submissive to their husbands. The society denied women the rights to own property as well as access to education and employment opportunities. Evidently, the Bennets fail to educate their five daughters and remain convinced that women had no rights to education.
Finally, class and social stratification has typified the entire novel. In particular, Darcy represents a major character that is full of pride and conscious of his social status. He perceives class as a phenomenon that is not only composed of wealth but also inclusive of other factors.
Gardiners are depicted as occupying lower economic classes but their intellect and virtue have leveled their class with other characters that are affluent. Other than class, Austen also highlights the theme of individual and society. The society takes precedence even in the private matters of its members.
Specifically, Lydias elopement with Wickham is scandalous in the whole society and she becomes a disgrace to her family (Black 179). Besides, Darcys failure to reveal the Wickhams true behavior is seen as a failure to honor social obligations and duties. Despite the societys involvement in individuals private lives, Austen questions its capacity to make right inferences regarding different characters.
Historical Development of Realism
Realism emerged in the mid 19th century and reflected a shift from initial literary works that were typical of romantic idealism. It gives more attention to the subject matter and characters and depicts the true nature of the contexts. Although it coincided with the Victorianism, realism has the ability to remove subjectivity in the novels.
It employs journalistic approaches of reporting as is without imparting personal beliefs and values. Harrison asserts that much of the literature work that have realism as a core element stand out from the rest for their true portrayal of the events and characters as they happened in the real world.
Henry Fielding has often been referred as the pioneer of the style. In the novel, Joseph Andrews, Fielding uses a wide scope and keenly observes the requirements of realism. His perception of the medieval England portrays a true picture of England at the onset of Industrial revolution (Black 171).
The novel highlights characteristics of human nature through characterization. For instance, he portrays selfishness and meanness of humans after Joseph had been robbed and left for the dead. The only reason the community rescues him was the fear of being held accountable for his death.
This aspect of realism is also manifest in the novel Pride and Prejudice in which Austen portrays the society in a true way. The presence of class disparities is typical of the two novels making it possible to portray realism (Myers 73). Although Daniel Defoes novel, Robinson Crusoe was published earlier, he is not short of realism.
He depicts the British society during the exploration of the world by giving the real occurrences in the life of Alexander Selkirk. It is in such novels whose use of realism was able to appraise social system and structures.
Realism has been used in different novels to give shape to themes. In Pride and Prejudice, it is apparent that the Austen describes the characters of the novel with emphasis of minute details. Through realism, she is able to address social issues that affect specific social groups.
As such, realism gave writers platform where they could appraise prevalent social system. Similarly, Virginia Woolf in the novel To the Lighthouse uses realism to highlight the need for equality within the society. Henry Fielding also used realism to appraise particular aspects of the society.
Conclusion
In sum, Defoe and Austen bear similarities in the manner that they explore their themes. Although they differ in their central themes, the use of realism is evident throughout their novels. Austens novel, Pride and Prejudice uses characters and real events of the 19th century to highlight the themes of pride, prejudice, social class, gender inequalities and marriage.
Realism has been typical of many novels since the 18th and 19th centuries. At the very minimum, it helps novels to meet the demands of reality with objectivity and giving details to characters, events and objectivity.
Works Cited
Black, Joseph. British Literature: A historical Overview, Toronto: Broadview Press, 2010. Print.
DeMaria, Robert. British literature, 1640-1789: an anthology, New York: Blackwell Publishers, 2008. Print.
Harrison, Martin. Realism in Literature, London: Routledge, 1998. Print.
Myers, Walter. The later Realism: A study of characterization in the British Novels, London: Ayer Publishing, 2001. Print
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most well-known works of English literature and is a classic Regency novel written by Jane Austen in 1813. In this novel of manners, the author describes the character development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, and depicts the society of late eighteenth and early nineteenth-century England with its values and flaws. Special attention in the novel is given to the image of a woman and sexist stereotypes imposed by society. The aim of this paper is to prove that in her book, Austen managed to reinforce sexist stereotypes about a woman through the portrayal of British society and its views. Stereotypes related to gender inequality, marriage, and an image of an accomplished woman will be discussed in detail to illustrate this point of view.
