Choose the Right One
Austen wants to remind readers not to be blinded by love and to always be cautious of the person they may be in love with. This is seen through the mismatched marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, whose personalities are on opposite ends of the spectrum and Lydia's ignorance and naivete in the meaning of true love. Austen implies that when loving an individual we must be cautious and not be so hasty in making a commitment because this can be a huge risk and may ultimately lead to a broken heart. Perhaps this message is mainly addressed to women who are of course eager for romantic happiness.
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Pride and Prejudice
The title of the book serves as one of the major themes Austen includes in her novel. Pride is a constant presence in the character's attitudes and treatments of each other, often leading to false judgments and rash mistakes. Pride blinds Elizabeth and Darcy in admitting their true feelings towards each other and Darcy's pride about his social standing makes him feel superior towards everyone else. Elizabeth, on the other hand, takes so much pride in her ability to judge others that she is stubborn in revising her opinions even if there is evidence of her misconception. This is why she despises the good-hearted Darcy for so long, but initially admires the lying Wickham. Although everyone is guilty of pride in the novel, Austen makes it clear that with a proper moral upbringing, one may overcome it to lead a humble and decent life. In the end, Darcy overcomes his arrogance and Elizabeth learns not to be so stubborn in her judgments, which allowed them to see their love for each other.
Prejudice, in the novel, refers to the tendency of the characters to make hasty judgments about people through their appearance, upbringing and social status rather than their true personalities. Prejudice combined with pride has the ability to lead people into making wrong assumptions about motives and behavior. Austen uses Darcy and Elizabeth to demonstrate that anyone is capable of prejudice and that it is in our nature; however, she implies that prejudice is only a stage in a person's moral development, something that can be overcome through reason and compassion. |
Social Class & Wealth
In the novel, Austen
criticizes society for its acknowledgement and priority of the social system. She
uses characters including Lady Catherine, who is only invested in her social
position, to demonstrate the arrogance that prevails in the higher class. In
addition to this, Austen implies that people’s opinions and motivations are
completely defined by the social system shown through Mr. Collins who is
portrayed as a kiss-up and Miss Bingley who refused to let her brother be involved
with the middle class Bennet family.To contrast them, Austen offers more positive
examples such as the Gardiners who are a perfect representation of how to be
wealthy without being pretentious. In the end of the novel, Darcy and Elizabeth get married implying Austen's message that class restrictions do not determine one's character, and that love can overcome all obstacles, including class.
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Reputation
Next to social class and wealth, reputation meant everything during the Regency Era, especially for women. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways and if she does not conform to these social norms, not only will she be ridiculed, but so will her family. In other words, individual members of a family represent their family whole. For instance, if a daughter were to behave inappropriately people would scrutinize her upbringing and most likely blame her family for this behavior. In addition to this, it hinders member's chances of marriage and keeps them from certain benefits. This can be seen when Lydia nearly tarnishes the family reputation through her elopement with Wickham. Because of this shameful occurrence, Jane and Elizabeth are worried that Bingley and Darcy would not want to marry women from a blasphemous family. Appearance also plays a major role in reputation. When Elizabeth walks three miles to Netherfield, she arrives in her muddy shoes and petticoat. Once Miss Bingley sees her, she immediately ridicules Elizabeth's appearance and begins scorning the Bennet family.
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Marriage
Because women in the Regency Era were not acknowledged in society, it was perceived that their sole purpose in life was to marry and raise children. If a woman did not fulfill this duty, they would then have no meaning in life and would be censured by society. Austen exaggerates Mrs. Bennet's character and her concern for her daughters' futures in order to emphasize the priorities of women in the Regency era, in this case marriage. We see the importance of marriage through Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth's good friend, when she accepts Mr. Collins' proposal after being rejected by Elizabeth. "I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins's character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state," (22.17) Charlotte says. Charlotte like most women in society, are eager to marry in order to benefit themselves. It was a way for them to escape their current status and marry into a higher social standing. But what about happiness? Happiness was rarely part of the plan; it was rare for a woman to have happiness in their marriage because they sacrifice it for other aspects they feel is more important including wealth and connections.