#9

     Pride and Prejudice is a novel that speaks of first impressions and the folly that can be found in using them to measure a person.  This theme is emphasized in the relationship between the protagonist, Elizabeth, Mr. Darcy.  Elizabeth is a very prejudiced character.  Upon her first encounter with Mr. Darcy, with celerity she came to the conclusion that Darcy is a proud man and one not to be associated with.  Her prejudgement of Darcy seems implacable, however after reading a letter from Darcy, Elizabeth realizes that he is not all she thought him to be.  This precipitates her visit to the Pemberly Estate.  Elizabeth's prejudices are slowly demolished.  While visiting the estate she hears many exultations of Darcy.  As she hears appobation of Darcy,  she realizes, " This was praise of all others most extraordinary, most opposite to her ideas.  That he was not a good-tempered man had been her firmest opinion.  Her keenest attention was awakened; she longed to hear more" (Austen 207).  Elizabeth acknowledges that she is a prejudiced and that she has judged Darcy wrongly.  She begins destroying her prejudices and she opens herself to becoming an admirer of Darcy's.  It is this new attitude that could remedy the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth and lead to matrimony. 

#8

     Jane Bennet, of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is an optimist in the truest sense.  In finding out that Mr.Wickham  is not who he seems, Austen describes Jane's reaction:  "What a stroke was this for poor Jane! who would willingly have gone through the world without believing that much wickedness existed in the whole race of mankind as was here collected in one individual" (Austen 189).  In these words Austen fully describes Jane's character.  She is innocent, willing to believe everyone good no matter what.  She is also naive because of her willingness to believe that all of mankind is good.   Jane is the perfect foil to her sister Elizabeth.  Whereas Elizabeth is easily able to see the worst in people, Jane always chooses to see the best.  Elizabeth's perception of the world is marred by prejudice, Jane's is merely marred by a want to see good in all people.  It is this want to see good in all people that at first will not allow her to dislike Darcy or Bingely in light of how they treated her.  Jane's personality makes her a more approachable character whereas Elizabeth is unapproachable to men like Darcy due to her deep prejudices.  In the race to find love and build a marriage, Jane's optimism and innocence will most likely benefit her in the long run.

#7

    In Jane Austen's, Pride and Prejudice , the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet is seemingly the very definition of Prejudice.  Elizabeth does not allow any margin for veneration.  Instead Elizabeth treats all of his entrieaties of friendship with asperity due to prejudice.  After reading Mr. Darcy's explanation for his actions and the truth about Mr. Wickham in Mr. Darcy's  letter, Elizabeth still refuses to believe Mr. Darcy a good person.  Instead she views hims as "not penitent, but haughty" and "of all pride and insolence" (Austen 173).  Yet in the midst of all of Elizabeth's disapprobation and constrain in her prejudice toward Darcy truth still comes to light.  As she reads Darcy's account of Wickham she begins to see that she errs in her positive prejudgment of the affable man.  Later on when her prejudices are confirmed to be completely false Elizabeth laments, "How despicably have I acted!...But vanity not love has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one and offended by the neglect of the other" (Austen 177).  This is the beginning of change within Elizabeth Bennet.  The prejudice that hindered her praise of others is now demolished.  Elizabeth is free to judge based on actual character and not just first glances.

Status Updates for

November 10: LMS for a ill wrought character to description: I promise to willfully misunderstand you!
November 18: Mothers these days, you honestly cannot force a girl into a marriage not of her choosing no matter how much it is going to benefit you.
 November 20: I truly believe that a girl who marries out of convenience instead of love is a foolish indeed, #loveisworthwaitingfor.
November 25: If a man makes his decisions based upon the opinions of his friends and family, he is not a real man.
November 27: Ladies always remember when a man walks out the door snub him for leaving no matter how much you fell for him.
November 29: Amiable and handsome is what a man should be.
December 26: Lovers whether they be mercenary or true can still be loved.
March 20: With practice you develop a skill, if you do not practice how can you ever become good at a skill.
March 23: It is said that blood is thicker than water, it is true, interfere with the lives of the ones I call dear and expect my everlasting disdain.
March 24: Wrongdoings cannot be just be excused through use of the written word.  Once you have done the wrong your words cannot just undo it.

