Written by Jane Austen, the novel “Pride and Prejudice” concerns the social norms of the Regency Era in early 19th century England and successfully critiques the so-called “a successful marriage” at that time. The story begins with the gossip that Netherfield Park has been sold to a handsome and rich gentleman, Mr. Bingley, which causes Mrs. Bennet to exclaim hoping one of her daughters could marry to Mr. Bingley, thus giving her an advantageous marriage. As Mrs. Bennet has planned, Mr. Bingley takes an immediate interest in Jane, the eldest Bennet sister, and they get married. His friend Mr. Darcy is attracted to Elizabeth.Elizabeth first forms her impressions about the handsome Mr. Darcy, whom she discovers to be arrogant and unapproachable. As the story progresses, misunderstandings and miscommunications between Elizabeth and Darcy fuel the tensions between them. But as the novel unfolds, Elizabeth’s initial dislike toward Darcy begins to fade while Darcy starts to see the qualities in Elizabeth. They fall in love and get married. Meanwhile, Lydia, the youngest Bennet sister, elope with the unscrupulous Wickham and get married, which brings shame and scandal to the family. Mr. Collins visits the Bennet property to find a wife. Elizabeth and Jane both refuse, so he proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend, and they become engaged. Throughout the story, Austen presents many examples of marriage to have readers explore themes of social status, marriage, and role of female through successful satire of the society at that time.
Society’s obsession with social class in the early 19th century perpetuates a culture of discrimination and snobbery, where individuals are valued solely based on their social status and connections rather than their character or abilities. In Austen’s time, people were divided into three social classes: rich, the middle, and the poor. High social standing of the rich makes them believe they could control others, constituting the prejudice of the poor toward the rich. In the story, the Bignley family, the Darcy Family, and the de Bourgh family. The Bennet family, Gardiner, and the Collins family were the middle class. The poor people are George Wickham, Lucas Family, and the Long family. Bennet families and other families marry upwards, and become rich, while others stay rich. Austen portrays that material wealth or money as the primary determinant of an individual’s worth and social status. People are judged one another based on their economic standing, presenting a shallow understanding and causing discriminatory behaviors toward people with less money. This implies that there is a rigid divide among different social classes. The upper class, represented by Mr. Darcy, is arrogant and virtuous and more deserving of admiration, while the middle/ lower class, represented by the Bennet family, is comical and less deserving of respect. Ironically, social status has been decided since people were born and such oversimplification of social hierarchy fails to acknowledge the complexity within different layers of the society. To change social status, marriage acts as a tool of the social climber. Female backs then want to secure a wealthy and high social standing husband. This suggests that marriage is just a means of social advancement rather than based on genuine love and compatibility. Social immobility and social mobility makes a vital part of the plot during Regency England, which is also the point of Austen’s satire, engaging readers in exploration of social status.
Marriage of securing a wealthy husband with a high social-status husband is the ultimate goal for women as it grants financial stability and social standing, which would be advantageous in daily life. Women are preoccupied with finding a suitable husband based on men’s wealth and social standing while love and compatibility are their secondary thoughts. There are multiple good and bad examples of marriages in the book. Lydia and Wickham had a bad match, as Wickham only wanted to get his hands on Lydia’s or Mr. Bennet’s fortune. Similarly, Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins was, not necessarily a bad marriage, a blind marriage for sure. The good examples of marriages are Jane-Bingley and Elizabeth-Darcy since they married each other out of mutual respect, love, and compatibility. Naturally, the marriage match happens in the same social class, like the rich marry the rich, the poor marry the poor. Young men and young women are provided chances to get acquainted through parties or regular dinners. However, people back then focused on material gains, presenting the idea that economic security is of utmost importance in their choices of a life partner. They take advantage of marriage as a way to advance their social status. Like Wickham, he uses his good looks and charming manners to lure Lydia in his gras and elope with her, hoping to get 30000 pounds and advance his social standing from poor to middle. Similar case to Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins comes for a wife, and he does not care who she is, because he regards this matter as a life duty on the checklist. The same with Charlotte, she does not care because all she wants is financial security and upward social status from poor to middle. Relationships between men and women are primarily based on material wealth and superficial attractions, with little exploration of deeper connections of shared values, which is problematic! A successful and lasting marriage should put more emphasis on personal compatibility and emotional fulfillment, like Jane-Bingley and Elizabeth-Darcy. Marriage was an important part of a woman’s life, as this would determine what social position and economic ability she would have in her life.
The roles of being a woman in the Regency Era are primarily confined to the traditional gender roles as mothers, wifes, and daughters, and restricted to the social norms. Women are portrayed as passive characters, waiting to be chosen for marriage. Their choices and opportunities are limited by social expectations and the constraints of their gender. In the Regency era, women should be very versatile, soft, and give birth to male children. The Bennet sisters have no choice but to wait for marriage options. They eventually have a wide choice of spouses for their beauty, but Charlotte only has a few choices because of her age and beauty. She is not beautiful nor young. Also, Colonel Fitzwilliam needs a girl with 50,000 pounds of dowry to stay in his luxury life. Throughout the novel, the lives of the Bennet sisters revolve around the pursuit of wealthy husbands with high social status and they are waiting for marrying such mee, no matter from Mrs. Bennet or themselves. Their social status, financial security, and even overall happiness are all tied to marriage. This suggests that women’s worth is determined mainly by their attraction to marry suitable men. This, to some degree, narrows down the definition of women and denies their opportunity to explore other parts of themselves for self-fulfillment, which puts women in a vulnerable position if the marriage does not work out. Like Lydia, she marries Wickham, a questionable and selfish man. Lydia’s action of eloping results in disgrace for the Bennet family, and she is eventually abandoned by Wickham, leaving her in a vulnerable and dependent position in the society. Moreover, the different difficulties of men and society are presented to women in a very harsh way, as people always place a lot of pressure on women. They expect women to give birth to male children; be versatile, beautiful, healthy, and feminine; and to have good manners and skill in forms of art, music, and dancing. This is asking way too much from the women. This explains why Austen lightly satirizes society's expectations on women. Women’s place in Austen’s time are limited to traditional gender roles within the home and meeting the social norms and expectations, which diminish women’s potential.
The novel “Pride and Prejudice” engages me deeply in thinking about the ideas of social status, marriage, and women’s roles. Austen writes about the obsession with social classes, the oversimplification of social divisions, and using marriage as a social climber tool to advance current social status. Austen points out that marriage based on material gains, financial security, or social status rather than emotional depth in relationship is problematic and would not last long. A true and successful marriage should be based on love, respect, and compatibility. At the same time, Austen challenges traditional women’s roles, reminding the gender inequalities that restricted women’s freedoms, opportunities, and explorations. The novel “Pride and Prejudice” has the best of everything – a wonderful romance betweenJane-Bingley and Elizabeth-Darcy, interesting but unique characters, some humor, and beautiful writing. Although The novel is a long chapter book, honestly it is definitely a book you will wish to return to read from time to time.
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