Pride and Prejudice Essay

Elizabeth seems to represent something of a departure form the conventional image of women of her time By Comparing Jane Austen’s characterisation of Elizabeth with that of the other female characters in the novel, and by examining it’s social context, discuss this verdict in the heroine of Pride and Prejudice. The novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† is about a fascinating love between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy who have to overcome a lot of difficulties and social prejudices to be together. Some readers may be amazed by the way Jane Austen builds her female characters, especially the main heroine Elizabeth Bennet who is an energetic, quick-witted, sharp- tongued, bold and intelligent girl. Everyone soon realizes that she is the most distinguished and unique character in the novel because of her strong-willed and eager mind. Jane Austen lived in a historical time of social and political changes all over the world but she focused on the middle-class, narrow-minded life in England in which women’s social status was established by marrying a prosperous man who would be able to provide them and their family with good security for life, very similar to Mrs. Bennet’s desires. However a majority of central female characters in Austen’s works are strong-natured and they promote women’s freedom on marriage. Elizabeth is a highly unconventional woman of her time. Her mannerisms and thoughts seem to be different to other characters in the novel. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters in the Bennet family. However, unlike her mother and her siblings whose childishness and narrow-mindedness always showed themselves poorly in public, Elizabeth is quite smart and has a fast tongue. This is the reason for her being the most favourite daughter of her father and the least one of her mother. Mr. Bennet, an intelligent man with a cynical sense of humour, has made an unwise marriage with a simple minded and ill-mannered woman, Mrs. Bennet, and when he realizes this, he has a tendency to hide in his study rather than take part in the social and family activities with his wife. Being her father’s confidante almost portrays Elizabeth as the son of the family. Throughout the novel, it is recognizable that Mr. Bennet always gives Elizabeth a unique interest as he sees in her in a different way from her sisters and other girls. While Mrs. Bennet has little value for Elizabeth’s intelligence and wit: â€Å"Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good humoured as Lydia†, Mr. Bennet has a high regard for these qualities: â€Å"They have none of them much to recommend them, they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.† (Chapter 1) Mr. B. believes that his Elizabeth is more sensible and shrewd than her sisters so he frequently offers her advice, supports her and trusts her in all that she does. For example when Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collins’s proposal due to the fact that she does not want to marry such a pompous man, Mrs Bennet is outraged however Mr. Bennet is not livid about her decision at all and instead he supports her. â€Å"Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.† (Chapter 20). This shows that Mr Bennet is humouring his wife and is joking with Elizabeth. Refusing this marriage with Mr. Collins, which would highly benefit the Bennet family, seems unusual in Elizabeth’s time. Any other women would be delighted to marry a man of Mr. Collins standard. In addition to the â€Å"quickness† of her mind, Elizabeth also shares good humour with her father. She likes taking ironic enjoyment at others’ silliness and hypocrisies and is quick to mock them exclusive of her mother and her younger sisters though she is sometimes humiliated by their ludicrous behaviour. In the novel, she is portrayed as having â€Å"a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.† (Chapter 3). Elizabeth does not care to join her family in the balls and finds her family’s behaviour unusual. In fact she finds humour in the way her family conducts themselves. She is completely in contrast to Lydia one of her younger sisters. This is uncommon in females in that society, partaking in balls and getting excited about them was one of the many things women were expected to do. Again this shows Elizabeth’s uniqueness. At the first encounter between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy at the Meryton ball, Darcy callously turns down the offer to dance with Elizabeth and insults her by saying â€Å"†¦she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Chapter3). Such a remark on a girl, particularly in a dance party is very impolite and offensive and it makes Elizabeth slightly annoyed. However, rather than being humiliated and hiding her embarrassment, she retells this incident to her friends in a teasing and sardonic way. I think that her reaction is wise and rare as not often can a woman behave as calmly as her in a situation like this. She laughs at what Mr. Darcy says about her appearance and changes the fact of being insulted from her to Mr. Darcy. Furthermore, in her discussions with Miss. Bingley and Mr. Darcy at Netherfield Park, Elizabeth herself admits that â€Å"I dearly love a laugh but †¦ I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can.