The Seasons In Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice

If there’s something certain in this world, it’s the seasons. Every year since the moment that our planet first took shape, our twenty-three and a half degree tilt has caused our world to go through an annual cycle of weather. Children around the world are taught from a young age about our four seasons and their implications. Because every part of Earth experiences some cyclical change in the weather, our struggle with the seasons is an experience that every single human shares. This experience crosses cultural differences to bring us together. Because the seasons are a well-known and globally shared experience, the symbolic use of seasons in literature has become quite common. If there’s anything just as certain as the seasons themselves, …show more content…
This is the start of Elizabeth’s spring. Her sudden empowerment triggers her to start seeking love, rather than waiting to be sought. Ironically, Elizabeth would fall in love with Darcy. In a stereotypically romantic story, she finds out that he isn’t such a bad guy, and eventually the two get married. Pride and Prejudice is Austen’s commentary on the social norms of her time. By analyzing mythoi, Austen’s intent behind each relationship can be interpreted. Of the three girls who fall in love, Lydia breaks the most social norms, especially of those that her family values. Despite this, her spring proves to be one of the most vibrant. Lydia truly loves Wickham, despite his past and relatively small wealth. Elizabeth also breaks away from social norms, completely denying Darcy the right to propose to her in the state that their relationship was in. Through her struggle to overcome both Darcy’s pride and society’s prejudice, she discovers that she loves Darcy. Ultimately, Jane does not break any social barriers when she falls in love Bingley. Society and her family told her that she should marry Bingley, so that’s what she did. In the end, the two are happy together, but they aren’t as satisfied as Elizabeth and Darcy or Lydia and Wickham. While she does experience a spring, Jane’s spring was cold and rainy. Even inside one mythos, there are several different variations that can …show more content…
Frye would categorize this under the mythos of autumn on account of its tragic nature. Once again, this is likely an over-simplification. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is as gothic as Pride and Prejudice is romantic, so it is an excellent example to analyze. The two main characters in Frankenstein are the brilliant Victor Frankenstein and his creature. It’s not hard to uncover the mythoi for each of these characters, just look where each character starts and ends. Victor begins the novel as a bright, young scientist, who is so powerful that he has the “ability to give life to an animal as complex and wonderful as man” (Shelley, 52). However, Victor loses everything, including his life by the end of the story. Victor’s mythos would be best described by the season of fall. So far, this seems to fit the simple model presented by Frye, but Victor isn’t the main character by the end of the story. The relationship between the Victor and his creature is best described by the sender-receiver model. Early in the story, Victor is the one who sends life to his creature, but that is the limit of what he is willing to do for his “child.” Frustrated by society and his master’s disapproval, the creature is forced to take control of the relationship, becoming the sender. When the two meet in the mountains, he sends Victor on the quest to create him a companion. It’s also around this time