The first stereotype about women that the author proves is that female characters are less powerful in society than men. Women in Austens novel are limited in rights and cannot be free in their decisions. The theme of inequality is one of the most important not only in Pride and Prejudice but also in other works of Austen, including Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion (Jones 358). Heroines in these novels demonstrate womens condition in material terms, at least to be one of precarious dependency (Jones 358). As a result, marriage was almost the only solution to improve the financial situation of a woman.
One of the most evident examples of inequality in the novel is demonstrated in the structure of the legal system. Austen explicitly describes entailment, or the order of inheritance, which proves the low status of a woman in society. The property of Mr. Bennet is entailed to the cousin of the five daughters, Mr. Collins, since in Mr. Bennets family, there are no males to inherit the Longbourn estate (Austen 85). Moreover, the inferior status of female characters and their financial vulnerability are expressed in Mrs. Bennets fury when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collinss proposal. These examples show that in both legal and social realms, women are limited in rights and freedom of choice and depend on men.
Another significant stereotype about an English woman of that time is related to marriage as the reflection of a womans financial stability and social status. In British society of the 19th century, marriage was mainly motivated by materialistic values rather than the sincerity of a relationship (Jabborova and Alimova 269). Moreover, marriages were often organized by parents, who saw matrimony as means of achieving happiness (Jabborova and Alimova 269).
In Pride and Prejudice, this idea is expressed through the character of Mrs. Bennet, the mother of the protagonist and her four sisters. The business of her life was to get her daughters married, Austen writes about this obsession (4). Indeed, Mrs. Bennets desire to arrange her daughters weddings can be explained by social attitudes towards marriage, which was believed to define the happiness of a woman and her status in society.
The experiences of young unmarried female characters of the novel prove the conservative views on marriage described above. According to Jones, for Austens financially precarious heroines, marriage, with its promise of security, becomes the grand feature of their lives (360). For example, Charlotte Lucass marriage to Mr. Collins is motivated by her desire to gain social and economic stability. Being older and not very attractive compared to the five sisters, she is happy about the opportunity of the advantageous proposal. In contrast, for Elizabeth, morale and personal values appear to be more important than marriage and social status.
For example, despite Mr. Collins financial state, she refuses his proposal. Similarly, she is not attracted to Mr. Darcy in the beginning since he appears proud and arrogant. According to Simpson, Miss Austen believed in the ultimate possible happiness of every marriage (293). Marriage based on true feelings is demonstrated through the development of the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. This contrast reinforces the stereotypical view of marriage as an advantage-based solution for a woman to improve her financial and social status.
Finally, one of the stereotypes is related to the image of an accomplished woman, an ideal in which the outside elegance is appreciated more than personal qualities. This idealized image is demonstrated in Miss Bingleys description of a successful British woman. According to her, a British lady should demonstrate intelligence and multiple talents and be an example of perfect manners and appearance (Austen 27). Men, on the contrary, are not subject to such social requirements; for example, Mr. Collins, with his ridiculous behavior, is still considered a desirable party for marriage because of his wealth.
At the same time, Elizabeth is depicted as the complete opposite of who can be called an accomplished British woman. In Austens portrayal of the protagonist, one can see the reflected position of the author, whose characters are usually far from ideal (Simpson 294). Indeed, Elizabeth is shown as a young woman without the perfect manners and grace of a British lady. Some of her actions are considered disgracing: for example, her decision to walk three miles to see Jane in Netherfield causes disapproval of her mother. The latter explains that Elizabeth will not look appropriately after the long walk. The abovementioned examples prove that women were constantly under the pressure of society and its stereotypical views about an image of a perfect successful woman.
