pride_review_2

= Pride and Prejudice =

** by Jane Austen **
The manuscript was first written between 1796 and 1797. //Pride and Prejudice// was first published on January 28, 1813.

**Historical Context**
At the time Jane Austen was writing //Pride and Prejudice//, England was at the height of its power. The period from 1789 to 1799 marks the time of the French Revolution. The period from 1799 to 1815 marks the rise of Napoleon, which was linked to social changes and upheaval. In England, these years were times of conservative reaction, in which society did not change very much. The British government maintained a strict control over any ideas or opinions that supported the French Revolution. At the same time, the Industrial Revolution was changing the British economy. It created a large wealthy class and an enormous middle class. These are the people that Jane Austen describes in //Pride and Prejudice//, the people who have purchased their property, not the people who have inherited it from their ancestors. [3]

Major Characters

 * Elizabeth Bennet-**the protagonist of the novel; second oldest daughter of Mr. Bennet. Elizabeth is known throughout the book to be the most sensible, intelligent, bold, and not afraid to speak her mind. She is confident in her ability to recognize the truth of people and situations. However, her flaw is that she is influenced by vanity and the judgement of other people. She overcomes her prejudice of Mr. [[image:pp.jpg width="215" height="372" align="right"]]Darcy by realizing the goodness in him. She is not attracted to wealth and property, unlike the other ladies of her time.
 * Mr. Darcy-** a wealthy man, the master of Pemberley, and the nephew of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. His excessive pride causes him to look down upon others of lower social class. However, he has honor, virtue, and intelligence. Because Elizabeth does not admire his high social status and was not afraid to criticize his character, he recognized his faults of pride and social prejudice. By the end, he judges people more by their character than by their social class.
 * Charles Bingley-** Darcy's wealthy best friend; owner of the Netherfield estate; Jane's husband. Mr. Bingley is a friendly and good-tempered person. He does not care much about class differences. For example, Jane's poor family connections that Mrs. Bennet is embarassed by does not affect his attraction to her. He is very much affected by his friends advice, such as when Darcy tells him not to propose to Jane in the beginning of the novel. His character remains relatively the same throughout the book.
 * Mr. Bennet-** father of the Bennet family (with 5 unmarried daughters); has relatively average income. Mr. Bennet is intelligent and very sensible. However, his decision to marry Mrs Bennet, a foolish woman, does not match his personality and character. Throughout the novel, he wants little to do with drama in his family and his ignorance leads to the lack of education of his daughters.
 * Mrs. Bennet-** mother of the Bennet family. Mrs. Bennet is a foolish woman that lacks all sense and has no concern for the education of her daughters. Throughout the novel, her only goal is for her daughters to be married to a wealthy man with property. Her character constantly mortifies Elizabeth, which makes it impossible for them to live together.
 * Mr. Wickham-** a militia officer. Mr. Wickham is known in the novel as an extremely handsome man. In the beginning of the novel, he is thought to be a friendly and good man because of his manners. Elizabeth is initially attracted to him and believes his story over Darcy's. However, Wickham's appearance is deceptive. His true nature is shown when Darcy exposes his past through Lydia, when Wickham runs away with Lydia and wants to marry her because all he looks for his fortune.
 * Lydia Bennet-** the youngest of the Bennet daughters. Lydia is very self-involved and immature. She is the favorite of Mrs. Bennet because they have very similar personalities. Lydia is very foolish and flirtatious and falls for any guy that gives her attention. She sees nothing wrong with Mr. Wickham because she doesn't think anything else is important besides entertainment and diversion. Her lack of good-judgement is shown when she elopes with Wickham after knowing him for just several days.

Literary Movement: Romanticism
__A Brief Guide to Romanticism__: The Romantic Movement began in the late eighteenth century, during the Age of Revolution. A response against the Enlightenment, strict social classes, and materialism from the start of the Industrial Revolution, Romanticism focused on individual rebellion. [2] Thus, there is often a Romantic Hero who rejects the social norms and exhibits personal freedom. Further rejecting the constraints of civilization, literary pieces of this time period exhibited the theme of the pasture. In escaping to the countryside, one could achieve greater individual freedom. Furthermore, Romanticism made imagination, instinct, and emotion more important than critical reasoning. [4]

__Romanticism and Jane Austen__: Although many consider Austen's works to be Romantic, some critics argue that her works actually opposed the movement. In examining social classes and marriages, Austen uses rational reasoning. Her work often showed signs of moderation, rather than the long, excessive passages characteristic of Romanticism. [5]

