Feminism In Pride And Prejudice Egalitarianism

Regency society is a patriarchal society meaning the women were considered to be below men and were therefore expected to be subservient, with their lives mainly led by the male figures in their lives, such as their fathers and husbands. Pride and Prejudice is significant as the main heroine, Elizabeth actually breaks this archetype and makes her own decisions. Elizabeth as a construct defies social convention and this leads to her successful marriage and a possibly more egalitarian relationship than the others within the novel.

Jane is the eldest Bennett daughter and therefore is expected to be married first, before her other sisters can become engaged. She is happy to be led by men and is an example of what would be considered the perfect …show more content…
Their relationship progresses and develops throughout the book leading the reader to believe that it is far more egalitarian than the other relationships depicted within the novel. At their first meeting Darcy slights Elizabeth claiming, “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me;” But later we realise that Darcy does have feelings for Elizabeth realizing that while when they first met he, “Had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying.” showing that he gradually falls in love with her despite her imperfections and in fact some of them commend her even more to him as he realises that, “In spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.” Showing that he is willing to accept her despite all of her faults. Both Mr Darcey and Elizabeth grow together throughout the course of the novel though not at the same rate, Darcey 's newly gained humility allows him to write a letter to Elizabeth detailing his relationship with Mr Whickham and what transpired between them to make them dislike one another. This helps Elizabeth grow as she realises, “She had been blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd. … I, who have prided myself on my discernment! ... But vanity, not love, has been my folly. ...Till this moment I never knew myself.” This shows she understands that her judgement had been wrong and that Darcey was not as bad as she believed him to be, leading