In conclusion, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen indeed reinforces sexist stereotypes of women at the turn of the nineteenth century. First, women were considered inferior to men in the social and legal spheres of life. Secondly, according to stereotypical views on marriage, a single woman was regarded as financially unstable and unsuccessful. Finally, the stereotypical role of a woman in society was to be a perfect example of intelligence and elegance. Therefore, Austen introduces both stereotypical and non-typical characters in her novel and describes the common social attitudes, proving the pressure of sexism imposed on women of that time.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 1-256.
Jabborova, Hilola, and Mukharram Khayatovna Alimova. The Problem of Gender Equality in the Novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. E-Conference Globe, 2021, pp. 266-270.
Jones, Vivian. Feminisms. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 357-367.
Simpson, Richard. The Critical Faculty of Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice. Fourth Norton Critical Edition, edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, W.W. Norton & Company, 2016, pp. 293-295.
Ibi Zobois remix of Pride and Prejudice explores different philosophical and moral questions. Embracing the worldwide novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Ibi Zobois remix addresses the essential issues of race stereotypes and gentrifications influence on identity formation. The novels characters move from unfounded prejudices to the understanding that race does not imply the material level and type of personality. The surrounding atmosphere and cultural specificities influence the characters personalities throughout the story and change their attitude towards the particular minorities and races. The essential concept that Zoboi addresses in her story is identity formation. The author of the book explores identity through family and cultural perspectives.
The novel depicts several families who have different wealth and personal relationships. Zuri, coming from a low-income family, hates rich people since they mostly proclaim gentrification as a positive change. The family, especially Zuris sister Janae, tries to persuade the girl that the prejudices against black people should be eliminated. (Zoboi, 2019). Being a member of a low-income family, Zuris personality is affected by living in such conditions. She treats all wealthy people as evil due to the inequity of opportunities people are born with. In expressing the negative attitudes towards Darius at the storys beginning, she implies that her identity is based on racial and material presuppositions caused by living and family conditions.
Thanks to Madrinas guidance and family members support, Zuri realizes that differences make people unique. Madrinas Bushwick can be considered as a prototype of a supportive family. During the decisive periods of her life, Zuri seeks Madrinas support (Zoboi, 2019). Her identity changes positively due to the understanding that people should not be treated only by their status and race. For example, she realizes that Warren, coming from the same strata, has malicious intentions only thanks to Darius, who she hated most (Zoboi, 2019). This fact influences her identity and diminishes the role of the stereotype about race and wealth in her personality. Therefore, the author believes that the conditions in which a person was raised and the family support determine the identity-formation direction.
The cultural aspect and the surrounding political and economic conditions also can influence identity formation. Zuris character is strong, and she is faithful to her origins and culture. She believes that Darius is arrogant only because he comes from a prosperous family. She keeps in mind all the negative prejudices about wealth and race due to cultural peculiarities. First of all, Zuri is scared of the gentrification process, which can abolish her and her familys everyday lives. Zuri respects the cultural peculiarities of the minority she belongs to. As a result, she considers all the outsiders and intruders, especially rich ones, potentially dangerous for her friends and family. The pride of being a member of a particular society and the desire to protect what she loves makes her personality strong. As a result, the author of the book claims that identity formation depends on cultural background.
Therefore, the remix of the well-known novel Pride and Prejudice in the Ibi Zoboi representation addresses the essential question of identity-formation. The storys main character realizes that identity is a complicated phenomenon and that it cannot be conditioned by particular factors such as race or status. Factors that influence this multifaceted process are culture and family. Through these social determinants, people learn what personal pride means and respect other peoples pride.
Reference
Zoboi, I. (2019). Pride: A pride & prejudice remix. Balzer & Bray/Harperteen.
Austen uses gardens to advance the themes of class, love, parental relationships and family honor. She also reveals Elizabeths, Darcys and other peoples character through the gardens.
Significance of gardens in the novel
The novel Pride and Prejudice does not rely heavily on symbolism because it has more dialogues than descriptions. Nonetheless, certain physical elements still stand out in the narrative. One such case is Darcys estate, which residents know as Pemberley. This garden is at the heart of the book. First, it is reflective of Darcys character since he owns it.
When Elizabeth pays Darcy a visit, the picturesque gardens impress her totally. She begins to warm up to this man and his wits and charm impress her even more. In the novel, the author compares this garden to Darcys perception of himself. Austen (140) describes a nearby stream that appears to swell with its own natural importance. She adds that the stream achieved this without appearing artificial.
The same thing may be said about Darcys character. He possessed a natural importance that made him appear proud. Nonetheless, this pride still coexisted with a lack of artificiality just like the stream; Darcy is not too rigid or too superficial.
Mr. Collins character also comes out through the mention of his garden. When Elizabeth and Collins take a stroll in Collins garden, he uses the opportunity to elevate his accomplishments and virtues. For instance, he talks about his fondness for the garden, and the fact that he enjoys working on it. Collins also talks about every single detail in the garden without giving the ladies a chance to share their views on the same.
He boasts about how he knows the number and the location of each and every tree in the garden. This behavior implies that Collins is quite self-centered (Delany 35). He wants everyone to know about what he did for the garden, but does not care about their opinion. Additionally, Collins is a proud and boastful man; he likes to show off his vast knowledge of the gardens and the tree.
He also wanted to prove to the ladies that he was in charge of the place. Such preferences indicate that Collins was also a controlling person. In fact, Charlotte often asked Collins to go to the garden and show off his talents. The garden was Charlottes escape from Collins pompousness. When carried out activities, in the garden, she could enjoy her private time and space.
Indeed, the garden is also symptomatic of class differences and family honor as seen through Charlottes eyes. The garden clearly illustrates how foolish Mr. Collins was; however, a lady as intelligent as Charlotte still chose to stick with him. Charlotte had to choose between two extremely difficult decisions; she could decide to stay with her parents, and thus strain their financial resources.
Alternatively, she could choose to marry the ineffable Mr. Collins and just do what she could do within those circumstances. This reflected how society placed heavy expectations upon unmarried women.
They often sacrificed their own happiness for a chance to improve their social status and maintain their family traditions. Furthermore, wealth warranted the forgiveness of ones vices; the lavish gardens and picturesque estates especially envisaged this.
In one scenario, in the book, Austen (45) describes how Elizabeth crossed a bridge when she first came into this estate. This had a symbolic effect because it reflected the start of a new romance. When Elizabeth crossed the bridge, she was also crossing the line between love and loneliness. This bridge in the Pemberley garden also reflected the gap that existed between the two individuals as a result of class differences.
Gardens also play a pivotal role of highlighting change in the story (Le Faye 44). Most dialogues occur inside a house. Therefore, when the author mentions the outdoors, she often does this to cue a significant change in the novel. For instance, Elizabeth comes into contact with Mr. Darcy for the first time when she goes to see Mr. Collins and Charlotte; she did this by passing through a garden.
This scenario is what builds up to Darcys proposal. The second time that she takes a journey through the Pemberley gardens, she realizes that her affections for Darcy are growing stronger. In that instance, the gardens symbolize a transition from indifference to affection for Darcy.
In the third instance when Austen mentions a journey in a garden, she wanted to illustrate the threat that would come upon the Bennet family if they did not find Wickham and Lydia. When Darcy tracks them, he illustrates just how devoted he is to Elizabeth.
The author uses gardens to advance the theme of class struggles. The Bennets have an ordinary house, and because of its small size, the home has no picturesque gardens. This simplicity reflects the social status of the Bennets. Conversely, Bingley, Darcy and Lady Catherine have lavish gardens in their homes. Bingley has Netherfield Park while Lady Catherine has the Rosings estate.
As mentioned earlier, Darcy had Pemberley. These gardens showcased Darcys, Catherines and Bingleys enormous wealth. They are also crucial indications of social status. When Elizabeth sees Darcys garden, she thinks about how delightful it would be to stay there. Even someone as composed and sensible as Elizabeth could not help herself when she saw the beauty and elegance of the landscape.
One can even compare the relative social status of the people who owned those estates through the quality of the gardens in their estates. For instance although the gardens in Rosings were impressive, they did not possess the same level of elegance that existed in Pemberley.
Gardens also signify familial relationships in the story. Austen talks about the relationship between Darcy and his son Colin, in the thirtieth chapter. One morning, Darcy wakes up feeling rejuvenated and energetic. He feels glad to be alive for the first time in an unusually long time. Darcy then proceeds to wake up his son and offers to take him out for a walk in the garden.
This is a unique bonding moment for the two as Darcy relieves his own childhood. He promises his son that he will teach him how to ride horses and to swim. In fact, he had no idea that his son did not know these things, yet his age mates were well aware of the same. Furthermore, Colin got to learn a lot about his familys history. Darcy talked about his sister and mother and their escapades as children.
He talked about the lessons and reprimands they underwent when they misbehaved. For the first time, this son and father had an exciting conversation together. Additionally, the experience was also reflective of Darcys own lessons. He got to appreciate the value of family experiences and heritage (James 56). It reinforced his views about himself and the things that mattered more to him.
Conclusion
Gardens emphasized the characters of the owners and the people who came to see the estate; to Darcy, the garden reflected his self determination and dedication towards Elizabeth. It signified a change in perception about Darcy to Elizabeth. The gardens brought out Mr. Collins arrogance and self centeredness; they also emphasized Charlotte helplessness in choosing a spouse.
Audiences can learn about the importance of family heritage during Darcys and Colins morning walk. Furthermore, one can also learn about class differences in this society as seen through the aristocrats lavish gardens.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and prejudice. London: Bantam Classics, 1983. Print.
Delany, Samuel. About writing. NY: Routlege, 2006. Print.
James, Edward. The Cambridge companion to fiction. Cambridge :CUP, 2003. Print.
Le Faye, Deidre. Jane Austen: The World of her novels. NY: Harry Abrams, 2002. Print.
The novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is considered to be a masterpiece of classical literature that has gone a long way due to the vivid presentation of the conflicts and interaction of the characters of the protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. These characters have been the subjects of literary investigations of a great number of literary critics (Neil), (Wolloch), (Morrison), (Haggerty). However, it should be taken into account, that the disclosure of the protagonists characters is possible due to the assistance of other characters of the novel, for instance, the complex character of Elizabeth may be analyzed from the perspective of analysis of all five daughters of the Bennets. Lydia and Wickham are called major minor characters in Pride and Prejudice (Woloch 75). The opposition of intelligent and quick-witted Elizabeth and her distorted reflection of the younger sister is a masterful application of the authoress literary talent. The significance of the character of Lydia may be proved by the publication of Lydia Bennets Story: Sequel to Pride and Prejudice , where Odiwe suggests an alternative continuation of the captivating story of the youngest of the Bennets1. Though, her interpretation of Lydias character is far deeper than that presented by Austen, at the beginning of the novel Odiwe also states that Lydias greatest desire in life was to be married before any of her sisters (Odive 1). Thus, the character of Lydia is the presentation of the silly and hypocritical character of a woman caused by poor upbringing and misinterpretation of the values of life and natural shallowness.
