Discussion Topic
Jane Austen's portrayal of strong women and feminist views in Pride and Prejudice
Summary:
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice portrays strong women and feminist views through characters like Elizabeth Bennet, who challenges societal norms with her independence and assertiveness. Elizabeth's refusal to marry for convenience and her insistence on mutual respect and love in marriage reflect feminist ideals, highlighting women's autonomy and the importance of personal choice.
Is Elizabeth Bennet a strong female character in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen?
Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, is one of the most recognizable female characters in literature. Of course you will have to make your own determination about whether or not Elizabeth is a "strong female character," but a quick review of what she does and does not do throughout the story may help you make an informed choice.
- She does think her sisters (except for Jane) are ridiculously shallow and vain, and she is mortified by their sometimes outrageous behavior.
- She is quick, perhaps too quick, to make judgments about others.
- She is not afraid to have social interactions with people who have money and are in a social class above her own.
- She can be rude and unbending (as Mr. Darcy can attest),
- She loves Jane and her friend Charlotte enough to do what she must to help them, even if she would...
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- rather not.
- She has a quick wit but often uses it to be sarcastic and rather biting.
- She has a realistic view of her station and abilities in life, and she never tries to act like someone she is not.
- She is quite aware of her own less-than-desirable qualities, but only after something drastic has happened to make her see them.
- She is willing to remain unmarried rather than marrying someone she does not love.
- She is genuinely thankful when people do things for her.
- She is strong-willed (stubborn) and set in her ways. She says:
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
- She cares as much about social standing and appearances, in her own way, as the people she condemns for doing the same thing (Elizabeth is mortified at the shame Lydia will bring to the family by scandalously eloping).
As you consider events from the novel, you will no doubt think of other things which demonstrate Elizabeth's positive and negative traits. Perhaps you will have to define "strong" in your own thinking before you can settle on one side or the other.
Once you determine your point of view--either she is or is not a strong character--you can easily write your essay. A five-paragraph essay generally requires an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Choose three reasons, examples, traits, characteristics, or whatever else seems apt and write a paragraph about each, including examples to make your point. Because it is a persuasive essay, be sure to use persuasive language to make your points and defend your position. (A way to check this is to ask yourself is anyone can argue or disagree with you; if so, you are being persuasive.)
Write a good thesis statement which summarizes your position and your three points; then you are ready to write.
How does Jane Austen portray strong women in Pride and Prejudice?
This is a fascinating question, made all the more interesting because I disagree with it. I assume that you would explain "preference" by saying that the text makes clear Austen thinks favourably about the strong female characters in this book. Whilst I think you are perfectly correct about Elizabeth Bennet and the way that the author obviously shows a preference for her, I would disagree with the presentation of other strong female characters, most notably Miss Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who are clearly strong female characters but also not presented favourably in the text. Consider, for example, the way she tries to turn Mr. Darcy against Lizzie and thereby advance her own position:
She often tried to provoke Darcy into disliking her guest by talking of their supposed marriage, and planning his happiness in such an alliance.
Clearly such mean behaviour does not indicate that a character such as Caroline Bingley has a firm place in the affections of Jane Austen. In addition, consider the way that Lady Catherine de Bourgh takes Lizzie to task for the supposed alliance that exists between her and her nephew. Both of these strong ladies are therefore not shown in the most flattering of lights. Lastly, you might like to consider the way in which female characters who are not strong are presented in a better light than these strong female characters, such as Jane and Georgiana Darcy.
In Pride and Prejudice, how does Jane Austen reveal her feminist view through female relationships?
It is unclear whether Austen would have regarded herself as a feminist, and it is important to remember that this is a term that critics use retrospectively when considering her works and the themes contained therein. However, it is clear that it is possible to argue Austen was challenging patriarchal notions of the time concerning women, social class and marital choice. This is achieved through the central character of Lizzie and her union with Mr. Darcy. Note the way that Lady Catherine de Bourgh's biggest concern about her nephew marrying Lizzie is her middle class background and her connection to Mr. Wickham, as she says very openly when she visits Lizzie at her home:
I am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest sister's infamous elopement. I know it all; that the young man's marrying her was a patched-up business, at the expence of your father and uncles. And is such a girl to be my nephew's sister? Is her husband, is the son of his late father's steward, to be his brother? Heaven and earth!--of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?
In Lady Catherine's mind, Lizzie's class should automatically preclude her from making such a fortunate alliance as marrying Darcy. In Lizzie's defiant response and her determination to follow the leading of her heart and nothing else, Austen was actually presenting a view about social relations and marriage that was profoundly challenging to societal thinking concerning marriage and relationships. Lady Catherine de Bourgh lives her life by social conventions; Lizzie, by contrast, lives her life by a different compass, and it is possible to see the character of Lizzie as being Austen's appeal against a social system that often prevented people following their own inclinations.