† (Chapter11). Being a person who has an exceptional mind, Elizabeth knows what she should or shouldn’t make a joke about and she states this point of view clearly and frankly. In other words, only follies and vanities of others can delight her and she is good at creating laughter from these enough to make her conversation become attracting and amusing. Everybody is drawn towards her because of her quick mind and excellent sense of humour. Finding humour in things that would seem rude at the time seems eccentric of women of that time. Elizabeth should be insulted and angry at Mr. Darcy, yet she seems to laugh at how ridiculous his thoughts. This shows that Elizabeth does not care about her appearance to people in society and she is content with being herself. Elizabeth shows that she is unconventional, when she meets Lady Catherine De Bough. During the conversation, Lady Catherine puts a series of questions to Elizabeth concerning the upbringing of her sisters and expects to receive the normative and easy on the ear answers from her. Yet, Elizabeth’s responses cannot make the Lady satisfied as she thinks. â€Å"Why did not you all learn?† (Chapter 29 )Elizabeth is open in expressing her own ideas and her replies to the impolite and rude questions of Lady Catherine are quite cold and frank. For example, when being asked about personal information, Elizabeth does not hesitate to hold back the answer regardless of the old woman’s feelings. In other words, it is a signal of rebellion against the social principals that an inferior such as herself should challenge a very wealthy and important woman like Lady Catherine. Her brave and admirable reaction to this situation impresses me and I respect her for being able to do that. It is irregular for someone of Elizabeth’s position to talk and conduct herself in the way she did to someone like Lady Catherine who was inferior to her in both age and wealth. She should have respected her and agreed with everything she said. She should have said very little as Mrs Jenkinson and Sir William said. Others such as Mr. Collins, who had been much acquainted with Lady Catherine De Bourgh, behaved in a more appropriate way, as it would have been expected. When playing Cards with Lady Catherine he would â€Å"agreeing to everything her Ladyship said, thanking her for every fish he won, and apologising if he thought he won too many.† Unlike most of the other characters in the novel and the conventional women of her time, Elizabeth is a strong woman who is capable of harmoniously balancing reason and emotion in dealing with every incident. She does and says whatever she believes to be right without paying attention to the external forces. The determination in her character really makes her become the most admired and praiseworthy woman. For example when Jane becomes ill, Elizabeth is determined to go meet her. She is also stubborn about walking there rather than taking horse and carriage. Mrs. Bennet is afraid that Elizabeth’s visiting to Netherfield would make Jane recover from illness quickly and she would not stay there as long as her mother wants. Moreover, the appearance of a girl as the result of walking three miles through the mud is surely not expected to see and the girl’s social image may be affected. Nevertheless, Elizabeth pays attention to nothing of it. Her only concern is Jane and her health so she does not have intention of changing her initial decision. Her answers to her parents are full of willpower and resolution. Her look â€Å"with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise† when arriving at Netherfield is a great surprise to the people here but she appears unworried about their comments and views on her. Nothing can make her flinch from difficulties. In a society like Elizabeth’s appearance is everything and by arriving to Netherfield as she did would ruin her family’s social image. However Elizabeth paid no attention to this and this shows that she is an unconventional woman of her time. She was more concerned for her sister Jane than her family’s reputation. Moreover, Elizabeth is really a woman of action who once decides to do something will do it no matter how hard it is. She is very unwavering, particularly shown by her treatment of Darcy when she believes him to have done wrong. As we know, at their first meeting, Darcy was impolite and insulted words on Elizabeth’s beauty making her think so badly of him. At the evening at Longbourn, Sir William Lucas intends to introduce Elizabeth to Mr. Darcy as â€Å"a very desirable partner† to dance. However, she immediately refuses this offer and does not change her mind no matter how Sir William tries to persuade her. Even though when Mr. Darcy himself elegantly asks for her hand, she only smiles and turns away. Later on, when she hears about the fake story that Wickham makes up to leave a stain on Mr. Darcy’s reputation she increasingly believes he is a terrible and cruel man. That is the reason for her indifferent and harsh attitudes to Mr. Darcy whenever they meet (but this changes after Elizabeth knows the truth of the two men). I can say that it actually takes a great strength of character and resolution to confront such a power man as Mr. Darcy who should be treated with respect and courtesy because of his wealth and social status. However, it is a part of Elizabeth’s personality that attracts Mr. Darcy as well as the readers of Pride and Prejudice. Rejecting to dance with a man of such high standard as Mr. Darcy takes a lot of strength and this strength was uncommon in women of Elizabeth’s time. Elizabeth should have disregarded what Mr. Darcy had said before and quietly and obediently dance with him, and do as she was told. She should have conducted herself in a respectable manner. The opening line of â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† is â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† implies that the only way for women to ensure themselves a stable life is through marriage. Marriage to some certain extent is like a business transaction. In the novel, Jane Austen uses the character Charlotte Lucas to illustrate this point and contrast with Elizabeth’s views on love and marriage. Charlotte is also a smart and well-educated woman like Elizabeth so it really makes Elizabeth surprised when hearing her friend’s decision to wed Mr. Collins. However, in a society where women are expected to marry a well-off man even though they are not in love with him was common. Their main reason was gaining financial security, or else facing homelessness and poverty. Therefore Charlotte’s actions were understandable. Compared with Elizabeth, Charlotte is older, plainer and more desperate to find a husband so Mr. Collin’s proposal is the rare opportunity to save her from the unpleasant reality, â€Å"I am not romantic, you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.† (Chapter 22). Charlotte is constrained by the fact that all she desires is wealth and stability and it can be achieved just through marrying to Mr. Collins. In her thought, love is not a real concern in marriage. To her closest friend’s choice, Elizabeth exclaims: â€Å"Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte — impossible!† She completely astonished at seeing Charlotte marrying without affection and it is their opposite points of view on this matter that makes them never be close as before. In Elizabeth’s time marriage was like a business transaction. All that was necessary was for the man to have money. Love had no importance. This meant that Elizabeth’s views on marriage were highly unusual and were irregular of her time. However Elizabeth also shows conventional features of women of her time. Firstly she marries someone of a higher status, and has more wealth than herself. This was typical of women in her time. In fact Mrs Bennet was happy declaring â€Å"Ten thousand a year! Oh Lord what will become of me.† (Chapter 59). She was delighted in knowing that her daughter has married an accomplished, rich man. Elizabeth Bennet marries Mr. Darcy, providing her family and herself financial security, as a woman of her time desired and aimed for. Her story ends very similar to Jane, a typically conventional woman, showing her regularity. Another conventional aspect of Elizabeth Bennet is that she plays the piano forte â€Å"She has a very good notion of fingering† (Chapter 31). Elizabeth also partakes in dancing in the Meryton balls. So much so that she is said to be an excellent dancer. â€Å"You excel so much in the dance Miss Eliza† (Chapter6). When Mr. Darcy talks of accomplished women he says that an accomplished women is one who â€Å"add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading† (Chapter 8). Elizabeth Bennet also reads regularly showing she is an accomplished and conventional woman. Traditionally a woman of Elizabeth’s time would be experienced in reading, playing the pianoforte, partaking in local balls, all aspects which Elizabeth Bennet has. In conclusion Elizabeth Bennet is not entirely an unconventional woman. She possesses mainly conventional aspects such as playing the piano. However I believe that it is her mind and thoughts that are unconventional. Elizabeth has been blessed with wit and intelligence. This comes through in her mannerisms and this is what forces her to seem unconventional. Through her thoughts, words and actions, no one can deny the fact that Elizabeth is an intelligent girl who possesses a humorous sense as well as a keen capability of observation. In the novel, she is described as a beauty and has especially expressive eyes, but what everybody notices about her is her spirited wit and quick responses. Elizabeth is not only smart but she also has a strong character. She is very brave to confront with the people who are far more powerful and superior than herself like Lady Catherine and Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth is quite determined and independent in her actions and opinions. She is ready to refuse the marriages that could provide her with a comfortable life and a high standing in the society just because she finds that man does not suit her in terms of intellect and personality. In â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, Jane Austen uses Elizabeth Bennet as a literary device to represent her values and attitudes on the importance of marrying for love. The heroine dares to go against the social conventions that women should marry for their economic benefits. She only weds the man she really loves and respects. This makes the young free-spirited woman differ substantially from the other female characters of the novel. Although the novel was written a vast amount of time ago and Jane Austen is no longer with us, the distance of time could not fade away the image of Elizabeth as a complex young woman with sparkling intelligence and a strong personality. Although Elizabeth makes some mistakes, for example she has been driven by her pride and prejudice for a long time leading to the misjudgements between Wickham and Mr. Mr. Darcy, the striking features she possesses still overweigh these weaknesses. She is not perfect but is an idealized woman. That is possibly the message Jane Austen was trying to get across, that there is no perfect woman, but then who is. In modern times, Elizabeth would be the opposite of unconventional. Now women are free to express their opinions and are encourage speaking their minds. In this way I think Jane Austen has predicted the future of women through Elizabeth. I believe Jane Austen has been accurate in her prediction and she has succeeded in producing more Elizabeth’s’ throughout the world. I admire Elizabeth Bennet and I believe that she is an ideal women. Particularly when it comes to her strength of mind and her courage.