Essay On Feminism In Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

Improved Essays
Is it a cliché to say that Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is my favorite fiction novel of all time? In this last spring semester I took a film and literature class that was dedicated to Jane Austen. In my opinion, she is absolutely brilliant.
Pride and Prejudice is about an older couple and their five daughters. By no means are they wealthy. So, their mother, Mrs. Bennet, stresses out to find them a suitable man. All of the daughters except one believe that a man of fortune is the key to happiness. The second daughter, Elizabeth, is determined that she will marry for love, and not for her securement in society (Austen).
There is a scene in this novel that I especially love. Jane Bennet, the eldest daughter, becomes ill at Mr. Bingley’s
…show more content…
Butler presented this concept of performance and performativity. Male and females are born and taught to play a role that may not necessarily fit them. They are taught this because it is what has always been taught. Mary Wollstonecraft was not afraid to say the way women were being treated was wrong. Everyone deserves an education. If men did not like the fact that their wives seem ignorant, that could easily be changed. However, that would put them closer to being a man, and that was not acceptable. Wollstonecraft’s daughter, Mary Shelley, did not want to have a voice like her mother did. However, we can see feminist tones come out when it comes to the education of the monster in Frankenstein. Jane Austen saw issues between the treatment of man and woman, but instead of directly saying how she felt, she wrote beautiful love stories that would make people think. All of these women, Butler, Wollstonecraft, Shelley, and Austin are very different in their writing styles and how they approach opinions, but they are all pointing at the same issue. These women want people to be who they want to be. I am so grateful that I can decided on every single aspect of my life and, for the most part, be accepted. It’s because of women like these that I can do

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    How Does the Concept of Characters in Works of Literature Needing to Grow and Change in Order to Reach a Goal Apply to Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen divulges the transformations of Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a gentleman, and Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy estate owner. Both of these characters hold bigotry toward one another that encumbers their ultimate engagement and requires them to change in order to find happiness. Elizabeth grows to be self-aware of her own prejudices and misjudgments, and Mr. Darcy becomes self-aware of his pride and moral blindness toward social classes in order to marry one another. Mr. Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth unveils his moral blindness towards people beyond his social circle and initiates his endeavors towards self-awareness.…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is classified, by many, as a classic that still holds up as a memorable form of literature. It deals with the social norm and the social class divide that, argued by others, still remains to this day. Austen’s novel also deals with the idea of love and relationships, as well as what certain characters would do in order to fulfill their desires. The central focus of this novel derives from two themes, prejudice and misjudgement.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, many characters changed throughout the novel. Of the many characters Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet have the most change throughout the journey of the novel. These characters both contribute to each others change and benefit one another. Characters in literature can have positive or negative changes from growth as a person. In Pride and Prejudice Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth have positive changes.…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women and their Inner Virtues Mary Wollstonecraft was born on 27th of April 1759, born into a family whose father was alcoholic and a gambler that left her and her sister to support themselves. Wollstonecraft became a governess, teacher, and a writer. She championed women’s right and was considered as a reputable very forward-looking feminist. Wollstonecraft had a daughter out of wedlock whose name is Fanny Imlay and later on got married to William Godwin, a popular British philosopher and sadly died giving birth to her daughter Mary Shelley the author of the book “Frankenstein”. She published several books which are “A Vindication of the Rights of Men, which was published in 1970, followed by another book “A Vindication of the Rights of Women, published in 1972, and the book “Of the Pernicious Effects Which Arise from the Unnatural Distinctions Established in Society”.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the title of the novel namely suggest, the primary theme of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is about the tragic flaws of pride and prejudice possessed by the characters in the novel. Throughout the course of the novel, Austen’s masterfully woven characters begin to show their own strengths and weaknesses revolving around the theme of having either pride or prejudice. However, over time and due in part to the resemblance of the words, the terms of pride and prejudice have come to take on a similar meaning.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They could not be in possession of land, or in Elizabeth’s case could not inherit land; only males could inherit a family member’s land or assets. In Elizabeth’s situation her cousin, “Mr. Collins, who when I [Mr. Bennet] am dead, may turn you [Mr. Bennet’s daughters] all out of this house as soon as he pleases” (Austen 62). Any of the Bennet family daughters would have to be married off to someone they do not love or someone they adore, depending on their circumstances; they have to become married because they have not learned music, art, or writing; they were not knowledgeable in anything that consisted of an art. They all had to become married to wealthy men, to financially support them and perchance their family. Because Mrs. Bennet did not teach any of her daughter’s a skill, she was gambling out all of her four daughter’s financial stability.…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Pride and Prejudice novel was written by Jane Austen during the 18th century in 1813 and is centered around the futures and fortunes of the five daughters of the Bennet family. When this book was written, it was a time and culture when women were treated unequally to men. Therefore, women have little independence and were always at a disadvantage, different from the life style women live today. Pride and Prejudice takes place in a society where a role for women is earned through relationships that are determined by wealth and rank, marriage and social status. Women were to act in a specific way and any deviation from that specific way was harshly criticized.…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Chloe Miller date Ap Literature Pride and Prejudice essay Mr. And Mrs. Bennett Nosey And Detached Present throughout Jane Austen's Pride and prejudice are the themes of marriage, love, and family these themes are not better represented than in the Bennett family. The principle family of concern in the novel, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett undoubtibly love their five daughters.…

