GENDER AND CLASS OPPRESSION IN JANE AUSTEN'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (original) (raw)
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A QUEST FOR FEMININE IDENTITY IN JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
PUNE RESEARCH, 2021
Literature has always acted as a mirror to the society. As the human society evolved slowly and gradually, literary writings, especially the novels played a pivotal role in reflecting and expressing the social scenarios and defining the human psyche. Women are the most integral part of the social discourse. Since centuries, they have strived hard in search of their true identity and worth. Turning through the pages of literary history, we can easily trace the footmarks of the transformation in the position of the females through societies and ages. Women writers and critics have given a glimpse of the social norms and structures prevalent during their times through their writings. Jane Austen is one such poignant writer from the Romantic Period of English Literature who broke apart from the traditionally accepted storyline through her youthful spirits and portrayal of strong female protagonists, who could think for themselves and take their own decisions. Born in a society that hugely discriminated between the rights given to men and women, Austen, since her childhood developed an internal anguish against the unjust social system. This even resulted in her being unmarried throughout her life and continued writing as a profession to be financially independent. Austen always advocated marriage in her novels, but she believed in marriage for love and not for gaining social status. Women during Austen’s times were expected to be submissive and timid. They were considered incapable of thinking wisely and hold own individuality. Her novels parodied the then conventional novel plot of love, marriage and courtship through youthful playfulness and subtle irony. Her female protagonists were the heroes of her novels; they were progressive as well as headstrong. They did not believe in social conformity in the male dominated society.
WOMAN PERSPECTIVE IN JANE AUSTEN'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
2017
Jane Austen is one of the most famous women writers of the nineteenth century. Her novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) deals with the position of women and their social expectations, most of which are related to marriage. The protagonist of this novel represents a unique response to those expectations, which is a product of her way of thinking. Women in the nineteenth century did not have much choice when it came to their future. They could either get married or become governesses if they were educated enough. Their life was shaped mostly by their families which tried to find them a husband who would support them. Austen's heroine Elizabeth, is self-reliant and unconventional woman who marry the man she love. The other characters, such as Lydia and Mrs. Bennet represent women whose ultimate goal in life is connected to marriage. Charlotte Lucas represents women who marry out of necessity and Jane Fairfax embodies the women who are strong and ready to do anything in the name of love. Accordingly, all those women represent different female responses to social norms and to their own position in the society. Jane Austen was a British writer who was dynamic during the Regency period. Pride and Prejudice (1813) is her most popular novel. It deals with the life of Elizabeth Bennet, who is the second of five daughters in the Bennet family. The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that these characters speak to a female representation to certain social standards concerning their life. This paper depicts the identities of Elizabeth, Mrs. Bennet, Jane Bennet, Lydia and Kitty are the important characters from Pride and Prejudice. The description concentrates on the women characters identities and their social circumstance in order to show how their actions and decisions are formed by their position in and their view on society. Pride and Prejudice is based particularly in the mid nineteenth century under the Victorian Age. Even when a female representative was administering the nation, women did not have any options for their lives, they were viewed as ideal, saints and pure, so as saints they had no
Two Lovers in an Austenian Novel of Manners: The Impact of Social Status in Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel that reflects the reality of life at all times. True love must come through all kind of obstacles such as reputation and class. In Austen"s novel, the beauty, manner of speech, artistic and musical skills determine the women"s values. Set in society during the Georgian era, where marrying for wealth and social status is more common than marrying for love and suitability, Elizabeth makes the definite choice to wait for love even though she knows it may never come. The social context of literature provides insight into the ways society has progressed and changed or even maintained its social values. Pride and Prejudice is still a timeless novel that examines relatable events within today"s society. The power-dynamics between men and women and their effects on marriage and understanding one"s place and purpose is clearly shown in Austenian literarily approach. Social class is an underlying factor, and the idea of marrying among higher or own class still continues, although it dwindles.
2016
This study examines Jane Austen’s realistic interpretations of eighteenth-century English society with a particular focus on representing women’s oppressions in Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. Austen, in these three novels, criticizes several issues related to women’s status in English society and focuses on how men and women should be treated equally. In the novels, she argues that English society creates social order, women’s oppressiveness, and gender inequality through arbitrary social norms and traditions. This paper mainly focuses on two areas that restrict women’s roles in their society: the marriage plot and the educational system. Austen’s purpose of presenting these issues is to voice women’s rights and improve their conditions. She also offers her readers unusual descriptions of female characters in order to correct the stereotypical images of women during the period. Finally, this paper aims to show Austen’s success in redefining women’s status and change the misconceptions of women in British society.
This paper is an insight into Jane Austen's sharp observation and judgement of characters based on social behavior as depicted in Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen belonged to an educated family with noble ties. She was deeply influenced by the Industrial Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars which impacted the social life of Regency England in the late 18 th and early 19 th century. The Industrial Revolution proved to be a blessing in disguise for the middle class especially the traders and merchants who earned a great fortune because of industrialization which in turn stirred their desire to climb the social ladder and mingle with the upper class. Besides the social turmoil, Jane Austen's focus in the novel is marriage and courtship. Her characters belong to the upper and middle class in the novel Pride and Prejudice. The ambition of her characters at the personal level in finding an ideal man coupled with social aspirations of being acquainted and recognized as the upper class has been projected by Austen through the use of humour, satire, and wit. The social behavior of her characters, the dialogues and social interactions between them in the novel is a reflection of their class. Her novels are often identified as the novel of manners. Jane Austen critiques the social customs and norms of Regency England and is famous for her commentaries on the British landed gentry of Regency England which is evident in her novel 'Pride and Prejudice'. Jane Austen has been primarily recognized for her satire on social realism in the novel. She acknowledges the importance of noble inheritance and money but her judgement of characters in the novel is not based on social class alone but identifies the class as being directly proportional to social etiquettes and mannerisms of her characters.
Does the rich class of women face different gender related issues than the poor class ? This paper will try to investigate whether there is any weight in the argument that distinctive classes hold different issues for women or are they all united in being subordinated by men .We will take into account two novels ,Pride and Prejudice and Emma,by the beloved 19th century writer Jane Austen. The female author’s works become the suitable object of inquiry owing to the strong voices, presence and interaction between plethora of women characters belonging to different stations. Even though, several critics have rightfully highlighted the absence of any reference or portrayal of the poor class in Austen’s novels, it is quite interesting to note that the author still highlights the apprehensions and relations within the seemingly close middle class and gentry.
A Feminist Look towards Jane Austen’s 'Pride and Prejudice'
Jane Austen (1775-1817), one of the prominent female authors who represents her feminist beliefs through her novels. Pride and Prejudice is one of her renowned novels, which portrays Austen’s opinions about women, marriage, identity, patriarchal society, depiction of women by the men etc. Xuiqing Wang, a Chinese critic claims in his article named ‘Analysis of the Feminism in Pride and Prejudice’, “Austen cared about women’s social position and claimed for women’s right to work and attempted to seek for the value of women in society and her effort to subvert the male-dominated value system can be seen in her novels” (2). Through the characters, plot, conversations among the characters and narrator’s selection of ironic words, Jane tries to reflect her own feminist beliefs in this novel.
Complete analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
contains all important details related to pride and prejudice for examination purposes. These notes are useful for Undergraduate and Masters students of English literature. NOTE- only the format of notes is originally produced by the author. YOU CAN USE THESE NOTES WITHOUT ANY ISSUES.