Pride And Prejudice

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Pride and Prejudice

The novel Pride and Prejudice was written by the writer Jane Austin during the nineteenth century and this was the time when women existed in tough circumstances exclusive for the disproportion of rights in education and liberty, and they were expected to persist under the authority of their fathers and men. The time is known as the Victorian era, though ruled by a female ruler yet women did not have many opportunities or much freedom for women in England. This was the age of industrial and revolution yet the women in the society remained suppressed as in the past. They suffered from maltreatment from men and the society that continued to neglect the importance of them. At that time they were deprived of even the basic rights, such as the right to vote, to inherit property, or to own property. The model of the Victorian woman was thought to be native and their privileges were limited. Austen being the most famous feminist writer of the nineteenth century, condemned the oppression on women and paints the image of women that reflects that they are also capable of achieving lots of things in the society other than just being at home.

Specifically talking about England in the times when the novel was written, women were deprived of their wealth in heritage and were forced dependent upon men for their survival.

For the duration of the late eighteenth century, it is thought that women should be wedded at a young age usually by the age of twenty for the reason that single women are in danger as second class residents who may not have personal possessions. For the reason they are underprivileged of well-heeled and authority, women are at the mercy of on men. For that reason, marriage is acknowledged as a sort of seepage for middle-class women. In the same way, the chief fear of female characters in the novel is depicted as social statures. For example, Charlotte who does not belong to a well-to-do family accepts Collins proposal just as a woman of that time period by picking out the best fit applicant to marry (“Role of Women in Pride and Prejudice English Literature Essay”). For the reason that she does not possess any safety or source of income, the marriage is the only means to safeguard her life. In this manner, the novelist displays that affluent life situations are obligatory for a lasting marriage. However, Austen was not of this idea and thought of marriage as an institution that was based on love rather than money. Her ideas are depicted by the lead character named Elizabeth. She refused to accept the proposal of Collins, as she does not want to marry a man just because he is financially stable. Mrs. Bennet like all the other common mothers at that time wanted her girls to get married to a man that was financially stable, and that too before they get past their twenties. It can be observed in the novel that she continuously used to worry about her daughters and their future. It was the mission of life to get them married, as Austen in the novel states that the sole aim of her life was to get her daughters married; its relief was visiting and news.

The women in the era when the author Austen wrote this novel Pride and Prejudice were so dependent upon men for that even they had to get the permission and assent of their fathers to get married to some man or to meet him. As in the novel, Austen shows that the mother of the girls is too much worried about the future of her daughters and that’s why she asks her husband to meet this wealthy man coming to the town (Female Oppression in Pride and Prejudice Essay - 1140 Words | Cram). This would allow the daughters to find an opportunity to get married. The girls go to the ball in which many from the town are invited to seek the chance of getting married. Later in the novel when Jane gets sick, Mrs. Bennet is not very much troubled. Quite the opposite, she is really happy and content for the reason that occasion that her daughter is having to be there for more time and to be nearer to Mr. Bingley. Women were supposed to stay at home and do the house chores as can be seen in the novel. Employment was not a thing that was suitable and socially and morally acceptable for the girls. So the girls had to stay at home and do the house chores only. This thing paved the path for women to get married early, as they had no other ambition or goal in their life, so they were ultimately supposed to marry men who were financially strong. The whole system of society was revolving around men. This manmade society was led by men and women were to follow them only. Pride and Prejudice also reflect this aspect as in the novel all the girls and Mrs. Bennet even had to seek the consent and the permission from the head of the family Mr. Bennet. As we observe in the novel when the Bennet family gets the invitation to the ball, Mr. Bennet questions a lot about them. There is not much of the freedom of expression or of decision making to the girls in the family and that depicts the overall face of the society (Golemac). The younger daughter of Mr. Bennet elopes from the house to get married to a man, this fact shows that the girl was not allowed to express her thoughts and feelings with the family and the only way she had was to elope with the man.

