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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Literature is the body of written works of a language, period, or culture. It is an

imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value. Literature must be an

analysis of experience and a synthesis of the findings into a unity. English literature is

previously known as Old English literature, or Anglo-Saxon literature, which encompasses

the surviving literature written in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England. After the settlement

of the Saxons and other Germanic tribes in England.After the Norman conquest of England in

1066, the written form of the Anglo-Saxon language became less common. Under the

influence of the new aristocracy, French became the standard language of courts, parliament,

and polite society. As the invaders integrated, their language and literature mingled with that

of the natives, and the Norman dialects of the ruling classes became Anglo-Norman. From

then until the 12th century Anglo-Saxon underwent a gradual transition into Middle

English.After William Caxton introduced the printing press in England in 1476, vernacular

literature flourished. The Reformation inspired the production of vernacular liturgy which led

to the Book of Common Prayer (1549), a lasting influence on literary language. The English

Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th to the

17th century.

During the 18th century literature reflected the worldview of the Age of

Enlightenment (or Age of Reason): a rational and scientific approach to religious, social,

political, and economic issues that promoted a secular view of the world and a general sense

of progress and perfectibility. Led by the philosophers who were inspired by the discoveries

of the previous century by people like Isaac Newton and the writings of Descartes, John

Locke and Francis Bacon. They sought to discover and to act upon universally valid
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principles governing humanity, nature, and society. They variously attacked spiritual and

scientific authority, dogmatism, intolerance, censorship, and economic and social restraints.

They considered the state the proper and rational instrument of progress. The extreme

rationalism and skepticism of the age led naturally to deism and also played a part in bringing

the later reaction of romanticism. The Encyclopaedia of Denis Diderot epitomized the spirit

of the age.

At the turn of the century, fired by ideas of personal and political liberty and of the

energy and sublimity of the natural world, artists and intellectuals sought to break the bonds

of 18thcentury convention. Although the works of Jean Jacques Rousseau and William

Godwin had great influence, the French Revolution and its aftermath had the strongest impact

of all. In England initial support for the Revolution was primarily utopian and idealist, and

when the French failed to live up to expectations, most English intellectuals renounced the

Revolution. However, the romantic vision had taken forms other than political, and these

developed apace.

In Lyrical Ballads (1798 and 1800), a watershed in literary history, William

Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge presented and illustrated a liberating aesthetic:

poetry should express, in genuine language, experience as filtered through personal emotion

and imagination; the truest experience was to be found in nature. The concept of the Sublime

strengthened this turn to nature, because in wild countrysides the power of the sublime could

be felt most immediately. Wordsworth's romanticism is probably most fully realized in his

great autobiographical poem, The Prelude (180550). In search of sublime moments,

romantic poets wrote about the marvelous and supernatural, the exotic, and the medieval. But

they also found beauty in the lives of simple rural people and aspects of the everyday world.
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The second generation of romantic poets included John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley,

and George Gordon, Lord Byron. In Keats's great odes, intellectual and emotional sensibility

merges in language of great power and beauty.Some of his most famous odes were Ode on a

Grecian Urn, Ode on Melancholy and Ode to a Nightingale. Shelley, who combined soaring

lyricism with an apocalyptic political vision, sought more extreme effects and occasionally

achieved them, as in his great drama Prometheus Unbound (1820). His wife, Mary

Wollstonecraft Shelley, wrote the greatest of the Gothic romances, Frankenstein (1818).

Lord Byron was the prototypical romantic hero, the envy and scandal of the age. He

has been continually identified with his own characters, particularly the rebellious, irreverent,

erotically inclined Don Juan. Byron invested the romantic lyric with a rationalist irony. Minor

romantic poets include Robert Southey best remembered today for his story Goldilocks and

the Three Bears. Some of the most famous writer during that time was Leigh Hunt, Thomas

Moore, and Walter Savage Landor.

The romantic era was also rich in literary criticism and other nonfictional prose.

Coleridge proposed an influential theory of literature in his Biographia Literaria (1817).

William Godwin and his wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, wrote ground breaking books on human,

and women's, rights. William Hazlitt, who never forsook political radicalism, wrote brilliant

and astute literary criticism. The master of the personal essay was Charles Lamb, whereas

Thomas De Quincey was master of the personal confession. The periodicals Edinburgh

Review and Blackwood's Magazine, in which leading writers were published throughout the

century, were major forums of controversy, political as well as literary.

