Pride & Prejudice Essay

Submitted By Jessdeller
Words: 647
Pages: 3
Open Document
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” this line in the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen has become one of the most famous lines in English Literature. The Regency period was vastly different to modern society, they had different views on everything from Marriage to the expectations of women and men. This line also alerts us to the importance of maintaining a respectable fortune in the period through inheritance.

For two people to be joined in marriage, a man must be sure of his feelings for the woman before he proposed as he cant break the engagement off as it wasn’t in his power to do so. When a man felt that the lady reciprocated his feelings he would ask the permission of her parents to marry her. Once the proposal was accepted, A marriage was seen as a contract and the only person who could break off the engagement was the woman. The wedding ceremonies were often quite small with only a few guests. A married man with a large fortune was seen as very high in society and having an accomplished wife added to his status. An accomplished wife was talented in many fields such as being able to speak French, could read and write, play piano well and have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing and dancing. Adding to this list a woman must also have a certain air and manner when walking, talking and addressing people. If a woman possessed all these qualities she was seen as perfect. In the novel Georgiana Darcy the sister of Fitzwilliam Darcy was an Aristocrat and was considered an accomplished woman as she played the piano very well and would have a substantial amount of money left to her name if her brother died.

There were many different expectations for men and women during the regency period. Women were almost entirely dependent on men, and could honorably work as governesses, tutors and writers. Women had nothing better to do than gossip, and they lived for social gatherings such as balls. Women could also not inherit any property as the property would be assigned to the next male. The only money a woman could inherit was the money from her mother, this usually was a small amount and was not substantial enough to live of, therefore the first line of Pride and Prejudice gives a lot of insight into how women were seen during this
Show More

Related Documents: Pride & Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice Essay

FIRST IMPRESSIONS Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen. Bantam books. 292 pages. Pride and Prejudice is a fantastic novel written by Jane Austen. This novel is one of the most romantic stories ever written and is still one of the most famous literary works of all time. Pride and Prejudice is set in the small village of Longbourn, England in the 1800s. The main character of the story and second oldest daughter of the Bennet family is Elizabeth Bennet. Throughout the story Austen portrays many…

Words 416 - Pages 2

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice In Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, the main reasoning of the title is about Pride and Prejudice. Both Darcy and Elizabeth meet each other and at first impression form a false (prejudice) view of the other from quick judgment and both are too prideful to revise their view of the other. The setting of this book in England in the late 1700’s to early 1800’s. The Bennet girls are from Longbourn and the men (Darcy and Bingley) are residing in Netherfield, although Darcy is originally…

Words 1440 - Pages 6

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1. The author’s background Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in Steventon, Hampshire, England. She was born seventh out of eight children into a family of a modest income. Her father, George Austen, was a reverend and her mother, Cassandra Leigh taught her children at the family home. When Jane was eight years old, she and her eldest sister, Cassandra, were sent to a boarding school for a proper education. Austen was always intrigued with English and…

Words 5483 - Pages 22

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Seo Yeon Lee Professor Iryce Baron English 281 2/18/2013 Opaque Glass Pride and Prejudice has become famous in the genre of fictional romance since its first published. The novel is similar to a fairy tale, female character, Elizabeth Bennet, unavoidably marries her knight in shining armor, Mr. Darcy. However, this romanticism is significantly altered by an underlying theme concerning gender politics and importance of marriage. Not only in the novel, but in films there are plenty of scenes where…

Words 1702 - Pages 7

Pride and Prejudice Essay

Darcy, Pride and Prejudice pg. 49 The human race is flawed, it has a fault: evil. Evil is sin, immorality or wickedness and it is a part of human nature. Even the nicest person has some dark desires lurking underneath their smile, because everyone has “a natural defect,” whether it is a “propensity to hate everybody” or to “willfully misunderstand them.” Some are blinded by their flaws and do not realize how much sin they carry. Jane Austen brings this to light through her novel, Pride and Prejudice…

Words 590 - Pages 3

Essay Pride And Prejudice

The novel Pride And Prejudice written by Jane Austen was written and takes place in regency England during 1810-1820; a time where the courtship between man and woman were built upon the wealth and prestige of one of the two parties, more than often the man. This is enforced through the first sentence of the novel, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Austen depicts the top two percentage of British society, the “highest…

Words 855 - Pages 4

Pride And Prejudice Foils

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice contains many foil characters. Perhaps, the best example of foil characters in the novel are Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. Their viewpoints on society and how their daughters should behave are the opposite. Mrs. Bennet having a very realistic and traditional understanding of society, and Mr. Bennet having a more modern view of his daughters and how they ought to be treated. These opinions and actions make Mr. and Mrs. Bennet foil characters. The book opens with the words…

Words 419 - Pages 2

Pride and Prejudice Essay

The novel seems to be showing that first impressions are a very important thing during this time period. The novel Pride and Prejudice was set during the 19th century. This was a time that when you are meeting someone for the very first time, you have to do your best to try and impress them, to try and show them that you are a very well and respected family. This is evident a couple times in the book. One of these times is in…

Words 694 - Pages 3

Pride And Prejudice Sexism

gender dynamics have evolved. Still, Pride and Prejudice can be considered a feminist work because Jane Austen presents a realistic protagonist that fights against the sexist social conventions of her time without falling into reductionist cliches. Austen portrays Elizabeth as a realistically imperfect character rather than either characterizing her as an exaggerated ideal or as sexist cliche. Like all the other characters--male and female--in Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is flawed. In fact, the…

Words 981 - Pages 4

Pride and Prejudice Essay

ceHelen Gifted English 1 November 4, 2011 Locked in the Library The ideal father figure is many things. Often, he is intelligent, caring, thoughtful, and possesses a keen sense of humor. Though Mr. Bennet of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice appears to be just this, Austen actually created a character that would prove to be far more important than many static members of the story’s cast. Not only does Mr. Bennet and his quick wit serve as a source of comedic relief in the novel, but his character…

Words 824 - Pages 4