Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen is a novel centered around the Bennet family and the neighborhood around them. Throughout the story, the novel highlights many social expectations towards women of the time and the pressures on young ladies during the Victorian era. The novel also discusses the multiple marriages and love affairs that take place during the story. Through the course of the novel, we also explore the function of neighbors and their importance in everyday life & how neighbors can influence our decisions. Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel that greatly demonstrates life during the Victorian era and teaches us many important life lessons.
Social classes are what differs the rich from the poor wich can also prevent one from doing what they want. Social class can determine your living conditions, your nieghbors, and your interactions with others. In "Pride and Prejudice," social class plays a significant role and impacts different characters differently. The rigid societal hierarchy of the Victorian era greatly impacts individuals based on their wealth and social status. The Bennet family, isn’t very wealthy or poor. When at social events, it is evident that the Bennets aren’t treated as well as the wealthier people, but nor are they looked down apon. Mr. Darcy, on the other hand, is a wealthy and aristocratic figure who initially looks down upon those below his social status. Other families, such as the Lucas family isn’t quite as wealthy, which is factor that contributes to Charlotte’s ultimate decision in marrying Mr. Collins. Through the unfolding of the story, the novel explores how social class influences relationships, perceptions on others, and opportunities. Social class can determine how you are viewed by society and can either limit your actions or vise versa.
Marriage comes with many benefits, ranging from financial benefits to living conditions. Often, with marriage, comes financial benefits. If two wealthy people marry, such as Jane and Mr. Bingley or Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, their wealth combined makes them even wealthier. However, for someone poor to marry someone richer, the poorer person gains financial benefit & stability, such as in Charlotte’s case. When Charlotte married Mr. Collins, she married him knowing that he will inherit a large amount of inheritance from Longbourne, therefore providing her with financial stability. A pragmatic marriage, however, can result in consequences that can have a lifelong impact. Although Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins provides her with many benefits, her pragmatic decision also results her in being stuck with someone whom she has no romantic feelings for and someone who is no so smart. Additionally, she is stuck with an arrogant neighbor. Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, shows examples of many different marriages with many different approaches. Typically, both back then and nowadays, the rich chose to marry the rich, and the poor are left to marry each other. Lady de Bourgh wanting her daughter to marry Mr. Darcy is a classic example of the rich marrying the rich. However, back then, many people also married for money, such as Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins. Marriage is an important concept in life and comes in many different forms, like demonstrated in Pride and Prejudice.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is the quote at the beginning of the book. What it really means is that a rich man would want a beautiful wife, but even the prettiest girl in the world would be in the need of a husband in order to survive. Single men of a large fortune wouldn’t be judged that much by society. The man himself would want a wife that would give him a son to inherit his fortune. However, a single woman in society, no matter how beautiful she is, would be expected to marry. This quote is ironic because it shows rich men wanting a wife when a woman at that time needed a husband much more for financial stability.
During the Victorian era, marriage was crucial, especially for women. It was part of their role in life to have a successful marriage and have kids. Women were expected to do so and those who didn’t were constantly being bugged. Marriage was important as it provided financially stability to the female, and an heir to the male. Many girls back then were also expected to marry rich men. Jane, in Pride and Prejudice, had a successful marriage & relationship. She married the successful Mr. Bingley quickly which was approved by her mother, Mrs. Bennet, for she [Mrs. Bennet] only desire is for all her girls to be married off to rich men. During the Victorian period, marriages were imagined as matches made for personal fulfilment as much as for status and power. Jane only met Mr. Bingley a couple of times before deciding to commit to the marriage and marry Mr. Bingley. Like what Charlotte said, "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance." Marriage from those days could be for many, many reasons. It could be for wealth (which most of the times it were), respect, personality, or social influence. Marriage, a representation of coming of age, was an important role for young women back then.
