Love-Electronics: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Jane Austen began her second novel, Pride and Prejudice, before she was

twenty-one. It was originally titled First Impression because the appearances of

the characters created the plot of the novel. However, because the novel is also

concerned with the effects of the character’s first impressions, that is their

prejudice, Austen found the title Pride and Prejudice more appropriate.

Pride and Prejudice, similar to other Austen novels, is written in gentle or

Horacian satire. The main object of Austen’s satire in the novel is the

mercenary and the ignorance of the people, a common criticism of the 18th

century. Characters in the novel which best carries these qualities are:

Mrs. Bennet, a foolish woman who talks too much and is obsessed with getting her

daughters married;

Lydia Bennet, the youngest of the Bennet daughter who is devoted to a life of

dancing, fashions, gossips and flirting; and

Mr. Williams Collins, the silly and conceited baboon who is completely stupify

by Lady Catherine in every aspect of his life that he has forgotten his own

morals and duty.

The tone of the novel is light, satirical, and vivid. Scenes such as Mr. Collins

proposal to Elizabeth, and Lady Catherine visits to Lizzy at Longbourn, provides

comic relief to the reader while at the same time revealing certain traits of

the characters. For example, Lydia’s lack of common sense and responsibility is

revealed when she takes pride in being the first Bennet girl to be married.

Lydia does not take into consideration the circumstance of her marriage, the

personality of her husband, or the prospects of their marriage for the future.

Elizabeth Bennet’s ability to laugh off her misfortune and to continue to be

optimistic, considering her situation, also contributes to the tone of the

novel.

The point of view in Pride and Prejudice is limited omniscient; the story is

told through Elizabeth, but not in first person. As a result, the mood of the

novel lacks dramatic emotions. The atmosphere is intellectual and cold; there

are little descriptions of the setting. The main actions of the novel are the

interactions between opinions, ideas, and attitudes, which weaves and advances

the plot of the novel. The emotions in the novel are to be perceived beneath the

surface of the story and are not to be expressed to the readers directly.

Austen’s powers of subtle discrimination and shrewd perceptiveness is revealed

in Pride and Prejudice; she is able to convey such a complex message using a

simple, yet witty, style.

The main subject in the novel is stated in the first sentence of the novel: "It

is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good

fortune, must be in want of a wife." In this statement, Austen has cleverly done

three things: she has declared that the main subject of the novel will be

courtship and marriage, she has established the humorous tone of the novel by

taking a simple subject to elaborate and to speak intelligently of, and she has

prepared the reader for a chase in the novel of either a husband in search of a

wife, or a women in pursuit of a husband.

The first line also defines Austen's book as a piece of literature that connects

itself to the 18th century period. Pride and Prejudice is 18th century because

of the emphasis on man in his social environment rather than in his individual

conditions. The use of satire and wit, a common form of 18th century literature,

also contributes to label the book as 18th century. However, because Austen had

allowed personal feelings of the characters to be expressed in her work, she can

also be classified as Romantic. In the figure of Elizabeth, Austen shows passion

attempting to find a valid mode of existence in society. Passion and reason also

comes together in the novel to show that they are complementary of marriage.

There are seven different marriages presented in the novel. Excluding the

Gardiner and the Lucas, the remaining five marriages contrasts each other to

reveal Austen’s opinions and thoughts on the subject of marriage.

The marriage between Darcy and Elizabeth reveals the characteristics that

constitute a successful marriage. One of these characteristics is that the

feeling cannot be brought on by appearances, and must gradually develop between

the two people as they get to know one another. In the beginning, Elizabeth and

Darcy were distant from each other because of their prejudice. The series of

events which they both experienced gave them the opportunity to understand one

another and the time to reconcile their feelings for each other. Thus, their

mutual understanding is the foundation of their relationship and will lead them

to a peaceful and lasting marriage. This relationship between Elizabeth and

Darcy reveals the importance of getting to know one’s partner before marrying.

The marriage between Jane Bennet and Bingley is also an example of successful

marriage. Austen, through Elizabeth, expresses her opinion of this in the novel:

"....really believed all his [Bingley] expectations of felicity, to be

rationally founded, because they had for basis the excellent understanding, and

super-excellent disposition of Jane, and a general similarity of feeling and

taste between her and himself." (Chapter 55)

However, unlike Darcy and Elizabeth, there is a flaw in their relationship. The

flaw is that both characters are too gullible and too good-hearted to ever act

strongly against external forces that may attempt to separate them:

"You [Jane and Bingley] are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be

resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that

you will always exceed your income." (Chapter 55)

Obviously, Lydia and Wickham’s marriage is an example of a bad marriage. Their

marriage was based on appearances, good looks, and youthful vivacity. Once these

qualities can no longer be seen by each other, the once strong relationship will

slowly fade away. As in the novel, Lydia and Wickham’s marriage gradually

disintegrates; Lydia becomes a regular visitor at her two elder sister’s home

when "her husband was gone to enjoy himself in London or Bath." Through their

relationship, Austen shows that hasty marriage based on superficial qualities

quickly cools and leads to unhappiness.

Although little is told of how Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet got together, it can

be inferred by their conversions that their relationship was similar to that of

Lydia and Wickham--Mr. Bennet had married a woman he found sexually attractive

without realizing she was an unintelligent woman. Mrs. Bennet’s favoritism

towards Lydia and her comments on how she was once as energetic as Lydia reveals

this similarity. Mr. Bennet’s comment on Wickham being his favorite son-in-law

reinforces this parallelism. The effect of the relationships was that Mr. Bennet

would isolate himself from his family; he found refuge in his library or in

mocking his wife. Mr. Bennet’s self-realization at the end of the novel in which

he discovers that his lack of attention towards his family had led his family to

develop the way they are, was too late to save his family. He is Austen’s

example of a weak father. In these two latter relationships, Austen shows that

it is necessary to use good judgement to select a spouse, otherwise the two

people will lose respect for each other.

The last example of a marriage is of a different nature than the ones mentioned

above. The marriage between Mr. Collins and Charlotte is based on economics

rather than on love or appearance. It was a common practice during Austen’s time

for women to marry a husband to save herself from spinsterhood or to gain

financial security. In Pride and Prejudice, Austen dramatizes gender inequality

and shows that women who submit themselves to this type of marriage will have to

suffer in tormenting silence as Charlotte does:

"When Mr. Collins said any thing of which his wife might reasonably be ashamed,

which certainly was not unseldom, she [Elizabeth] would involuntarily turned her

eye on Charlotte. Once or twice she could discern a faint blush; but in general

Charlotte wisely did not hear." (Chapter 28)

These five marriages contribute to the theme that a happy and strong marriage

takes time to build and must be based on mutual feeling, understanding, and

respect. Hasty marriages acting on impulse, and based on superficial qualities

will not survive and will lead to inevitable unhappiness.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen has denounced the elements of marriage and

society that she found distasteful. These are the conclusions of her observation

of the people in her world. However in her writing, Jane has also reflected her

own enjoyment in life among these people with and without their faults.

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Love-Electronics

Friday, June 17, 2011

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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