On the other hand, not the whole scenario was that ruthless for females and girls; this age headed some space to idealism in sense of engagements and courtships. These ideas are presented in the character of the female protagonist Elizabeth. Pride and Prejudice depict that in its story, a love story of a well-off man and an unfortunate girl. English people are known to be well-mannered, so engagement or courtship was done in specific codes and manners. Love was all the time overshadowed under the moral codes, precise methods to treat individuals, guidelines of good manners and so on. Instructions of propriety were really firm, and every so often it gives the impression like the attitudes of people were not actual, as a result of the fact that there were such a large number of guidelines you do not even have an idea whether they are being serious or they are playing courtship. As a result, a girl here acts the character of being so flawless and unadulterated, just like ornaments, even more, those ladies coming from high society, nonetheless then again as I have elucidated in advance these expressions are probable to notice in the book, and all that code and manners subject. The character of Elizabeth is the epitome of the emerging ideas that were budding at that time in England regarding women emancipation. She as a person is rejecting the orthodox concepts of the society that the people were blindly supposed to follow and is very assertive and does not hesitate to speak her mind out. Elizabeth's attitude is the creation of common sense, not of societal agreements. In this novel, Elizabeth thought of herself to be the 1st individual who had ever faced up to trifle with so much honorable insolence, in consequence demonstrating herself to be an up-to-date lady who does not care about class and social rank (Austen). Elizabeth comprehends the actual purpose of the wedding, something that neither her own mother nor her sisters do. At that time when she castoffs Mr. Collins, her mother becomes really furious for the reason that the society endorses that all women agree to take the marital proposal they receive. However, she did not think the same way she thought that the two people that were to marry each other must be the ones that love each. She rejected the idea that a woman should marry one that is giving the guarantee of her financial security. These changing romantic ideas were emerging at that time and the previous orthodox concepts were being questioned by the people and the society.

Jane Austen is known as the voice of the females at the time when women were only supposed to follow the orthodox norms of society and to be dependent upon men. She is famous for being a feminist writer. Her lead females are usually strong women. In this novel Pride and prejudice, the novelist followed the same pattern and the lead of the novel is a girl that is free in her thoughts and does not follow or approve the typical and prevalent ideas of the time. Elizabeth is the manifestation of the strong females that stood against the orthodox and the patriarchal trends of society. Other female characters are showing the ideas that were prevailing at that time. Women could not inherit from their fathers, so they were dependent upon men. This was the situation in nineteenth-century England. They were dependent upon men wanted to get married as soon as possible, so to secure their future. Just like the friend of Elizabeth in the novel who accepted the proposal of a man for the sole reason that he had a good fortune. Jane seems to reject the idea that women should be dependent upon men for their decisions and in life overall. She voiced her thoughts and beliefs through the character of Elizabeth who in the novel rejected to marry a man only for the reason that he had good fortune, but only accepted when she thought that she really wanted to get married to that man and when she really liked him. The patriarchal society of the nineteenth century also forbade the girls from making their own decisions, so they needed the assent from their men or father before doing anything about their lives. As in this novel, the role of the father is that of the head of the house and their authority was in his hands. These were the trends that were followed in the 18th century England and Austen raised her voice to highlight the flaws in the system and to get women their due rights. This novel of her, Pride and Prejudice is an attempt to highlight the orthodox trends of the society at that time and also to improve society to be a better livable place for women.

Work Cited

Austen, Jane, and Evelyn May Attwood. Pride and Prejudice. Pearson education limited, 2001.

Female Oppression in Pride and Prejudice Essay - 1140 Words | Cram. https://www.cram.com/essay/female-oppression-in-pride-and-prejudice/P3ZCZ42SC. Accessed 22 June 2019.

Golemac, Andrea. Representation of Women in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Persuasion. p. 23.

“Role of Women in Pride and Prejudice English Literature Essay.” UKEssays.Com, https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/role-of-women-in-pride-and-prejudice-english-literature-essay.php. Accessed 22 June 2019.

Works Cited