Although the great novelist Jane Austen wrote during the romantic era, her work

defies classification. With insight, grace, and irony she delineated human relationships within

the context of English country life. Sir Walter Scott, Scottish nationalist and romantic, made
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the genre of the historical novel widely popular. Other novelists of the period were Maria

Edgeworth, Edward Bulwer Lytton, and Thomas Love Peacock, the latter noted for his

eccentric novels satirizing the romantics.

Jane Austen, who has recently enjoyed a world-wide vogue on film and television and

others. She is a fixed star in the firmament of the English novel, in many ways the most

perfect of all English novelists because she knew her own limitations and worked within

them.Jane Austen was born at Steventon on December 16, 1775, the youngest of seven

children. She received her education was scanty enough, by modern standards and at home.

Her father, the Reverend George Austen, held the two rectories of Deane and Steventon in

Hampshire, having been appointed to them by the favour of a cousin and an uncle. He thus

belonged to the gentry, and it seems likely that he entered the church more as a profession

than a vocation. He considered that he fulfilled his functions by preaching once a week and

administering the sacraments; and though he does not seem to have been a man of spiritual

gifts, the decent and dignified performance of these formal duties earned him the reputation

of a model pastor. His abundant leisure he occupied in farming the rectory acres, educating

his children, and sharing the social life of his class. The environment of refined worldliness

and good breeding thus indicated was that in which his daughter lived, and which she

pictured in her books.

Besides the usual elementary subjects, she learned French and some Italian, sang a

little, and became an expert needle-woman. Her reading extended little beyond the literature

of the eighteenth century, and within that period she seems to have cared most for the novels

of Richardson and Miss Burney, and the poems of Cowper and Crabbe. Dr. Johnson, too, she

admired, and later was delighted with both the poetry and prose of Scott. The first twenty five

years of her life she spent at Steventon; in 1801 she moved with her family to Bath, then a
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great center of fashion; after the death of her father in 1805, she lived with her mother and

sister, first at Southampton and then at Chawton.

She began to write as a teenager, though kept her work hidden from all but her

immediate family. Legend has it that while she was living with relatives after her fathers

death in 1805, she asked that a squeaky hinge on the rooms swinging door not be oiled. This

way, she would have enough time to hide her manuscripts before someone entered the room.

Although she never married, her letters to Cassandra and other writings reveal several

romantic entanglements, including a very brief engagement which lasted only one evening.

She moved several times around the English countryside, but information about her work is

somewhat sketchy.

Apart from a few visits to friends in London and elsewhere, and the vague report of a

love affair with a gentleman who died suddenly, there is little else to chronicle in this quiet

and uneventful life. But quiet and uneventful though her life was, it yet supplied her with

material for half a dozen novels as perfect of their kind as any in the language. Her brother

Henry helped her sell her first novel, SenseandSensibility, to a publisher in 1811. Her father

unsuccessfully tried to get a publisher to look at her novel First Impressions when she

completed it in 1797. This was the novel that later became Pride and Prejudice, and was

published in 1813 to highly favourable reviews. While still a young girl she had

experimented with various styles of writing, and when she completed Pride and Prejudice at

the age of twenty-two, it was clear that she had found her appropriate form. This novel, which

in many respects she never surpassed, was followed a year later by Northanger Abbey, a

satire on the Gothic romances then in vogue; and in 1809 she finished Sense and

Sensibility, begun a dozen years before. So far she had not succeeded in having any of her

works printed; but in 1811 Sense and Sensibility appeared in London and won enough
 6

recognition to make easy the publication of the others. Success gave stimulus, and between

1811 and 1816, she completed and Mansfield Park was published in 1814, and then Emma in

1816. Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were published together posthumously in December

1817 with a Biographical Notice written by her brother Henry, in which Jane Austen was, for

the first time in one of her novels, identified as the author.

The most remarkable characteristic of Jane Austen as a novelist is her recognition of

the limits of her knowledge of life and her determination never to go beyond these limits in

her books. She describes her own class, in the part of the country with which she was

acquainted; and both the types of character and the events are such as she knew from first-

hand observation and experience. But to the portrayal of these she brought an extraordinary

power of delicate and subtle delineation, a gift of lively dialogue, and a peculiar detachment.

She abounds in humour, but it is always quiet and controlled; and though one feels that she

sees through the affectations and petty hypocrisies of her circle, she seldom becomes openly

satirical. The fineness of her workmanship, unexcelled in the English novel, makes possible

the discrimination of characters that have outwardly little or nothing to distinguish them; and

the analysis of the states of mind and feeling of ordinary people is done so faithfully and

vividly as to compensate for the lack of passion and adventure. Her stories have the

exquisiteness of a fine miniature.Finally in 1816, she began to suffer from ill health. At the

time, it was thought to be consumption but it is now surmised to have been from Addisons

disease. She travelled to Winchester to receive treatment, and died there on July 18, 1817 at

age 41 and was buried in the cathedral.

Jane Austen had, as she was sure to have, a feeling for the beauties of nature. She

paints in glowing language the scenery. She speaks almost with rapture of a view which she

calls thoroughly English, though never having been out of England she could hardly judge of
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its scenery by contrast. She has a gift of telling a story in a way that has never been

surpassed. She rules her places, times, characters, and marshals them with unerring precision.

Her machinery is simple but complete; events group themselves so vividly and naturally in

her mind that, in describing imaginary scenes. The greatest minds, the most original, have the

least stamp of the age, the most of that dominant natural reality which belongs to all great

minds. To sentimentality Jane Austen was a foe. Antipathy to it runs through her works. She

had encountered it in the romances of the day.

Her most famous and well known novels which are published posthumously. They

areNorthanger Abbey was the first of Jane Austen's novels to be completed for publication,

but published after her death, at the end of 1817. The novel is a satire of the Gothic novels

popular at the time of its first writing in 1798to 1799. The heroine, Catherine, thinks life is

like a Gothic novel, but her real experiences bring her down to earth as an ordinary young

woman. The novel is more explicitly comic than her other works and contains many literary

allusions that her parents and siblings would have enjoyed, as a family entertainment and a

piece of light-hearted parody to be read aloud by the fireside. The novel names many of the

Gothic novels of that time and includes direct commentary by Austen on the value of novels,

which were not valued as much as nonfiction or historical fiction. As almost all her letters

were burned after her death, later scholars appreciate this insight into Austen's views.

Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published

anonymously; By A Lady appears on the cover page where the author's name might have

been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, both of age to marry.

The novel follows the young women to their new home with their widowed mother, a meagre

cottage on the property of a distant relative, where they experience love, romance and

heartbreak. The novel is set in southwest England, London and Sussex between 1792 and
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1797. The novel sold out its first print run of 750 copies in the middle of 1813, marking a

success for its author, who then had a second print run later that year. The novel continued in

publication throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

Mansfield Park is the third published novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1814.

The novel tells the story of Fanny Price starting when her overburdened family sends her at

age 10 to live in the household of her wealthy aunt and uncle, through to her marriage. The

novel was first published by Thomas Egerton. A second edition was published in 1816 by

John Murray, still within Austen's lifetime. The novel did not receive any critical attention

when it was initially published; the first particular notice was in 1821, in a positive review of

each of the published novels by Jane Austen. Two notable film versions of the novel were

released: Frances O'Connor starring in the lead role in the 1999 version co-starring Jonny Lee

Miller and followed by Billie Piper starring in the 2007 version for ITV1 co-starring Blake

Ritson.

Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The

novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the

concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian Regency England; she also

creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. In the first sentence, she introduces

the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." Emma is spoiled,

headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she

is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives; and her imagination and

perceptions often lead her astray. This novel has been adapted for several films, many

television programs, and a long list of stage plays.

Persuasion is the last novel fully completed by Jane Austen. It was published at the

end of 1817, six months after her death. The story concerns Anne Elliot, a young
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Englishwoman of 27 years, whose family is moving to lower their expenses and get out of

debt, at the same time as the wars come to an end, putting sailors on shore. They rent their

home to an Admiral and his wife. The wifes brother, Navy Captain Frederick Wentworth,

had been engaged to Anne in 1806, and now they meet again, both single and unattached,

after no contact in more than seven years. This sets the scene for many humorous encounters

as well as a second, well-considered chance at love and marriage for Anne Elliot in her

second "bloom".

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story

charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error

of making hasty judgements and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial

and the essential. The comedy of the writing lies in the depiction of manners, education, and

marriage and money in the British Regency. British Regencyis overlapped with her life and

writing career with one of the most transformative eras in British history, marked by

revolution abroad and unrest at home. The signing of the Declaration of Independence in

1776, the year after Austens birth, signalled the start of the American Revolution, followed

in the next decade by the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789. For the next two

decades, Britain was engaged almost without cease in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic

Wars of 17931815, one of the most significant conflicts in British history. Among the effects

of Englands foreign wars during this period were great financial instability and monetary

volatility. The precariousness of the late eighteenth-century was followed in the 1810s and

1820s by what is known as the Regency period. The Regency officially began in 1811, when

King George III went permanently insane and his son George, Prince of Wales, was

sanctioned to rule England in his place as Regent. The political Regency lasted until 1820,

when George IV was crowned. However, the Regency period has also come to refer more
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generally to the early decades of the nineteenth century before the start of Victorias reign in

1837, during which the Prince Regent provided a great deal of support for the development of

the arts and sciences that flourished during this period. Austen would have witnessed,

moreover, the beginning of industrialization in England, though the growth of the factory

system would not reach its peak until the middle of the nineteenth century. Outside of the

genteel world we see in Pride andPrejudice, a third of the countrys population lived on the

verge of starvation, spurring food riots across the countryside. This unrest was compounded

by Luddite protestors who attacked new industrial machinery a practice called machine

breaking in demonstrations that were a precursor to labour strikes. As these demonstrations

spread fear of a revolution in England, the government responded with repressive measures

that sharply curtailed freedom of speech.

Stretching over twenty-two years, Britains war with France affected every level of

British society. While an estimated quarter of a million men were serving in the regular army,

a militia of officers and volunteers in the southeast coast of England the region where Austen

was from mobilized for what was thought to be an impending invasion by Napoleon. Austen

had a close connection to the militia, as her brother Henry joined the Oxfordshire militia in

1793. Though the rural countryside in which Austens novels are set seems at a far remove

from the tumultuousness of the period, the world of Pride and Prejudice bears the traces of

turmoil abroad. It was the hum of wartime, if not the blast or cry of battle, pervades in

Austens fiction. The presences of the troops at Brighton and militia officers like Wickham

reflect wider concerns about the place of the military in English civil society.Britain was

transformed by the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century. Until then most people

lived in the countryside and made their living from farming. By the mid-19th century most
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people in Britain lived in towns and made their living from mining or manufacturing

industries.

Through this novel Jane Austen depicts that the rights, status and need of education

for women. This becomes the major theme of the novel. It can be clearly know through some

evident. It seems unlikely that Austen would make them the mouthpieces for her own

opinions. If Austen is equivocal about women's political equality, however, she insists on

their intellectual equality. At the time of the novel, the education of gentlewomen was

intended to equip them to be good wives, and it emphasized decorative arts and household

management. Bingley mockingly describes the conventional accomplishments of women as

painting tables and netting purses; his sister Caroline rejoins that a truly accomplished

woman must also have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the

modern languages. By these standards, Lizzy is undistinguished: she has neither been to a

women's boarding school nor had a governess; her musical performance is "pleasing, but by

no means capital"; and she astonishes Lady Catherine with the admission that she cannot

draw. Nonetheless, when she asks Darcy what attracted him to her, he responds, "the

liveliness of your mind, I think." When Lizzy rejects Collins's marriage proposal, he simply

cannot believe she is serious, ascribing her refusal to the "wish of increasing my love by

suspense, according to the usual practice of elegant females." In reply, she says, "Do not

consider me now as an elegant female . . . but as a rational creature." (67). Most critics agree

that the phrase rational creature intentionally employs terminology Mary Wollstonecraft

introduced in her seminal feminist tract AVindication of the Rights of Women. The exchange

would then explicitly reject the conventional view of women as nothing more than

contestants in the marriage lottery, armed only with studied coquettishness and the ability to

