Jane Austen Pride And Prejudice Feminist Analysis

Common in her works, Jane Austen focuses heavily on social norms and other issues of the time period. In Pride and Prejudice, many consider Austen as one of the first authors who also shed light on feminism. The Regency Era itself saw very little progression in terms of the roles of women in society, but the novel begins to break down such barriers with some characters. The Bennet sisters individually cover the different personalities of women during that time period, with Elizabeth and Lydia specifically going against the status quo most often. Austen portrays each Bennet daughter differently in order to bring attention to all the different expectations of women during that time period and how they treat men. Beginning with Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Austen clearly illustrates how different generations of people differ in their mannerisms, expectations, and reasons they value marriage. Although their relationship seems somewhat hostile to the audience, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet show satisfaction with their marriage. Their relationship also provides some comic relief throughout the novel, as their personalities sit polar to one another in almost every way. Much more …show more content…
In the end, similar characters married one another but not without indiscretion filling the novel. For example, the two most outgoing characters, Darcy and Elizabeth, married. Jane and Bingley, two of the most reserved and humble characters also married. Wickham and Lydia, characters who showed little care for society’s norms married. Finally, Mr. Collins and Charlotte, two greatly different characters who saw the importance in marriage, also married. Austen received great criticism for the novel due to its exploration and destruction of status quos, but it provides interesting insight into how society functioned during the Regency