Throughout Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice, marriage is the primary topic of discussion. A woman’s
destiny is to find a man, and marriage is essentially the only thing she is
meant for. From the start of the novel, Mrs. Bennet is concerned with little
other than finding potential husbands for her daughters, as “the business of
her life was to get her daughters married” (Austen 17). Additionally, as Trevor brought up in class, when a man is introduced in the novel, his level
of wealth is mentioned shortly after. Bingley is referred to by Mrs. Bennet as
a “young man of large fortune from the north of England” before even his name
is revealed (15). Mrs. Bennet’s words exemplify that men are seen as nothing but
an opportunity for advancement for their daughters. This demeans the men in the
novel as much as it does the women who get little choice in the men they marry,
for marriage is more important than love or character.
Elizabeth Bennet is very different from her fanatical mother - she does not blindly follow the thoughts and actions of women around her or blindly accept men her mother proposes to her to avoid societal judgement. Instead, Elizabeth is about as feminist as a woman could be for the time period Austen
writes in. While she values marriage and upholding the reputation of her
family, she values good behavior and self-respect more. Elizabeth is offended when she overhears Darcy insulting her appearance at the ball in Meryton (22).
While she does not make a scene of the situation, Elizabeth reassures herself
of her value, later refusing to dance with Darcy at the Lucas house (35). While
her judgement is quick, and this is something Austen heeds against, that
Elizabeth writes off a man who disrespects her proves the importance she places
on self-worth. She continues to stick up for herself for the remainder of
the novel, even to the snobby Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Upon learning the rumor
that Elizabeth and Darcy will get married, Lady Catherine chides Elizabeth, insulting
her family and her character during their conversation. Elizabeth
remains strong in advocating for her own happiness without reference to Lady
Catherine “or to any person so wholly unconnected with [her]” (324). Elizabeth
behaves in accordance with society for the most part, but she is not afraid to
stand up for herself in her search for love. To me, this is what makes Elizabeth
stick out as a strong woman among the many impressionable ones in the novel.
It is what relates her to what girls desire to be today.
Your analysis here of Elizabeth’s feminist tendencies is spot on. However, I would put the question to you: if Elizabeth is so strong-willed and independent, why is it that most of her opinions are formed by other people? For example, the back and forth on the opinions of Darcy and Wickham. Elizabeth’s initial bad opinion of Darcy is solidified by Wickham’s depiction of him as a bad person. And Darcy’s attitude towards Wickham and the story told about Darcy by Wickham only add to her good opinion about Wickham. Later on, her opinions of both of these men change because of the comments of others: when Darcy tells her the truth about the situation that went down with Wickham after the elder Mr. Darcy died, her opinion of Wickham changes. And her opinion of Darcy changes when she hears all of the good things about him from his servants and Pemberley and from Fitzwilliam. And this is true of her opinions of Collins and Mr. Bingley as well: she automatically doesn't like them because her mother does. Throughout the novel, it seems as if Elizabeth’s opinions are formed more based on the opinions of others rather than her own personal impressions of them. So is Elizabeth really an independent thinker who forms her own opinions that are then solidified by the comments of others, or is she easily swayed on a person’s character by what others tell her and sees only what is evidence for the opinion they have helped her form?
ReplyDeleteI think that you make a good point in the fact that marriage seems to be a central theme of the novel and the way it presented by Mrs. Bennett. While I agree that the way Mrs. Bennett presents the men, their worth, and her expectations for her daughters are demeaning to both men and women, I don’t think Austen meant to present that as her legitimate belief on the institute of marriage. I think that Mrs. Bennett is presented as a caricature of the way society viewed marriage at the time, and Elizabeth more accurately represents how Austen felt about it. As the protagonist, Elizabeth shows the reader that marriage is an important institution but it should not be done solely for circumstance. While she does have the lucky fortune of falling in love with a man that is exceedingly wealthy, she does rebuke Mr. Collins offer that was somewhat substantial due to his personality. I also think there were probably many Charlotte Lucases around in Austen’s era that likely settled for someone out of practicality. Lizzy’s refusal to settle for Mr. Collins and her alarm at Charlotte acting in that way shows Austen’s strong feelings toward marriages of convenience.
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