#6

             Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice takes place during a time where women were completely oppressed.  Females were constrained both socially and economically during the Victorian era.  Incumbent laws and regulations such as the law of entailment often induced women to destitution and helplessness.  During this time women often accepted such treatment no matter the asperity that might be seen in it.  Women were expected to be accepting of such fates because they were of a lower class on the social pyramid of Victorian society.  Though many women chose this attitude Austen portrays the attitude of another more subtly independent woman.  She displays this attitude through the character Lady Catherine de Bourgh.  In the midst of asking Elizabeth impertinent questions, Lady Catherine remarks on the law of entailment saying, " Your father's estate is entailed on Mr. Collins, I think...but otherwise I see no occasion for entailing estates from the female line" (Austen 140).  Lady Catherine essentially states that she believes that an estate should not only be given to the closest male relative, rather women should have rights in inheriting an estate if they are closest in line for it.  lady Catherine herself experienced this as she holds the entire de Bourgh estate.  She is a rare woman for Victorian times.  Although impertinent she is modern.  She sees the injustice in disallowing a female to inherit an estate as its true and rightful heir.  This insight is rare seems rare in a Victorian woman.  It shows that females of the time were beginning to perceive injustice and awakening to what was rightfully theirs.

#5

           Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice showcases the Victorian females true opinion of marriage.  Of late it is found that Elizabeth Bennet's dearest friend, Charlotte Lucas, is engaged to the overly fawning, Mr. Collins.  Elizabeth is incredulous at the news and cannot see how her friend could have been induced to marry a man like Collins.  In truth Charlotte's marriage to Collins is not because she venerates him, Charlotte, "Without thinking highly of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated women of small fortune" (Austen 107).  Charlotte assents to marrying Mr. Collins purely out of  pragmatism.  She knows that a female of her lower status does not have the best lot in life single.  She considers her plain looks and Mr. Collins fortunes and thinks of his offer as the very best she can get.  This logicality in marriage is a reflection of a Victorian female's opinion of matrimony.  During this time period women had few options and women of the middle class even fewer.  Their best bet was to marry, in this way they would have financial stability and security.  Love was not put into the equation, it was not seen as necessary.  In contrast to the Victorian view, Elizabeth Bennet, who is disappointed in her friend's willingness to marry a man like Collins, takes a more modern view sees mutual like and possible love between a couple as being very important.  The Victorian view does not find long term happiness to be of the utmost importance.  It is very possible that a Victorian couple can have great felicity such as that of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet.  However, when one only thinks of marriage in a logical sense, the main facet of happiness is marriage's security.

#4

      Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice speaks of the dangers of prejudice.  The propensity for prejudice among the upper class is displayed in Elizabeth’s character.  Elizabeth, after hearing the affable Mr. Wickham’s account of grievances with Mr. Darcy surmises Darcy to be the most disagreeable of men, and arousing repugnance.  At the ball Elizabeth declares, that in regard to Darcy, that it “would be the greatest misfortune of all! –To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate” (Austen 79).  Elizabeth has not listened to Darcy’s side of the story.  She does not know whether the grievances are precipitated by both parties.  She does not give Darcy a chance, rather she presumes him despicable in character.  This pre-judgment is folly.  To hear one person, who is clearly biased against the party in question, and wholly believe his account creates an unnecessary bias within the neutral party.  Austen argues, that among the upper classes of Victorian England, the tendency to judge before fully knowing others is absurd.  Pre-judgment hinders a person from truly getting to know others.  In Elizabeth’s case she has decided who Darcy is based on tales from his enemy instead of interactions with Darcy himself. 

#3

           Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice speaks of a time in which males ruled and dominated the world.  Females were an oppressed gender.  In the story the character Mr. Collins, cousin, to Mr. Bennet, appears.  He has rights to the Bennet property under the law of entailment.  Mrs. Bennet is highly vexed by the idea that the “estate should be entailed away from your own [Mr. Bennet’s] children” (Austen 54).  It is a shame to see that during the Victorian times females did not merit the right to the inheritance of land from their fathers.  Instead at the capricious whim of a male relative could precipitate the turning out of the female side of a family.  Later on, Mr. Collins displays his intention of marrying one of the Bennet daughters in order to right the breach between himself and the family over entailment.  This thought process displays the Victorian belief that women only subsist for domestic life: marriage and the hearth.  This is a serious contrast to modern society, in which females are given more freedom and choice in their future.  Women of the Victorian era had no future but the one found within the household.  This female suppression is seen in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

     The world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice speaks of Victorian women with a serious obsession with marriage and the status of those they marry.  One of the major criteria for Mrs. Bennet in marrying of her daughters is the amount of wealth acrued by a potential suitor.  Wealth is a consistent concern for all Victorian women of the time period.  In describing the Bennet family's wealth it is found that 'mr. Bennet;s property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two thousand a year, which unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed in default of heirs male...and their mother's fortune, though ample for her situation in life, could but ill supply the deficiency of his" (Austen 25).  Here it is seen that Mr. Bennet has a large fortune, however it is impossible for the girls to inherit it by law, and their mother's fortune is simply not large enough.  It is for this reason that the women find only rich men propitious for marriage.  Males with great wealth are looked at by the females with great approbation.   One cannot say that the girls are completely superficial, for they are not indifferent to the ill qualities found in some men like mr. darcy.  However, the fact that status is of the utmost importance to the girls cannot be overlooked.  It speaks of a deeper meaning, a time in which women can only find status in the males that they marry.  Thus the Bennet girls cannot be blamed for their obsession with the wealth of the men they see as potential suitors.  This is the Victorian world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

#1

  Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice makes light of the Victorian female's obsession and swift conclusions about love and matrimony.  From the very beginning of Austen's novel it seems that the concern of every female character is marriage.  Mrs. Bennet, her daughters, and all of their female friends are eager for the single Mr. Bingley to move into Netherfield.    Their eagerness stems from the desire for the Mr. Bingley to marry one of their available female daughters and friends. Not only is Mr. Bingley himself single, but he also brings his single friend Mr. Darcy into the company of these marriage eager ladies.  The arrival of these men puts the Victorian woman's making of suppositions about marriage on full display.  This Victorian characteristic is epitomized in Mr Darcy's statement about  Mr. Bingley's own sister, Miss Bingley's,  supposition about his attraction to Elizabeth Bennet, "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment" (Austen 25).  Darcy essentially says that it is the woman's disposition to immediately draw the conclusion of marriage from the slightest attraction or show of interest between a man and woman. They do not wait for man and woman to become fully acquainted with one another. This conclusiveness may be folly.  It would seem that this celerity in jumping to the conclusion of marriage could lead to the downfall of the women in Pride and Prejudice.   Their serious want for marriage and love seems foolish in that they see a single  rich man,  who is seemingly amiable and assume him  the perfect suitor.  Such is the character of the Victorian woman portrayed by Jane Austen.

#6

 Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness speaks of the moral terror and evil that besets the emissary of imperialism as he sets deeper into the Congo.  Marlow the protagonist finally finds Mr. Kurtz.  While on his steam ship bringing Kurtz out of the jungle Marlow describes an overpowering emotion that comes upon him, what makes the emotion so overpowering is “the moral shock I received, as if something altogether monstrous, intolerable to thought, and odious to the soul had been thrust upon me” (Conrad 146-147).  Here Marlow inadvertently states that Kurtz’s evil can tangibly be felt.  This model imperialist agent has a cloud of evil that surrounds him and all those around him feel it.  This evil is the heart of darkness.