Lydia Steinem Pride And Prejudice Feminist Analysis

Gloria Steinem, a women’s rights activist during the 1960’s and 1970’s reveals she “was never against marriage per se. Before feminism, [she] didn’t think [she] had any choice” Steinem was a strong feminist and activist; however, she believed that when it came to marriage, women simply had no choice. Similarly, women in 19th century England had little power as their families married off their daughters as quickly as possible and to the wealthiest man who would take her. Women then followed the societal norms and did not marry for love, but instead married young and hopefully to an affluent man to avoid societal disapproval. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Austen illustrates her disapproval of women who conform to the societal norms for …show more content…
Lydia has always been extremely obsessed with the militia that come into town; so, when she has the chance to sneak away to London with one of them, she does not hesitate. However, Lydia and Wickham are not married, so by running off together Lydia is threatening her own reputation as well as her whole family’s. Due to the threat of a ruined reputation, Lydia and Wickham must get married.Mr. Collins goes as far to say that “the death of [Lydia] would have been a blessing in comparison to this” (Austen 286). Lydia and Wickham marry to avoid a scandal and in an attempt to follow the social standards. Because the main reason for marriage was to fulfill society’s expectation that a woman and a man should be married before they go off together leads Lydia to enter a marriage in which she will never have financial stability or be happy. After a few months of marriage, Lydia and Wickham are “always moving from place to place in quest for a cheap situation” while “his affection for her [sinks] into indifference” (Austen 374). Lydia is never able to find financial stability and domestic comfort in her marriage, and the affection between her and Wickham is also fading. In an attempt to fit into society’s idea of when and why an woman should get married, Lydia finds herself in a marriage with little to no money and even less love. Both Charlotte and Lydia conform …show more content…
She knows that she does not only want a husband who can provide for her, but she also wants to love him.Elizabeth breaks the social norms by rejecting the first proposal she receives from Mr. Collins, even though he could provide her financial stability and domestic comfort.After Elizabeth rejects him, Mr. Collins relies that he does not believe his “hand is unworthy of [her] acceptance, or that the establishment [he] can offer would be any other than highly desirable” and says that his “situation in life, [his] connections with the family of De Bourgh, and [his] relationship to [her] own, are circumstances highly in [his] favor” (Austen 108). Mr. Collins is shocked that Elizabeth would refuse a marriage he believes so beneficial to her due to his moderate status and wealth. Nonetheless, Elizabeth can not accept because she does not love Mr. Collins and knows she would never be happy with him. Elizabeth escapes a potentially unsatisfactory marriage by ignoring society’s expectation to accept a proposal that offers financial security and domestic comfort.Elizabeth then turns down Mr. darcy’s first proposal because she believes she could never be happy with him. Not until his second proposal does Elizabeth realize how much she loves him. Elizabeth finally accepts a proposal because she knows Mr. Darcy is extremely wealthy had has good connections, but more importantly she loves him. If Elizabeth had conformed