knit purses.
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CHAPTER II

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

Perhaps the most famous opening lines from any nineteenth-century novel are the

opening lines to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged,

that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. (2). These

words are spoken by Mrs. Bennet to Mr. Bennet on the news that a gentleman of fortune has

just moved to Netherfield Park, a nearby estate. The Bennets begin this story with a peculiar

problem: they have fiveunmarried daughters and no sons. Their estate is entailed, or restricted
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in inheritance, to Mr. Collins, a familycousin. Upon Mr. Bennet's death, Mr. Collins will

inherit the family lands, which will leave the Bennetdaughters without a home or money. It

becomes vital; therefore, that at least one of the daughters marries wellin order to support and

house their sisters (and mother if she is still alive) should they not be able to marry.

Shortly after arriving alone, Bingley brings to Netherfield his two sisters, Miss

Bingley and Mrs. Hurst; hisbrother-in-law, Mr. Hurst; and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who also

happens to be wealthy and unmarried. Notwanting to miss a favourable introduction to their

new neighbours, Mrs. Bennet pleads with Mr. Bennet to callon Bingley so that she can begin

introducing her daughters to him. Initially Mr. Bennet refuses to play anypart in matching any

one of his daughters with Bingley. He tells his wife that if she is so intent on meeting

thenewcomers at Netherfield, she must visit Bingley herself. However, prudent manners

forbade a woman to callon a strange man, making Mrs. Bennet powerless to begin the

process which she hopes will lead to a marriagebetween one of her daughters and Bingley.

Following the pronouncement that Mr. Bennet refuses to call onBingley, Mrs. Bennet

despairs that her daughters will never be able to meet with the eligible bachelor. Yet

Mr.Bennet does call on Bingley, beginning the family's acquaintance with him. He takes

ironic pleasure insurprising Mrs. Bennet with the news after letting her believe that he would

not call on him.

The Bennet girls meet the Netherfield party for the first time at a small ball. Bingley

proves to be personableand polite to the local folk, making him instantly well-liked. Darcy,

while handsome and noble looking,appears proud and indifferent to participating in the

activities of the evening or even socializing with the other guests. The eldest daughter, Jane,

is instantly drawn to Bingley, and he seems equally attracted to her. Jane isportrayed as

gentle, unselfish, and very mannerly. Elizabeth is also well mannered, but possesses a very
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sharpwit and refuses to be intimidated by anyone. Inclined to be protective of Jane and her

family, she nonethelessrecognizes the faults of her parents and other sisters. At the assembly,

because of a shortage of men whodance, Elizabeth is left sitting. She overhears Bingley

encouraging Darcy to dance, suggesting that he askElizabeth. Elizabeth, thoughinsulted,

refuses to give Darcy's comment any weight, instead telling the story to all her friends and

ridiculinghis pretentious behaviour.

Jane and Bingley's relationship continues to deepen during family visits, balls, and

dinners. His sisters pretendto like Jane, but are appalled by her mother's vulgarities, her

younger sisters' wild, loose manners, and theirlower economic position among the landed

gentry. They find great amusement in making fun of the Bennetsbehind Jane's back. A

particular point of hilarity stems from the way Kitty and Lydia chase after the youngmilitary

officers stationed locally.

Jane rides on horseback through a rainstorm in acceptance of an invitation from the

Bingley sisters. Sheconsequently catches cold and must stay at Netherfield until she is well,

much to Mrs. Bennet's delight.Thinking her sister might need attending; Elizabeth goes to

stay with Jane until she is well. Darcy soon beginsto demonstrate an interest in Elizabeth,

making Miss Bingley jealous, as she has hopes of marrying himherself. In fact, Miss Bingley

has a right to worry, as Darcy notes to him.

Soon Jane is well and returns home. Another visitor arrives in the person of Mr.

Collins. He is a clergymanand will be the inheritor of the Bennet estate upon Mr. Bennet's

death. Thinking himself generous, he decidesto try to marry one of the Bennet daughters, so

that any unmarried daughter will still be able to live at thefamily estate. His patroness, Lady

Catherine de Bourgh, who is also Darcy's aunt, has urged him to marry. He gave the idea of

education for women within Pride and Prejudice seems to focus around the idea of the
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accomplished woman. Characters have highly differing opinions on what it means for a

woman to be educated, and how this education plays a role in her role within society.