__Romanticism in //Pride and Prejudice//__ In //Pride and Prejudice//, Austen clearly establishes a Romantic Hero: Elizabeth. She is considered rebellious for a woman of her time period as she is outspoken, independent, and makes her personal opinions known. One example of this is when she visits Netherfield Park to visit Jane, after she has fallen ill. Elizabeth travels mostly alone and by foot, arriving at the estate covered in dirt. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley are outraged by this act of independence. Miss Bingley states, “To walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, abover her ancles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what could she mean by it? It seems to me to shew an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum” (Austen 36). Furthermore, Austen rejects society’s view on marriage though Elizabeth’s character. Although characters such as Charlotte Lucas and Mrs. Bennet believe that marriage’s purpose is solely for financial and security reasons, Elizabeth searches for true love. She rejects Mr. Collins’ marriage proposal, despite that it would secure her a pleasant future. Later, when Charlotte decides to marry Mr. Collins, Elizabeth is outraged. The theme of the pastoral is greatly present in Pride and Prejudice. The majority of the novel is set in the country, and large cities are not associated with positive events. This is evident when Mr. Bingley and his family leave Netherfield Park for London. The Bennets, especially Jane, are distraught over how this could affect Mr. Bingley and Jane's relationship. Temporarily, London brings the end of their courtship and of positive relations between Jane and the Bingleys.

Central Conflict: Love vs. Social Status
The main conflict that keeps recurring throughout the novel is that of love vs. social status, the prime example being Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's relationship. At first, Mr. Darcy has no problems snubbing Elizabeth on the spot and even in her presence because he has not gotten to know her; however, once he begins spending more time in her presence, mostly due to her sister Jane and Mr. Bingley's budding relationship, he starts to develop conflicting feelings about her. He initially denies these feelings to everyone, including himself, because he cannot allow himself to even consider courting let alone marrying Elizabeth due to her social class. However he soon finds that the feelings cannot be ignored and steps out on a limb, asking her to marry him. Of course he is denied due to Elizabeth 's moral standards and the way that he has acted towards her, yet soon even Elizabeth finds herself in love with Mr. Darcy. This is the classic example of love vs. social status in the book because Mr. Darcy denies his feelings for Elizabeth for the longest time simply due to her low social class, however if she had been from a richer family then he may have considered her much more readily as a marriage candidate. As for Elizabeth, she denies Mr. Darcy at first both because of the way he has acted towards her and because he is exactly the type of man that her mother would want her to marry, due to his high social standing and his large fortune. Elizabeth wants to marry for love rather than social standing, which leads into a second conflict of love vs. social standing, this time with her mother. Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet have very different views about what the correct reasons for marriage are, Elizabeth wanting her marriage to be based on love and her mother focusing on money and social standing with a complete disregard for love or even any affection at all. Unfortunately, most of the characters in the novel support Mrs. Bennet’s view of marriage rather than Elizabeth ’s, Mr. Bennet being the main person who does not completely object to the idea.

Central Themes
//Marriage should be about love, not improving one's social status or financial conditon.// Austen examines Elizabeth's controversial view that marriage should be about love through Elizabeth's relationships with Mr. Wickham, Mr. Collins, and, most importantly, Mr. Darcy. Rejecting the social norms, she does not understand the contrasting views of her good friend Charlotte Lucas or her mother; both feel that one should marry to improve one's social status and achieve financial security. Charlotte exhibits this desire when she marries Mr. Collins, an act that Elizabeth refused. Mr. Darcy struggles with the two views of marriage. Although he finds himself attracted to Elizabeth, her lower-social standing makes the match undesirable. Eventually he realizes that love is more important than money and social class.

//In society, one should put less emphasis on social class// Throughout the novel, the reader is shown how rigid the social hierarchy of England was during this time period and how those of higher social status were permitted to treat those of lower social standing. The prime example of this is of course Lady Catherine, who treats everyone as if they were inferior to her and acts as if she is a queen. Mr. Collins, a member of the lower class, draws attention to this fact and makes a fool of himself when forcing his own introduction Lady Catherine and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy starts off with the same complex as Lady Catherine, although to a lesser degree, but overcomes it when he realizes that social class cannot stand in the way of his love for Elizabeth. There is a defininte split between characters of higher and lower class, with those of higher class being prejudiced towards those of low or middle class while those of a lower class are always trying to find ways to climb the social ladder. However Elizabeth does not seem to into either of these categories, not trying to increase her social standing through marriage nor looking down upon anyone since she is middle-class herself. This point is emphasized during the brief period that she is interested in Mr. Wickham: she does not take into account his lack of money when she begins liking him, much to her mother's disapproval of his low social class.

