LITERARY STUDIES

Jane Austen born 16 December 1775 and died on 18 July 1817 was an English novelist known for her sensitive novels about the British middle class and gentry. Her works explore British social values related to women, merely their definition of marriage as the only financial security to women in the nineteenth century England. Her style includes social commentary, irony, and realism. Her novels are part of the transition from romanticism to nineteenth century realism. She published her works first anonymously because of the difficulty of women to engage in the public sphere. It is also reported that the period witnessed a gender bias against women in publishing which obliged female authors to use male names to get the publishers to notice their works. Some of her works are the following: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Persuasion (1817).

Pride and Prejudice, Analysis

     Written in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is a Romantic novel of manners. It uses humor, comedy, and emotion to tackle social standards and expectations as well as sensitive matters. It discusses the Bennet family and their big dilemma of finding husbands to their daughters. It opens with an ironic statement saying "it is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" which has become an iconic line in modern culture. The use of the free indirect style permits the author to mock her society in the voice of her narrator, showing the absurd motivations of the women of the nineteenth century and their conception of marriage. The novel is told in the third person point of view in a way as to allow the author to show different situations and interfere in the voice of the narrator to add personal commentary on the social phenomena under discussion.

     Yet, in its ironic style, the novel touches an important issue in the nineteenth century society, which is the position of women (among other themes). Even though the position of women is not the main issue in the novel, their appearances and their status do shape one important part of its plot. The definition of marriage and its approach as the only financial security in the novel originates from the fact that women were deprived of heritage and the only escape for them was marriage. Practicing science was considered harmful to women, whilst young men could still go to college, all the females had to leave school after the age of fourteen, leaving them thus with a lot of spare time and good energy. Jobs were not acceptable for women as well, the only job that was considered decent for a woman was the position of governess.

     The novel shows the five Bennet daughters, each in her own character and personality. Jane being the eldest and the most beautiful was her mother's favourite. She is kind, polite, and smart. She meets Mr Bingley, a man of a large fortune who becomes the prey of all the women of the neighbourhood. Jane and Mr Bingley fall in love with each other but are faced by Mr Darcy who thinks that Jane was trying to use Mr Bingly and attempts to separate them to protect his friend before he falls in love with her younger sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth Bennet, often referred to as Lizzy was her father's favourite. She is the most intelligent of the five Bennet daughters and represents an obstacle to her mother who wants her to marry her cousin who is meant to inherit the entire Bennet estate. Elizabeth is the protagonist of the novel. Along with Mr Darcy, both characters embody the representations of pride and of prejudice in the novel.

Themes

     The themes that are discussed in the novel include Prejudice, social appearances, social standards, and class inequalities. These themes are represented in each of the characters. Mr Darcy and Elizabeth represent prejudices and self worth. The two characters mid-judge each other from the beginning of the novel. Mar Darcy's words about Elizabeth and her sisters irritate her which leads her to have a very negative opinion of him for a long time, which is her expression of pride. The two characters switch roles as the narration develops, Mr Darcy shows pride towards Elizabeth and her family multiple times, he thinks that they are not a good match for Mr Bingley as they originate from a different social class, yet, as he learns that Mr Wikham was trying to seduce Elizabeth he rushes to protect her from him, despite her anger, Elizabeth expresses her thankfulness to his deed. The most prevalent theme in the novel is that of love. Elizabeth and Mr Darcy discover their love for each other little by little as they meet in different incidents. Mr Darcy attempts to propose to Elizabeth once but he formulates his demand so badly that she is offended and rejects him out of pride. She expects him to renew the proposal but he is retained by his pride and does not renew the proposal until the end of the novel, after Lady Catherine's visit.

     The theme of class difference is depicted in the character and bothering behaviours of Lady Caherine, who is presented in the novel as antagonist. She is judgmental and elitist, which makes her disrespect Elizabeth and her entire family during her visit to the Bennet residency. She starts by devaluing their porch, the garden, the living room,  which Mrs Bennet attempts to justify. This latter asserts her position as mediocre and futile in the eyes of Lady Catherine, which shows her weak personality. Lady Catherine offends Elizabeth by attacking her on the basis that the gossip of Mr Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth was demeaning to him. Unlike Mrs Bennet, Elizabeth shows character and a strong identity by responding to Lady Catherine.

     One more theme is that of marriage, depicted in Mrs Bennet and the Lucas family. From the beginning of the narrative, Mrs Bennet gets excited for the news of the arrival of the rich Mr Bingley to the neighborhood and obliges her husband to visit him for the purpose of introducing their daughters. The ironic statement that opens the novel, which states that a rich man is in want of a wife seems to be the opinion of an entire neighbourhood, for which the inhabitants had also made the acquaintance of Mr Bingley for their daughters. This theme is approached with Sarcasm and irony, which are depicted in the character of Mr Bennet, who teases his wife because of her "mean understanding".

Pride and Prejudice as a Romantic Novel

     The novel represents the shift from Romanticism to Realism and includes the principles of both movements. While it depicts all the details per se, the novel shows depth of characterization and concerns itself with the middle class individual. It also emphasizes sensitivity over rationality and explores extreme emotions in the different relationships depicted in the narrative. The characters also find escape in nature every

Character Analysis

1.   Elizabeth Bennet: The second Bennet daughter, she is the protagonist of the narration. She is smart and independent. In the beginning she is judgmental to Mr Darcy and holds a negative opinion of him, yet, her character develops through the narrative as she discovers different truths about many people that surrounded her and which made her feelings and thoughts about Mr Darcy grow and mature. She is thus a round character.

2.   Mr. Darcy: He is a main character. He shares the themes of pride and of prejudice with Elizabeth as the two judge and act condescendingly towards each other. His character experiences alteration too. He shows a mysterious character in the beginning of someone that is self-righteous and arrogant. His character shows more complexity and emotion as he falls in love with Elizabeth and attempts to understand his feelings. He is a round character too.  

3.   Jane Bennet: A main character, she is the eldest of the Bennet daughters. She is beautiful and sweet-natured. She represents a contrast to Elizabeth's character in her quietness and calm character.

4.   Mr. Bingley: Main character, he loves Jane and decides to marry but is interrupted by Mr Darcy's prejudice. He marries Jane at the end of the novel

5.   Mrs. Bennet: Main character. The mother of the Bennet daughters, she is excited about marriage and gossiping and new. She is described as nervous and limited, she never understands her husband's humour. She is a flat character that stands for the social practices that Jane Austen criticizes in the novel, merely society's definition of marriage.