Lydia, along with other sisters, Mary, Jane, and Catherine, belong to the minor characters of the novel. The main technique that is used by the authors in the creation of the girls characters resemble of literary technique of grotesque. This may be proven by the authors resorting to the depiction of only one or very few traits of characters of the girls in comparison with the complex and multidimensional character of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet. Jane However, the interrelation of the girls characters in the novel for a semblance of the net, where the ties between the sisters provide additional meaning to the general plot of the novel and the realization of the main ideas. Thus, the analysis of the relationship of other sisters with Lydia will contribute to the general disclosure of her character. Wolloch says that Lydia and Mary have nothing in common except their minor positions within the novel (75). He also states that the manner of description of the sisters is the same, it stresses their minor role in the novel with the help of short, ironic descriptions (Woloch 75). Austin states that Lydia seldom listened to any body for more than half a minute, and never attended to Mary at all (170). In comparison with Mary, the relationship between Lydia and Catherine are very significant. Catherine Bennet is the most insignificant character of the novel. Her presence in the novel may be explained by her necessity for the portrayal of two other characters: Elizabeths and Lydias. Woloch says that there is no reason for Chatherines presence in the novel; she is an additional sister within the Bennet family but does not add anything to the novels semantic plane (117). However, Catherine is important as she is the distorted reflection of Lydia. Austin says Catherine, weak-spirited, irritable, and completely under the Lydias guidance, had been always affronted by her advice (Austen 163). Using the portrayal of Catherine, Lydias ability to manipulate, intimidate, and oppress people is shown. Catherine bears resemblance to clay that may take any shape under the pressure, and this pressure is constantly exercised by her younger sister. The fact that fifteen-year-old Lydia is the idol to worship, envy, and copy by the elder seventeen-year-old Catherine is nothing but evidence for the strength of Lydias character. She is even described by the authoress as a self-willed person (Austen 163). As the result they were ignorant, idle, and vain , and this is the, evidently, the product of Lydias high authority. The revelation of Lydias character is partially exercised though the letters she sends once she is settled amid all of the officers in Brighton , and her long letters to Kitty do not reveal much to her family , directing the information to the reader directly (Devine 101). Nevertheless, in the development of the plot of the novel the shift of authority for Catherine may be observed from Lydias pale imitation to the cooperation with Elizabeth and Jane. This shows that the essence and the ground of Lydias authority are wrong, that even a primitive amoeba-like sister eventually finds other authorities to follow.
The most picturesque is the opposition of Lydia and Elizabeth. Here the author makes use of the above-mentioned grotesque application, the satire and sarcasm of the novel are built of the opposition of the characters. Love transforms Elizabeth and Darcy, and creates a marriage of faith and desire but the marriage of Wickham and Lydia is the marriage of hollowness and indifference built based on hypocrisy and desire to get profit (Morrison 88). Just as the character of Catherine serves for the disclosure of Lydias character, Lydia enforces the positive traits of character of Elizabeth based on her weak points and shallowness. In its turn, hypocrisy as the chief trait of the character of Lydia is shown in its full force due to the absolute absence of this quality in the protagonists character. This may be shown by a great number of episodes, for instance in the first talk of Elizabeth and Lady Catherine, when Elizabeth openly reveals that she is a rotten pianist, or in their final talk about Darcy (Austen 127, 271). Still, no matter how different the personalities of two sisters maybe, among the words that characterize Lydia: untamed, unabashed, wild, noisy, and fearless at least two, untamed and fearless may be also applied to the character of Elizabeth. Auerbach also stresses the parallels between Elizabeth and Lydia , saying that both of them were attracted to the same seemingly charming man: Capitan Wickham (138). Thus, the opposition seems not absolute and unshakable; it is just the innate qualities of intelligence and stupidity that make the main difference between the girls.
However, no matter how shallow and silly Lydia might be, she could not be entirely blamed for being a stupid hypocritical little thing. The person who is guilty of the irreparable deformation of the girls character is her mother, Mrs. Bennet. Lydia is a shallow materialist but she is made by her mother (Morrison 89). The thing of crucial importance is that the youngest girl is a favourite with her mother , this is why Lydia was brought & into public at an early age (Austen 33). Thus, Mrs. Bennet has brought up the monster by herself due to improper methods of upbringing and false goals set by her before the girls. Mrs. Bennet would have been stupefied by the fact that Bottomers diagnosis for Lydias behavior was attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (57). Mrs. Bennets blind desire to get rid of all the daughters playing it roughly was even mentioned by Lady Catherine who was outraged by the fact that all five daughters were out simultaneously (Austen 127). On the one hand, the mother may be justified by the positive intentions of meaning well by her children, however, unnecessary and hyperbolized desire to marry the girls as soon as possible spoilt not only the mothers relationship with Elizabeth, not had also deformed Lydias view of life and the main values of life. This is the mother, who fostered the development of all-natural negative qualities of Lydia instead of the eradication of them.
