The very first line in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is well-known all over the world; “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” It is clear from the beginning that Pride and Prejudice will center around the pursuit of domestic bliss for the characters. However, that is essentially all that Austen writes about in the course of the novel, especially as it pertains to women who are connected to the gentry and aristocracy in England.
Anyone who is familiar with Pride and Prejudice can notice the lack of diversity in the conversations and concerns of the women Austen created. She does not describe the day-to-day trials and tribulations of being a woman in 19th century England. In fact, she hardly mentions the hobbies typically seen as being feminine - unless the situation involves an available man. Her selective writing obviously resulted in a wonderful story, well beloved by countless readers over the two centuries since it was published. But, this is not a totally accurate portrayal of women’s lives at the time.
This inaccuracy is also true of some of the advantageous marriages that are made in the novel. In all likelihood, a family like that of the Bennet’s would not have had two daughters who marry so far above their own station. That is something that Austen’s characters are very adamant about - most do not dare to even consider the idea of their marrying somewhere outside of their societal positions. Take Charlotte Lucas, for example, who marries a man she dislikes because he makes a comfortable living that she probably won’t match with anyone else. Lady Catherine is also an example within the aristocracy. She is determined to have her daughter married within their rank, and so she pushes hard for Darcy. Even the characters who do not care so much rank-wise are still concerned with the status being married at all gives a woman, as is the case for Lydia. Austen makes it clear that the only hope women have of gaining any sort of hold in their world is by marrying a man. Therefore, the ultimate goal for all the single female characters is marriage. Some look at it differently - Jane and Elizabeth are obviously intent on marrying for love - but others are perhaps more realistic in their prospects.
Overal, Pride and Prejudice, while not being totally accurate in its representation of everyday concerns for women of the gentry and aristocracy, is probably more so in the interpretation of those women’s long-term goals. Though it must be said that not all of them truly want to be married, it is just required for them to be deemed respectable.
I understand your analysis, but is that not the whole point of the story and having such groundbreaking characters like Elizabeth and Darcy? Mrs. Bennet’s only goal in life is to get her daughters married, but even she does not care where they end up. She specifically notes that she would be happy if one of her daughters marries an officer with enough money because she deems them fine people (Austen 24). Also, it is obvious that Elizabeth does not accurately represent how women acted in 1813, as she has the spunk and wit of a 21st century rebellious teenager. While Elizabeth improves the prejudiced, judgmental, and harsh aspects of herself throughout the book, she does not lose her ambition and desire to do what she wants. This is proven towards the end of the novel when she continues to treat Lady Catherine in what is deemed a disrespectful way, because she refuses to sacrifice her unique manner for a socially superior and simply rude woman (Austen 308). As with Darcy, though he is groomed to carry on his family’s legacy and marry well, specifically Lady Catherine’s daughter, he improves himself in terms of his pride and rude manner to marry who he wants to despite society’s opinion. So, no, they do not accurately represent people during that time, but they contradict them in a productive way to propose the possibility of defying societal expectations for personal integrity.
ReplyDeleteJane and Elizabeth's desire to marry for love is their strongest trait and is what distinguishes them from the other women in the novel. While it may be unrealistic to the time, their breaking of social norms directly leads to the happiness of their marriages. After Jane is married she tells her sister, "do anything rather than marry without affection" (Austen 200). This advice is very true to Elizabeth's character as she rejects Mr. Collins proposals and rejects Mr. Darcy's first proposal. Elizabeth only starts to gains affection for Mr. Darcy after she witnesses his true character and begins to lose her prejudice, which ultimately leads to her acceptance of his second proposal. The novel's focus on Elizabeth's romantic journey emphasizes why characters with the flaws of pride and prejudice will live unhappily and how Elizabeth's is able to grow and create a happy marriage. I would agree with your argument that in doing so Austen leaves out a lot of the daily activities women would be participating in. However the inclusion of these activities would not necessary contribute to Austen's overall message for the novel. The novels inaccuracy to its time and focus on romance could have been what made the novel so popular and despite not including the daily activities of women the novel's message is still relevant to our society today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your concern of the story being built around the idea that the women in the novel are solely looking for a marriage, but I do not completely agree with the idea that there is a complete lack of diversity within the novel. I feel like for a lot of the supporting character roles, the women have very different perspectives and conversations depending on their social class. I also think that the quote from the book about being a single man only be in want of a wife pertained more to the male characters than the female characters. For example, Mr. Collins was extremely concerned with his social status due to his being unmarried. This exemplified a large difference in men with social power and men who do not have a large amount of social power. For example, Mr. Darcy was very concerned with marrying an ideal woman of class and social status rather than marrying Elizabeth. This however changed due to his social status and his wealth that enabled him to marry for love rather than to gain even more wealth and power. I think that the several different storylines in the novel present various aspects of the time period and how different life could be depending on your status.
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