Jane Patterson

the independence that modern-day women enjoy. Instead, they often had to resort to marriage in order to advance themselves socially or survive financially. Most marriages therefore were made for the purpose of socioeconomic value, not for true love. Jane Austen, in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, subtly criticizes the social standards and expectations of a woman during the time period through the main character, Elizabeth Bennett, who is bold and independent — qualities that are appalling for a…

Throughout Voltaire’s short novel, Dr. Pangloss’ philosophy of optimism makes him appear blind to the suffering he goes through. Voltaire intentionally uses the characterization of Dr. Pangloss to poke fun at Leibniz’s philosophy. Similarly, to “Candide,” Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” also include characters who pride themselves in their logic, but are indeed blind. Elizabeth, the protagonist of the novel, let’s her prejudice blind her. In the first chapter of “Candide,” Voltaire…

Attaining independence through opposing gender roles in the 1600-1800 In the play Twelfth Night and the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen female and male characters experience a phenomenon that had rarely been seen before in this time period. Gender roles had been an important part of history since the beginning of time and seemed to be respected and followed by citizen of all kind in England during the 1600-1800. Society had expectations for women and men and how they were expected to…

in the novel Jane Eyre who all serve a common purpose. It is to impose numerous conflicts on Jane and to see how she reacts. The most important character for achieving this purpose is Edward Fairfax Rochester, because his actions in Jane Eyre must be kept in mind when understanding Jane’s decisions. One of Rochester’s major contribution to the novel is his admirable transformation from being selfish and idealistic to mature and accepting. When Rochester originally plans to marry Jane, he is…

ones is Pride and Prejudice written by Jane Austen. Set in England, the novel tells the story of Elizabeth Bennett along with her other four sisters. Everything seems normal for the family up until Mr.Bingley and his good friend Mr.Darcy move into the neighborhood. Mrs.Bennett is desperate for her daughters to marry, so as soon as hears about their new neighbors, she immediately begins to investigate. Bingley quickly gets to know and fall in love with Jane, but Darcy is a bit different. Although…

were starting to think that maybe they didn’t have to be stuck as second class citizens in a patriarchy. Even though they had these ideas, they were so repressed that they couldn’t really speak their minds; no one would listen. Some writers, including Jane Austen, thought that maybe, they could plant a little seed of feminism, or the start of feminism, into their minds with stories that challenged current views. All of Austen’s works deal with these issues and their themes have resonated through…

In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the protagonist, Jane, reveals what she is looking for in marriage through her opportunities to marry and her responses to each of them. Jane is an orphan who lives with her despicable cousins and aunt. After being sent away to a school steeped in hypocrisy and cruelty and upon completing her education, she finds work as a governess with the Byronic hero Mr. Rochester. As they get acquainted Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love which leads the pair to…

In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the role of gender is critical in the lives of relatively affluent Britons in the early 19th Century. While the author, Austen, was born in 1775 in England on the tail end of the Age of Enlightenment, the novel likely takes place during the start of the Regency Period, portraying a microcosm of the middle and upper class population, at that time. England’s power structure contrived through the concentration of wealth, British law and societal norms, to…

The novel, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen exemplifies the main theme of marriage in various forms. Austen compares the different marriages through the characters: Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, Charlotte and Mr. Collins, Jane and Mr. Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy, and finally Lydia and Mr. Wickham. She gives a specific insight to the attitudes, morals, and progression of marriage for each character throughout the book. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet began the novel as the only married couple. With five unwed…

Cary Fukunaga changes Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre to highlight the ideals of his audiences mindset, such as the ideal of marrying for love rather than independence to create a fast paced romance. The film appeals to the themes in the film such as gender equality and independence but dilutes the meaning through the incapacity to reveal Jane’s inner thoughts and enhances the meaning through cinematography. The introduction of the character St John at the beginning of the film…