Relationship in Pride and Prejudice
In the novel Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, several, if not all of her characters, can confirm the belief that in order to achieve happiness one must discard their pride and in turn, replace it with self-respect accompanied by some humility. In addition, acceptance and mutual respect must replace one's prejudice. The novel reveals four couples that live through social inconviences. The setting, although the novel does take place in many different places, is mainly broadcasted from Longbourn, somewhere in England. It is set around the Bennet family, which consists of seven members. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, and their five daughters which of whom none are yet married. At this period in time, marriage was based a great deal upon money and reputation, not so much love and trust. When a single man entered town, he was called upon only if his financial situation was above normal. Marriage was based around land, family connections, and wealth. In many minor characters of the novel, pride is a common characteristic. Mrs. Bennet, for instance, is extremely proud when it comes to her daughter's marriages of mercenary benefits. She is so concerned that her neighbors have a high opinion of her that her own vanity will not
even allow her to think of her daughters love and happiness. This is best shown with the case of Elizabeth Bennet's proposed marriage to the esteemed Mr. Collins, a man she did not love. Another couple that is similar to Darcy and Elizabeth would be Mr. Bingley, a close friend of Darcy, and Miss Jane Bennet. The only difference between the two relationships is that Darcy has more money than Bingley. However, Jane is also put through more criticism than her sister, as her critics are the blood of Bingley, his own sisters. The Bingley women express their prejudice towards Jane because of their differences in social status. It is their pride that forces them to believe they are better than others solely because of the amount of money they have. It is their prejudice that causes them to seriously avoid people of different social status and do everything their powers allow to 'protecting' family members such as Mr. Bingley from people of the lower class. Instead of realizing the love Bingley and Jane had towards each other, Caroline and Miss Hurst blind themselves of the truth and they foolishly assume that only a lady of equal status such as theirs is 'worthy' of their brother's love. To destroy any hopes Jane might entertain of marrying Mr. Bingley, the sisters convince her that her love for Bingley is unrequited. They continue by saying that the marriage of Bingley to Miss Darcy, who will be "hereafter our sister" will "secure the happiness of so many" people. But towards the end of the novel, even after all their efforts and hopes of separating the two, Jane and Bingley manage to get married. Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst are forced to swallow their pride and make amends with Jane because they know that if they didn't, Mr. Bingley would never forgive them. The Bingley sisters displayed their tolerance and mutual respect towards Jane after the lower social class prejudice was removed. They show values and morals containing true love throughout their relationship. All though class split them, they continued their love and let nothing get in their way. This was uncommon in those times. Most women wanted to marry wealth, with or without the love. What were more important to Bi
Some common words found in the essay are:
Bingley Jane, Darcy Elizabeth, Longbourn England, Wickham Lydia, Bingley Hurst, Elizabeth Jane, Miss Darcy, Elizabeth Wickham, Jane Austen, Miss Hurst, darcy elizabeth, bingley jane, daughters bennet, family connections, love bingley, pride prejudice, love bingley jane, darcy miss, bennet family, miss darcy, darcy realizes,
Approximate Word count = 1481
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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