The style of marriage presented in the Victorian era, continues to impact modern marriage today. Depending on who you marry and who you would like to propose to, your whole life can change from there on. Some marriages between people are normal and others are quite surprising. Caroline Bingley wanted to marry the rich Mr. Darcy which made sense because both families are rich and by joining together, they would be mega-rich. Nowadays, it is quite often and unsurprising to see a news headline talking about a billionaire marrying another billionaire. This is common because billionaires are often around other billionaires. Just like how beggars are around beggars. Who you are around with can often impact who you end up with. Lady DeBourgh wants her daughter to marry Mr. Darcy for the same reason, because they are both rich. Mr. Collins wants to marry Lizzy which is also quite normal because they are from the same social class. However, there are also some people in the world labeled as gold diggers. These are people who marry for the money of the other person.Mr. Wickham, being poor, first set his eyes on Georgina Darcy, then on Mary King, for that both ladies are rich. Then, he chased Lydia pointlessly and was eventually bribed with money to marry her. In life today, there are also people who marry for money. You may see movies where someone leaves their partner for someone richer and more powerful. That is the side of human nature some people can’t control. Everyone wants to marry rich. The concept of marriage from the Victorian era continues to influence marriage in our society today.
Love can blind even the most rational minds, showing how us humans are so vulnerable when we are in love. When we, humans, are in love, we tend to only see the good in our partner/crush because we have feelings for them and only want to think of them as perfect, causing us to not see who that person truly is. Lizzy Bennet is an example of how love can blind even the most rational minds. When Lizzy first meets Mr. Wickham, she is charmed by his charming demeanor and captivating storytelling and fails to see the manipulative and conniving nature hiding beneath. She fails to see that he is actually a greedy man who will toy with rich girls for money. She becomes entranced by his words and fake sincerity, completely ignoring the warnings from others about his character. Elizabeth's love towards Mr. Wickham blinds her to his true intentions and the harm he can ultimately cause. Elizabeth demonstrates how love can blind even the most rational minds, showing that it is important to keep a clear mind and face reality even when in love.
Women in society both then and now have requirements that they are expected to live up to. They are still expected to live up to a certain standard in which shadows over who and what women truly are. The standards us women live up to restricts them from doing what they want to do but what society wants to see them doing. An accomplished woman back then had many aspects in which they were to succeed in order to be called “accomplished.” Many tasks including knowledge in music, painting tables, covering screens, knitting net purses, singing, dancing, knowing language, manner of walking, tone of voice, and address were traits that society thought women should have in order to be accomplished. It was also part of their role in life to have a successful marriage and have kids. Women were expected to do so and those who didn’t were constantly being nagged. In Pride and Prejudice, Miss Bingley, Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Darcy, and Mr. Bingley all had a conversation about the perfect lady. Their views, in fact, were quite different. Mr. Bingley believes that an accomplished lady should be able to paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. He also believes that the woman should have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, and must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions. Marriage was also the center of these young girls’ lives as they were all pressured to have a good marriage. Pride and Prejudice shows the high requirements that are required in order for a woman to be successful. The role of a woman back then was to do all this AND be a housewife AND be a mother. Society has many tasks labeled for women that make up the role of an “accomplished” woman.
“Pride and Prejudice" showcases the function of neighbors and demonstrates the impact they can have on one's life. Mrs. Bennet plays a major role in the novel as she is the mother of the Bennet girls. She is surrounded by many other women who are her neighbors and in some ways they are similar and in some ways they are different. Mrs. Long functions as the gossiper of the community as much information goes through her. Throughout her 14 appearances in the novel, much about life during the Victorian era can be understood throughout her mindset and personality. Lady Lucas is another neighbor with great importance. She contrasts Mrs. Bennet’s views on marriage and is an example of different views and mindsets of neighbors. Mrs. Phillips functions as the social butterfly in their neighborhood. She hosts many gatherings and helps maintain social connections and interactions. Neighbors not only play an important role in novels but also plays an important role in daily life. Neighbors are an important part of life and their function can be represented in many ways/scenarios.
Pride and Prejudice, a novel focused on many aspects of life, teaches many valuable life lessons that many of us can relate to. Whether it is the forms of marriage or the role of women, we can all receive some sort of knowledge through it. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, we view many different topics including marriage, social class, and the role of women. We also explore the importance of neighbors and how they can influence our day to day actions. So without further ado, let’s join the Bennet sister’s on their journey of self discovery, love, and fullfillment of their roles in society.
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