After reading the renowned text of Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Fay Weldon’s Letters to Alice, readers witness the social pressures which had been placed upon individuals of the time. Through both texts, we find that context plays a major role as the intertwining of marriage, love and fixed gender expectations engulf women of the time. As seen through Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy’s introduction at Meryton Ball, Mr Collins’ proposal to Elizabeth and followed by Lady Catherine’s introduction, audiences may recognise Austen’s comedy of manners, accompanied by her form of didacticism throughout the novel and Weldon’s text which hints at values and ideas such as ‘The Importance of Love & Marriage’ and ‘Gender Roles’.
As Weldon intertextually …show more content…
Yes, similar values are addressed but in a different context as in her era, you could love who you wanted to love and for that, whilst placing Austen on a pedestal she appreciates the work of Mrs Bennet as she tries to get all five of her daughters married. As seen in the quote, “No wonder Mrs Bennet, driven half mad by anxiety for her five unmarried daughters, knowing they would be unprovided-for when her husband died”. In Weldon’s text, Mrs Bennet is thought of as as the product of such context that Austen wrote about, as she is so desperate for her daughters to find husbands, as a result allowing for each’s status to be affirmed and are all financially advantaged. Later, Weldon comments on Austen’s opinions of the idea of marriage and love as she too explains to Alice that she believes not only was financial stability a factor but also a hint of love, soon after bringing forth Austen’s motives for not marrying. “It was all too much. Something truly frightening rumbled there beneath the bubbling mirth… she knew too much, you see, for her own good.”. Through a forceful but fearful tone, Weldon comments on her view of men and women and acknowledges how Austen failed to follow social expectations of her time, reinforcing the idea of female
As Weldon intertextually …show more content…
Yes, similar values are addressed but in a different context as in her era, you could love who you wanted to love and for that, whilst placing Austen on a pedestal she appreciates the work of Mrs Bennet as she tries to get all five of her daughters married. As seen in the quote, “No wonder Mrs Bennet, driven half mad by anxiety for her five unmarried daughters, knowing they would be unprovided-for when her husband died”. In Weldon’s text, Mrs Bennet is thought of as as the product of such context that Austen wrote about, as she is so desperate for her daughters to find husbands, as a result allowing for each’s status to be affirmed and are all financially advantaged. Later, Weldon comments on Austen’s opinions of the idea of marriage and love as she too explains to Alice that she believes not only was financial stability a factor but also a hint of love, soon after bringing forth Austen’s motives for not marrying. “It was all too much. Something truly frightening rumbled there beneath the bubbling mirth… she knew too much, you see, for her own good.”. Through a forceful but fearful tone, Weldon comments on her view of men and women and acknowledges how Austen failed to follow social expectations of her time, reinforcing the idea of female