Heather Wadsworth Pride and Prejudice I-Search: Feminist Perspective The Search Story It is a truth universally acknowledged that

a single man in possession of a good fortune must e in want of a wife! "#usten $%& 'he novel Pride and Pre(udice egins discussing marriage on page one) and the characters continue to fi*ate a out it throughout the novel& 'he concept of marriage itself automatically creates oundaries and differences etween the male and female characters& #fter all) whenever the su (ect of marriage comes up) gender roles are always involved& From the em arrassingly over earing +rs& ,ennet to the seemingly cold +r& -arcy) everyone in the society esta lished in the novel holds marriage as a central part in their life& While reading the novel) I en(oyed the satire surrounding the characters. view of marriage and compared it to many aspects of society today& 'he idea of marriage is fascinating and idealistic) so I wanted to study this societal mechanism.s role in the lives of the characters in Pride and Pre(udice& How do marriage and society contri ute to an im alance of power etween male and female characters in the novel/ How is this indicative of ,ritish culture in this time period/ +any other concepts are associated with marriage) such as perceived and societal superiority among genders& In the search for a mate) men often gain undue influence on the actions of women) as is seen in this novel& While reading the novel) I developed respect for the strong female characters 0ane and 1li2a eth) mainly for their intelligence and a ility to set aside the viewpoints of others and make smart decisions that also carry personal enefit& 'his caused me wonder: ,y what means are the female characters in Pride and Pre(udice a le to escape male influence) and how does this impact their a ility

Heather Wadsworth to make intelligent decisions/ -oes the fact that the novel is told from the viewpoint of a woman have any effect on the perceived control of men/ I compiled most of the essential research used to answer these 3uestions from online sources) including the 4ale data ase& 'he previous analyses from various viewpoints allowed me to gather a wide range of opinions and ideas from which to work from so that I could complete my own analysis from a feminist perspective& In Pride and Pre(udice) the societal favoring of and attri ution of power to men is developed through the lifestyle) thoughts) and actions of the novel.s female characters& The Search Results 'he workings of society in the novel and in ,ritish history during the early $5th century have a huge impact on the perception of women during this time& 6ne custom that contri uted to the inferiority of women was primogeniture& In ,ritish culture during this time period) the entailment of land involved gender restrictions) and it was custom for the eldest son to inherit the father.s estate& If no male son was orn) then the land would e left to the closest male relative "Fanning%& In the novel) +r& ,ennet fathered five daughters ut no sons) so his estate would eventually e left to their cousin +r& 7ollins& +r& ,ennet.s theoretical death would leave the rest of the immediate family) all of them female) to e homeless and live in terri le financial circumstances& 'herefore) the ,ennets ecome consumed with the idea of marriage) ecause a good marriage would lead to financial security for the daughters& 'his idea in itself gives more power to the men) ecause they are already in a more financially sta le state and have more choice in the marriage process& 8evertheless) money and class remained a significant factor in the courtship process for the ,ritish) as shown y 9ady 7atherine.s reluctance for -arcy to

Heather Wadsworth marry 1li2a eth) whose family was less wealthy& +oney is an e*tremely important factor in the marriages within this society& Wealth and male influence in society are e*tremely evident in the courtship and marriage processes& For e*ample) when +r& ,ingley) a relatively wealthy man) comes to the neigh orhood) most of the women are ready to throw themselves at him) giving him the power to choose whichever one he wishes& +r& ,ennet) although somewhat sarcastically) mentions his consent to his marrying which ever he chooses of the girls! "#usten :%& 'his shows how women must rely on the possi ility of attracting a wealthy man to move up in society& For this reason) virtually all the education and skill ac3uired y women in this time was focused on areas such as handwriting) music) and singing) which would attract a man and lead to ecoming a successful wife "Fanning%& +arriage was essential to the livelihood of all women& Some women may even marry solely to take the financial urden off the rest of their family) as 7harlotte does when she marries +r& 7ollins to prevent her rothers from having to support her& Without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony) marriage had always een her o (ect! "#usten $$:%& 6thers) such as the naive ;itty and 9ydia) are infatuated with the idea of marriage and practically stalk the soldiers who come through town) egging for their attention& 9ydia even disappears and goes off with the deceitful Wickham and eventually marries the man after compromising the family.s dignity& 9iving with a man outside of marriage in that time was highly frowned upon& When she does finally marry him) she flaunts her new status) saying to her elder sister) #h< 0ane) I take your place now) and you must go lower) ecause I am a married! "#usten :=>%&