In a conversation with the Bingley siblings and Mr Darcy, Elizabeth Bennett faces a

variety of definitions for an educated woman. Charles Bingley, in accordance with his genial

personality, claims that he is sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time,

without being informed that she was very accomplished, (39). Darcy, on the other hand,

cannot boast of knowing more than half a dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance,

that are really accomplished, (39) echoing the high standards of the Miss Bingley when it

comes to identifying the various skills that accomplished women might possess. The list Miss

Bingley provides includes a number of artistic capabilities, along with a certain something in

her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, (39).The

accomplished woman in Pride and Prejudice has standards defined by sectors of society.

None of the Bennet family conforms to these until faced with a larger segment of society, and

primarily those of higher social status. To be an educated woman means to have proper

manners and know one's place in the stratified social structure. The title of accomplishment in

the eyes of women, however, varies from one woman to another, as well as between social

classes. To Mrs. Bennet, a woman has reached a status of accomplishment when she has

found a suitable man to wed. Her intentions to have each of her daughters married off are

clear from the onset of the novel, when the narrator suggests that "the business of her life was

to get her daughters married," (7).On the other hand, to Elizabeth Bennet, accomplishment is

based in wit and freethinking. She learns to take on better manners when she is faced with

people of higher social standing, such as the Bingleys. To Lady Catherine, a woman of high

social standing, accomplishment means knowing one's place in society and acting

accordingly. Accomplishment, therefore, is solely a symbol of status to Lady Catherine.

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Because the Bennets are of a lower class, she knows they will act differently, and she calls

attention to these dissimilarities to make the girls feel humiliation.

While attributes admired in males are those of sensibility, good manners, and

liveliness, those sought in women are almost entirely related to their position on the social

ladder. To Mr. Bingley, female accomplishment is found in their ability in hobbies considered

feminine, such as the ability to "paint tables, cover screens and net purses. [He] scarcely

[knows] anyone who cannot do all this..." (39). Therefore, Mr. Bingley sees feminine

accomplishment outside of her inherent qualities and actions in front of others; he sees

accomplishment as a woman's artistic and wifely endeavors.

In reference to Jessica's final question, I see the notion of accomplishment as uniquely

female because of their status in relation to men. Because women are seeking husbands (for

example, as seen through Mrs. Bennet's hopes), they are the gender which must put on an act

of being accomplished- whatever "accomplishment" means to the character personally, or as a

member of her social class.

The title of accomplishment reflects ones social status in society; the more capable a

woman is, the more wealth and fortune she is certain to come from. Ironically, Lady

Catherine, who possesses a huge amount of money and holds incredibly high standards of

accomplishment, makes a fool out of herself when she confronts Lizzy about her engagement

to Mr. Darcy. Elizabeths wit and logic is upstanding, as illustrated with her quick retorts and

lack of fallacies. Thus, through this encounter, Austen makes an insightful social critique:

ones classification in society does not necessarily reflect high moral fiber or character.

In relation to Jessicas last question, I think the lack of reference to the education of

men portrays the assumed nature of schooling and learning in relation to gender. For women

during the time, being educated depended upon financial capacity for a governess, etc. Men,
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on the other hand, were provided with first class treatment when it came to ascertaining

means to learn and prosper. Since men were considered to be the breadwinners and caretakers

of their wives and families, they were automatically given the right to education. Men,

therefore, are already accomplished because of their sex. Women, comparatively, must work

to prove their worth through commendable completion of domestic and aesthetic tasks. This

struggle to showcase their talents due to financial barriers, familial situations, or unrealistic

standards, places women as second-class citizens in 18th century society, and confines them

within stagnant, submissive, and stereotypical gender roles.

Throughout Pride and Prejudice, the futures of women are almost completely dictated

by men. Women do not have the rights or the opportunity to live free of patriarchy. Evidence

is in the future of the Bennet estate. Mrs. Bennet urges Elizabeth to accept Mr. Collins

proposal because he is the legal inheritor. To be accomplished makes a woman noteworthy

and therefore more likely to attract a husband. As wealth and education or accomplishment

appears to go hand in hand, an accomplished woman is more likely to have upward social

mobility than a woman who is not.

