Relationships In Jane Austin's Pride And Prejudice

Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice is set in 19th century England, a time period where the patriarchal society was accepted as the norm and men reigned supreme in most families. During this time, Women were expected to behave a certain way, look a certain way, possess a certain amount of intelligence, and be advanced in certain talents to impress men and be deemed useful to society. It wasn’t until a young lady possessed all these desirable traits that she would be “introduced” into society- a phrase used in the novel to describe the act of parents putting their daughters out onto the marriage market. In the case of the Bennet family, all five of their daughters have been introduced into society at the time of the novel’s beginning. Mrs. Bennet …show more content…
Despite all this external pressure- Elizabeth was able to look beyond this societal façade of thinking (barely) and behaving like an accepted female figure- especially when it came to love and marriage. At one point in the novel, Elizabeth comments on the instability in her parent’s marriage, and how there was little love left in the relationship because they weren’t truly in love with each other in the first place. Elizabeth states that she disapproves of this, and that she does not want to end up in a marriage where she is unhappy, or where she is forced to be happy due to the material possessions and social connections that the marriage give her. Though Elizabeth is constantly bombarded with social rules to follow she is able to keep her head straight and think for herself without letting the pressure of society affect her. This quality that Elizabeth develops over the novel illuminates the meaning of Pride and Prejudice; Love and personal thought being a separate force from society. When Elizabeth is able to truly grasp this in the novel, she is able to allow her own emotions to grow in a healthy way, and finds a love with Mr. Darcy that is true and completely