Heather Wadsworth +ary) the plainest daughter) is in an entirely different situation and seems apathetic a out marriage& 'he novel suggests that she will not find a hus and due to her uninviting nature and ina ility to gra a man.s attention& 7learly) the survival of a female in this society is dependent on masculine approval and protection! "Wylie%& In order to find a suita le man) women must go out of their way to e social and attractive) which leads to a decrease of their power in the society& +rs& ,ennet revolves her life around creating marriage opportunities for her daughters) which makes her seem o no*ious and em arrassing) ut she is a product of a culture that re3uires marriage "+ullan et al&%& 'his culture creates ways for men to influence the thoughts and actions of women) ut some of the women have found ways to think independently& 6ne way for the female characters to escape male influence is through the attainment of privacy& 'hroughout the novel) the importance of having a space to retreat during emotional times is emphasi2ed y linking privacy with mental growth! "#lafaireet%& 1li2a eth gains privacy y going on walks) as she does after denying +r& -arcy.s initial marriage proposal& Similarly) 7harlotte.s marriage to the un eara le +r& 7ollins is tolerated through her decoration of their home to create a room where only she visits& 7reating privacy allows her to manage the conse3uences! "+ullen et al&% of marriage to such an unpleasant man& 'he physical spaces created y these women allow for contemplation and give them a necessary interruption from male influence& Having time away from the pressures of men allows these women to focus on their personal growth and creates the mental sta ility that leads to superior decision making& 1li2a eth) 0ane) and 7harlotte make rational decisions that cause them to ecome more accepted in society ut still allow them to e happy& 6ther characters) such

Heather Wadsworth as 9ydia and +rs& ,ennet) appear to lack privacy) which could e an influence on the poor) far less rational decisions they make) such as their lind approval of Wickham and 9ydia.s decision to run away with him& ,ut does the perspective from which the novel is told affect whether or not the reader la els a character as rational or powerful/ 'he plot of the story mainly follows 1li2a eth and focuses on her interactions with oth male and female characters& 'his perspective allows the reader to) for e*ample) follow 1li2a eth.s emotional (ourney as her initially incorrect perceptions of oth Wickham and -arcy are altered& Some of her initial pre(udice toward the upper class was lifted) ut she continued to have negative feelings toward many of the male characters and their perceived superiority& Had the novel followed the (ourney of a male character) such as -arcy or even +r& 7ollins) a much different perspective may have emerged& However) there were still times in the novel where the opinion of the author emerged) and these times helped to unify the novel in a way that strengthened the power gap etween genders "Wylie%& 'he true characteri2ation of the characters in the novel was also in part relayed y the large amounts of dialogue within the te*t& 'his makes 1li2a eth.s accounts less iased and gives a more accurate representation of the society) decreasing the influence of the gender of the narrator& In the novel) the men are given the power) and the women are tasked with chasing after the men with the most power& However) women retain the power to make final decisions for themselves) which is e*emplified y the 1li2a eth.s negative response to two marriage proposals& 7haracters such as 1li2a eth create as much power for their gender as possi le ut are still greatly limited y the male-dominated culture&

Heather Wadsworth The Search Reflections +y Isearch e*perience has increased my interest in the process of literary analysis and has allowed me to view the novel Pride and Pre(udice in an interesting and une*pected way& 9ooking at the novel through a feminine lens y mainly focusing on the im alance of power etween genders has altered my perception of the characters in the novel while increasing my appreciation for #usten.s work& 'his has led me to discover that the perspective through which one looks at a literary work has a large influence on the reader.s attitude toward it& 'he e*tensive research changed the way that I viewed not only this specific novel ut has caused me to re-evaluate other literary works I.ve een e*posed to in the past& I e*pect that it will also change my mindset as I read other novels in the future oth inside and outside of class& 'he various literary lenses are e*tremely interesting to me) and eing introduced to them may have increased my passion for reading& 'his independent novel pro(ect has also given me a desire to read more of #usten.s work) which I will likely independently criti3ue& +uch of the information I came across compared Pride and Pre(udice to other novels) such as Sense and Sensi ility) and I look forward to personally discovering some of the parallels drawn& 'he process of writing this paper itself was une*pectedly different from other assignments I.ve completed in the past& Prior to the paper) I didn.t have much e*perience with writing a literary analysis that was so e*tensive and research- ased) as most of the topics I had written a out were related to science& +y thesis) which studied the development of the societal favoring of and attri ution of power to men through the lifestyle) thoughts) and actions of the novel.s female characters) wasn.t similar to other topics I had concentrated on in the past& 'he internet was the main source of my

Heather Wadsworth information) and I was surprised to discover that data ases would also e so useful for the nature of this topic& I found that the methods of gathering research were different than previous assignments and a new process was needed to sort through and evaluate this type of information& However) I am glad to gain more e*perience with writing various types of papers) as this will e eneficial during later stages of my education& In the future) I will have more confidence with completing this type of assignment and might even e e*cited for the task&