One can argue that Pride and Prejudice is a superficial novel about women and, in reality, anti-feminist because it’s possible to claim that the work centers on materialism and sexist norms.

One primary norm that Jane Austen’s novel reinforces is the importance of marriage. The first sentence addresses the near inevitability of heterosexual marriage: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” writes Austen. The quest for an acceptable husband consumes the Bennet sisters. Even Elizabeth, whom Miss Bingley labels “a great reader,” is preoccupied with securing a man with at least some wealth. As Elizabeth tells her aunt, “Handsome young men must have something to live on as well as the plain.”

The emphasis on marriage suggests that a woman needs a man to complete her and feel whole. Elizabeth comes around to Mr. Darcy because she starts to realize “he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her.” Such a passage might be interpreted as anti-feminist because it indicates that a woman, sooner or later, must settle down with a worthy man. Based on the trajectory of Elizabeth and her sisters, one could contend that Austen depicts marriage as the main goal of a woman’s life.

Apart from marriage, the superficial aspects of the novel are evident in Austen’s emphasis on manners and appearances. Concerning Jane, Mr. Darcy tells Elizabeth, “Your sister I also watched. Her look and manners were open, cheerful, and engaging as ever, but without any symptom of peculiar regard.” Even books turn into shallow objects in Austen’s story. In chapter 8, the conversation isn’t about what’s inside the books; rather, it’s about the number of books in the library and how to buy more.