Key Quotations

 * "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men" (Austen 13).**

Mr. Darcy says this to Mr. Bingley at the ball. He is talking about Elizabeth whom he does not want to dance with because she is of lesser nobility than he and is not as wealthy. This shows Mr. Darcy's arrogance and how important social status was to these people during the Victorian Era. This is typical for a member of the upper class to judge the other women who are not as "qualified." This is a supreme example in which people who are obsessed with their reputation and status in society are more inclined to associate themselves with those who will maintain or improve their social standings.


 * "Undoubtedly there is meanness in //all// the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable" (Austen 41).**

This quote is said by Mr. Darcy during a conversation with Miss Bingley. Miss Bingley attempts to make herself more appealing than Elizabeth by walking around the room, flaunting herself. She thinks that by being ostentatious and showing off her wealth and high society upbringing, Mr. Darcy will find her more attractive. However, Darcy realizes exactly what she is trying to do, and thinks the act she is performing is "despicable." Mr. Darcy reveals a side of his character that is not crazed about the whole hierarchy of living that was so significant during this era. He sees how immature Miss Bingley is acting and is all the more attracted to Elizabeth. He realizes that he loves Elizabeth, regardless of her class.


 * "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" (Austen 24).**

Charlotte Lucas says this to Elizabeth as she tells Elizabeth that Mr. Collins proposed to marry her and she said accepted. This quote exemplifies the difference between marriage today and marriage in the Victorian Era. It is not a guarantee or completely certain that one will be happy with the person that he or she marries. (according to Charlotte) She says its a "matter of chance" and could frankly happen to any one. On the contrary, in our society today people get married because of the happiness they share with one another. It is a certainty that both parties are happy when they get married, or else they would not. This quote also characterizes Charlotte because this illustrates her character as a person that just goes along with the themes defined during this time.


 * "I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!" (Austen 45)**

Elizabeth is the speaker of this quote. She says to Darcy that if love is already strong for a person, than poetry will only increase love. However, if love is not felt or is not present, then poetry will not do anything to increase it. Elizabeth describes her feelings about love. By writing a letter or a poem, it will not make her love a person if she does not love that person from the beginning. This is significant because Elizabeth addresses her contrary views than every other person in the novel. This shows her dynamic nature and that regardless of how much money Darcy obtains, without love she will not just surrender herself to him or any one for that matter. She is not the stereotypical person of the era who is solely concentrated on gaining social status.

Pivotal Scenes

 * Ball-** The ball played a significant role in the novel. The first ball is where Mr. Bingley notices Jane for the first time and is introduced to her. He asks her to dance with him, not once but twice, indicating that he may be attracted to her. It is seen as a big compliment. Mr. Bingley speaks to Mr. Darcy and encourages him to ask Elizabeth for a dance. Although, Mr. Darcy says that "she is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me," demonstrating his lack of interest in her. From the start, Elizabeth develops a strong dislike for Darcy since he is the stereotypical wealthy male defined by the Victorian Era- only interested in maintaining their reputation and status in society.


 * Pemberley Estate-** Elizabeth visits Darcys estate at Pemberley and admires the beautiful property. She is aesthetically pleased and hears from Darcy's housekeeper how wonderful a master he is and how kind and generous he is towards her. This scene is a major turning point in //Pride and Prejudice//. Elizabeth starts erasing those initial feelings she had about Darcy and begins to develop an interest in him after all. Her opinion of him changes because she recognizes more about him than just materialism and social class. This scene marks the beginning of Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship.


 * __References__**

1. Austen, Jane. __Pride and Prejudice.__ New York: Penguin Books, 2005.

2. Gascoigne, Bamber. "History of the Romantic Movement." __HistoryWorld__. 26 Apr 2008 .

3. "Jane Austen's Historical Context." __The Victorian Web__ (2000) 26 APR 2008 <[|http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/austen/context.html>.]

4. Melani, Lilia. "Romanticism." 23 Sep 2001. English Department, Brooklyn College. 26 Apr 2008 [|.

5. Wolf, Abby. "Jane Austen." PBS. 26 Apr 2008 <[|http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/wives/writers/austen.html>.]