Jane Yolen

When reading Jane Austen 's Pride and Prejudice and Thomas Hardy 's Tess of the D 'Urbervilles, one thing is clear - women can be strong, determined and independent. But in the 19th century, the idea that a woman did not need a man to survive was controversial. Even now in a time of a modern feminist movement, examples of female independence are extremely influential. However, both Austen and Hardy fail to prevent negativity against women in their novels; the way in which the female protagonists…

Common in her works, Jane Austen focuses heavily on social norms and other issues of the time period. In Pride and Prejudice, many consider Austen as one of the first authors who also shed light on feminism. The Regency Era itself saw very little progression in terms of the roles of women in society, but the novel begins to break down such barriers with some characters. The Bennet sisters individually cover the different personalities of women during that time period, with Elizabeth and Lydia…

Elinor’s verbal dexterity is apparent at the meetings at Barton Park with the Exeter-hailed Miss Steeles. Though the elder Miss Steele’s obnoxiousness stems from her vulgarity, the young Lucy Steele’s unattractiveness comes from her shrewdness and her strategic confession to Elinor of her engagement to Edward Ferrars. Lucy appears to be the victor of the confrontation and the societal superior: her “superior claims on Edward” forces Elinor into a “silent amazement” while securing her future…

the summer with another wealthy friend of his, Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet is only too willing to have Mr. Charles Bingley marry one of her daughters, and she has them all attend a town dance. There Mr. Bingley has taken a liking to the eldest daughter, Jane Bennet, who is esteemed…

Young people searched for spouses that not necessarily brought love, but instead brought power, prestige or even just security by way of the family, the connections they possessed, and the possibility of inheriting fortunes depending on the family. Jane Austen explores this world of matrimony and the relationships people in a well-off station of life have with one another in her novel Pride and Prejudice as her characters navigate the social etiquette that they all abide by as they, and their…

status because a successful marriage should be based on love, stability, and happiness, because it creates a position of solidity. The primary motive for getting married should be for love. For example, Jane says, “Oh, Lizzy! do anything rather than marry without affection” (Austen 418). In this quote, Jane is expressing that people (in this case, her sister) should only get married if they are…

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…