    • 919 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The opinions we have of ourselves and others are powerful. Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet and the arrogant Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who have a mutual dislike for one another after an initial meeting at a local ball. The novel portrays the growth of Elizabeth and Darcy, and their journey in realizing their love for each other despite the hindrances they create for themselves. This book reveals how displaced pride and prejudices can blind people from seeing what they really want.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Being a satirical novel, Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice is filled with scenes depicting the social norms and standards of the 19th century and how ridiculous some of them were, the majority prodding at the conditions of their social class structure or genders. Once scene critiquing both of these aspects is Mr Collins ' proposal to Elizabeth. Analyzing the standards of women only marrying for superficial purposes, women being told that they 're worth relied on them being married to men in classes above their original ones, and men not being able to understand the word "no" Austen was able to portray these standards in a way where they were easily seen as over the top and ridiculous, while portrayed in the world where these actions were the norm and were expected. Even after two centuries, remnants of these standards can be found in today 's dating culture. Mr Collins ' proposal to Elizabeth read as less of a heartfelt "spur of the moment" address and more of a speech he rehearsed over and over again, keeping everything the same except switching out one girl 's name…

    • 1069 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Elizabeth Bennet Marriage

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Pride and Prejudice is a representative of the realistic novel. It undeniably plays a significant role in the history of British literature. The author, Jane Austen is one of the greatest women writers in the world. The novel shows vivid and complicated relationships between characters and reflect the importance of marriage for women in the early nineteenth century. Austen mainly depicts two disparate marriage attitudes between Elizabeth Bennet and Charlotte Lucas.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout the many dramatic and thrilling novels in the world, one of the top ones is Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen. Set in England, the novel tells the story of Elizabeth Bennett along with her other four sisters. Everything seems normal for the family up until Mr.Bingley and his good friend Mr.Darcy move into the neighborhood. Mrs.Bennett is desperate for her daughters to marry, so as soon as hears about their new neighbors, she immediately begins to investigate. Bingley quickly gets to know and fall in love with Jane, but Darcy is a bit different.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In her book "Pride and Prejudice", Jane Austen illustrates the female protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet as a strong advocate of feminism and female independence. She manages to do so by drawing a stark contrast between Elizabeth and the other female characters, Charlotte, Jane and Caroline. Each of these women conforms to the socially imposed gender conventions of Regency England, while Elizabeth artfully challenges gender discrimination. Contrary to her female foils, she remains steadfast to her feminist intent, persistently refusing to concede to the highly mainstream views of the society that women should elevate their chances of marriage with a man of good fortune. This, along with her determination to alter the societal bounds that…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Social Criticism in Marriage” In the novel, e.g. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen used social criticism to portray how she felt about women and marriage. Austen used the two characters Elizabeth Bennet and Charlotte Lucas to show two totally different perspectives on marriage in this work. Social criticism during that time was more pressed on women back then rather than now for several reasons. Some women can feel like Elizabeth who felt as though marriage should be based on love.…

    • 1098 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Predominance and the Patriarchy: Feminist Criticism in Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s classic novel, although published in a time period where women were very repressed, contains contemporary feminist ideas. Each of Austen’s characters possess various quirks and flaws that show women are more than their stereotypes. Women can be strong and independent, but also kind and romantic. Jane Austen’s portrayal of women creates a commentary on the stereotypical views of women and the unjust patriarchal society that controls them.…

    • 1280 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays