Pride and Prejudice Essay Example for Free

Pride and Prejudice Essay Collins and many of the other characters mentioned within the novel. Social class also determines who one may marry, and this plays an extremely significant role within the lives of Jane and Elizabeth Bennet. Jane Bennet is a crucial character within Pride and Prejudice. She portrays the role of Elizabeth Bennet’s one and only older sister. Jane is considered to be â€Å"†¦ the only handsome girl in the room,† by Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and this occurs at the ball which is held in Netherfield. At this ball, she dances with a man by the name of Mr. Bingley, a man of large fortune who is described as being â€Å"†¦good looking and gentlemanlike; †¦pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners† (Austen 6). As a result of the ball, Mr. Bingley and Jane spend more time together, and it is assumed that they are together, as a couple. Mr. Bingley has two sisters who act all sisterly-like towards Jane, and then crush her heart by saying that Bingley will not return to Netherfield, and will most likely find Mr. Darcy’s sister more handsome and agreeable than Jane. This is done by the Bingley sisters most likely because of Jane’s lower social status, and they would not want their brother marrying a sort of peasant girl, or a girl who is of a much lower status than himself. Due to social class in society at this time, Jane ends up getting her heart crushed, which is sad and tragic for a woman during this time period, especially when the woman has feelings for such a suitor. Should a woman show her feelings for a suitor, and then that suitor goes off and marries another, the reputation of the first woman and her family is, in a sense, ruined. Elizabeth Bennet is the main female character whom the story revolves around. She is treated in a very similar manner as Jane; however, Jane is treated with more compassion and seems to be loved more by everyone, whereas Elizabeth is the least liked of the five daughters in the Bennet family, and people tend to pass her up. Due to her social stature, as well as her reputation as being the least liked and less handsome, Elizabeth is treated the way she is. She is, in a way, treated as an inferior to Jane due to all of the factors mentioned previously. Elizabeth is also put down in many ways. Considering that she is less handsome than her sister, she is, in a way, a target of insult for Darcy, as he says that she is not good enough or pretty enough to grab his attention (7). In all, Elizabeth leads a rather ‘difficult’ life, not being recognized by her peers or by suitors who should really be so lucky to have her. Pride within Pride and Prejudice is seen as a common theme throughout the whole novel. Pride is what causes people to behave the way they do, acting arrogant and egotistical. Pride contributes to how people view society, believing that one is better than the rest of society and being conceited. Pride is what causes feuds most of the time, turning one against another with the argument that one is better than the other in many aspects. Prejudice, contrary to pride, is not seen quite as often. However, prejudice, although not as common, follows similar principles as pride. Prejudice causes people to behave the way they do, believing that a certain social class, ethnicity, or gender is inferior to one’s own. Prejudice also contributes to how people view society, again, believing that a certain characteristic contributes to where people stand on the social ladder. Prejudice, just like pride, can cause feuds by causing one party to believe that the other party is inferior to them, and is usually based on the factors of social class, ethnicity, or gender. Austen most likely made the decision of having pride appear frequently, whereas prejudice is practically nowhere to be found, in order to make note of the difference between the two terms. Pride is seen used more often by Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, whereas prejudice is seen commonly used by Miss Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth Bennet, throughout the novel, shows signs of prejudice against Mr. Darcy in particular. When they appear at the ball in Netherfield, Austen states, â€Å"His character was decided. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and every body hoped that he would never come there again† (6). It is then later stated that â€Å"†¦Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him† (7). Elizabeth, in a way, holds a grudge against Darcy, always thinking negatively of him and putting him down in her eyes. This action of making it seem that he is, in a sense, inferior to her, represents her prejudice against him. Mr. Darcy shows pride in practically everything he does. He is a conceited, arrogant man, who believes that nothing is good enough for him. He exhibits this belief when he is at the Netherfield ball, and his friend, Mr. Bingley, points out that Darcy should dance with Elizabeth. Darcy replies, â€Å"She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (7). Darcy’s reputation for being full of pride is known all throughout the town, and it is said by one of Darcy’s old friends that â€Å"†¦almost all his actions may be traced to pride;-and pride has often been his best friend† (55). It is also assumed that, when his friend says that even Darcy’s sister is â€Å"-very, very proud,† that the whole Darcy lineage must be a very prideful family (56). During this time period in which Pride and Prejudice takes place, marriage was not decided on the basis of love. When one would get married, it was either for financial gain or social status. Mrs. Bennet, the mother in the novel, has only those two items on her mind when attempting to find suitors for her five daughters. She does not have even a sliver of empathy on how her decisions may potentially make her daughters’ lives miserable. Mr. Bennet, however, takes into account his daughters’ feelings when it comes to finding a suitor. Although he also has the thought of financial gain on his mind, his daughters always come first. He does, however, think of a plan. If Elizabeth were to marry Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet’s nephew, the Bennet estate would remain in the family. The reason for this is because, during this time period, women could not inherit land. Seeing as Mr. Bennet had no sons, he gave the estate to his nephew. Now, if Elizabeth had accepted Mr. Collins’s proposal, the estate would have remained within the family. This is the only instance in which Mr. Bennet wants Elizabeth to marry a certain suitor. Retaining their estate and financial security is just one motive that may cause people to marry certain others. Mr. Wickham and Miss Charlotte Lucas, for instance, are two characters who get married throughout the novel, and both have, in a way, a hidden agenda for getting married. Miss Charlotte Lucas is a very close friend of Elizabeth, being the person who Elizabeth can confide in about anything. Charlotte is slightly older than Elizabeth, about seven years, and Charlotte feels that she is becoming a burden to her family. Being twenty-seven and unmarried, she wanted to free her family from herself, no longer being a bother to them. This is one of the motives that causes her to go off and marry Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s cousin. She also becomes betrothed to Collins for financial security. Seeing as Collins would inherit the Bennet estate, this gave her the sense that they would not have to worry about finances, or anything of the sort. Charlotte views marriage in a peculiar way. She believes that marriage changes a person drastically, and that one can get married without having feelings for their partner at first. She thinks that a person, primarily a woman, should find a spouse and then grow to like them as time goes on. So, in reality, Charlotte believes that one can just rush into a marriage, and, in a sense, hope for the best. She does not believe in marriage should really occur on the basis of love. Charlotte also believes that â€Å"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance† (14). Charlotte honestly believes that one does not have to be happy in marriage. She would rather marry off well and have a rich husband, yet be miserable while with him, than be in a marital relationship with someone who she truly cares about, even if that someone is not particularly well off. This is, in a way, Charlotte’s reasoning for marrying Mr. Collins. Seeing as how Mr. Collins has financial stability, this makes him, to her, a rich man who is very well off. She decides then to rush into marrying him, even though mutual feelings between them do not exist. So, not only does Charlotte get married to Mr. Collins to get out of her parents’ hair, but also because of his status and financial stability, and everything that would make him a good suitor. These are her hidden motives behind getting married in such a hurry, and although it seems like it is the perfect life, Charlotte has, in reality, just cost herself a chance to find someone better and more qualified to be her spouse. George Wickham plays multiple roles throughout the novel. For one, he plays the role of Elizabeth’s love interest towards the beginning of the novel. He shows feelings towards her in return, and one would assume that they may be a match. This, however, is altered by the fact that Elizabeth, in the end, marries Darcy. Wickham also plays the role of an old friend of Darcy’s. Darcy’s father was like a father to Wickham, and Wickham always points out that Darcy was never fond of him, which, in a way, is true. It is also false, because Darcy was a friend of Wickham’s, until Wickham revealed his true self. Wickham also became estranged from Darcy when he tried to run off and elope with Darcy’s sister, Georgiana. Wickham does a similar thing in his third role, which is as Lydia Bennet’s husband. Although Lydia says she is in love with Wickham, Wickham does not necessarily return those feelings. Wickham only wants to prey on the innocence of Lydia. With the knowledge that Lydia is still practically a child, and is susceptible to believing anything, Wickham knows that he can do as he pleases with her, and she will not see anything wrong with the picture. Wickham also decided elopement for another reason. At this time, if a woman and man eloped, the money that the woman had to her name could be used freely by her husband with no safeguards, and this could in turn lead to some difficulties later in time. Wickham only views marriage on the basis of mooching and getting money as part of the dowry from her family. His hidden agenda is to get married in order to get money from the bride’s side of the family. Wickham is, all in all, a selfish man who shows people what they want to see, and not his true self.