However, Lydia has been already demarcated as the most disadvantaged sister within the competition for marriageable men, because she is the youngest (Wolloch 76). This shows the guilty of the moral primitiveness of the character on a larger scale. Georgian society where women had access to knowledge and education but were still subjected to the husband-chase and finding of a perfect match, is mainly guilty of Lydias conduct and lifestyle. Thus, the hypocrisy of society together with the hypocrisy of the mother, beget the highest possible stage of arrogance and hypocrisy of Lydia.
Lydias elopement and the subsequent wedding appear to be the utter presentation of hypocrisy on her part. It would be hard to find a more suitable and eloquent statement than that of Auerbachs: Not only her [Lydias] head but also her heart seemed vacant (140). She is presented as an immature, silly, self-centered flirt who ignores the fact that her wild freak of elopement could be an utter disaster for the entire family, from a nineteenth-century perspective (Haggerty 78). The breach of reputation could have made all the sisters hopeless spinsters but it is not in Lydias nature to think about anyone else, because she cannot even think of the consequences of the deed for herself. Gottschall and Wilson state that by her escape Lydia lowers the social standing of the whole family even further, and there is an evident possibility that by an inevitable progression Lydia would be abandoned by her beloved and would come on the town , living as a prostitute and in all likelihood dying early of disease and abuse (99). Luckily, Lydia managed to avoid this sad situation solely due to Darcys contribution. The culmination of Lydias hypocrisy may be observed when she comes to her home alone with her shameless and mercenary beloved after their wedding. The fact that she behaves very arrogantly and looks down on Jane and Elizabeth is the eloquent characterization of her poor personality (Schmidt 10). Finally, her cherished dream has come true; she got married earlier than all other sisters. Now she is enjoying her superiority and she believes that she is worth more than the sisters and Lydia is eager to hear herself called Mrs. Wickham by each of the neighbors. Lydia boast[s] of being married, to Mrs. Hill and the two housemaids (Austen 241). She is searching such primitive people as she is herself as it may be possible to convince them of her victory. However, Mrs. Bennet, though realizing the true nature of things, is still satisfied by her favorite daughter who has managed to marry before the elder sisters (Schmidt 10).
Lydias happiness and pride caused by the fact that she has married a profligate2 man who stays with her only because he is paid to do so is the result of her inner poverty, primitive desires, and bad upbringing (Auerbach 140). The character of Lydia Bennet is employed by Jane Austen to show the danger of a young woman having no moral principles, no conscience, and no belief of in a higher power (Auerbach 140). The hypocrisy is the main means of the characters conduct, it is the essence of her personality, it is the main weapon and the secret of the charm of Lydia Bennet.
Notes
Jane Odiwe offers her vision of the events after the end of the story created by Jane Austen. In her version, Lydia is reunited with the family after the discovery of the rotten nature of her beloved.
Wickham is involved in the net of debt as the result of his excessive extravagance.
Works Cited
Auerbach, Emily. Searching for Jane Austen. Madison, Wisc.: Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2004.
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. James Kinsley. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.
Bottomer, Phyllis Ferguson. So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autistic Spectrum in Pride and Prejudice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007.
Devine, Jodi A. Letters and Their Role in Revealing Class and Personal Identity in Pride and Prejudice. Persuasions: The Jane Austen Journal (2005): 99-105.
Gottschall, Jonathan and David Sloan Wilson. The Literary Animal: Evolution and the Nature of Narrative. USA: Northwestern University Press, 2005.
Haggerty, Andrew. Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2008.
Morrison, Robert. Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice: a Sourcebook. NY: Routledge, 2005.
Neil, Edward. The Politics of Jane Austen. NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 1999.
Odiwe, Jane. Lydia Bennets Story: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks Landmark, 2008.
Schmidt, Katrin. The Role of Marriage in Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice. Berlin: GRIN Verlag, 2008.
Woloch, Alex. The One vs. Many: Minor Character and the Space of the Protagonist in the Novel. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003.