An accomplished woman is someone who has excelled in or attempted to better

themselves in some way. This could be through formal education or by learning more about

the world, art, music, or books. Whether a woman is accomplished or not has a direct effect

on their social status and vice versa. A woman who belongs to a high social class, and comes

from a family with significant wealth, has more opportunities for accomplishment than a

woman from a lower class. A woman who is accomplished would be a desirable wife to a

wealthy, socially powerful man, in turn guaranteeing that the accomplished woman would

marry into wealth and remain in the upper classes. Since men are in control of money, being

accomplished is really one of the only things that a woman could offer a potential match or
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husband. Accomplishments other than wealth are not really important for men to achieve.

Less accomplished women would be less desirable, because not having accomplishments

gives an indication of where they stand in society and their lack of money and proper

connections.

The link between ones accomplishment and social status is proven by Elizabeth

during the scene that Jess describes, especially when she says, I am no longer surprised at

you knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing anyI

never saw such a woman, I never saw such a capacity, and taste, and application, and

elegance, as you describe, united (39). Before Elizabeth had entered the room to have that

conversation about accomplishment, everyone had been talking about how unkempt and

improper she was after she trekked miles through the mud to take care of her sisters.

According to Darcy, Elizabeths family connections, very materially lessen their [the Bennet

sisters] chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world (37). The fact that Darcy

and the others ideas of accomplishment are unfamiliar and foreign to Elizabeth shows that

she is from a lower class than they are and reinforces the fact that she does not have good

connections.

The stark contrast between the Bennet sisters and Lady Catherine emphasizes the

connection between education and wealth that many have discussed in the previous posts.

While a formal education is meant to instill a specific set of values into students in this era,

the Bennet sisters exemplary conduct in the novel shake the very foundation of values that

society holds important. Formally educated, Lady Catherine is supposed to serve as a

representative of propriety and intellect. Instead, she acts condescending, self-entitled and

simply rude conduct during her visit to the Bennet household. It is clear through her behavior

that society places greater importance on the accumulation and attainment of material
 19

possessions than on gentility and niceties. Elizabeth Bennets society is filled with masks and

artificiality. Those who self-proclaim their formal education and intelligence often act in

unethical ways. The Bennet sisters, on the other hand, are completely lacking in formal

education. Their hands are not well practiced in piano, but Jane and Elizabeth constantly

prove themselves to be first class in character. Setting Elizabeth up as the moral powerhouse

of the novel is the only way Austen can justify her marriage to Darcy. Since Elizabeth is

lacking in family connections and monetary value, her strong-willed, ethical character

justifies marrying up the social and economic ladder.

Education in the largest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on

the mind, character or physical ability of an individual. In its technical sense, education is the

process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values

from one generation to another. Woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing,

drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word. To which Darcys replies

and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind

by extensive reading. (25).

For women of the "genteel" classes the goal of non-domestic education was thus often

the acquisition of "accomplishments", such as the ability for needlework, simple arithmetic to

draw, fine hand writing, sing, play music, or speak modern i.e. non-Classical languages

generally French and Italian. Though it was not usually stated openly, the purpose of such

accomplishments was often only to attract a husband; so that these skills then tended to be

neglected after marriage. Until well into the nineteenth century education was not considered

necessary, in fact it was felt to be rather a hindrance to their settlement in life. It was all the

more cumbersome for women as academically oriented young girls were not preferred in

matrimony. The type of education depended on the preferences and financial resources of the
 20

parents in each family. Thus without Darcy's father's help, Wick hams father ". . . would have

been unable to give him a gentleman's education."(117). Education for boys in her novels is

more elaborate than that of girls and usually proceeds from a private tutor to public school

and university. went to Steven ton to be tutored with Jane Austen's father. Lady Catherine de

Bourgh is quite understandably shocked when Elizabeth tells her that they never had any

governess, so Elizabeth had to admit "Compared with some families, I believe we were; but

such of us as wished to learn never wanted the means. We were always encouraged to read,

and had all the masters that were necessary. Those who chose to be idle certainly might."

(98).

Moreover, it can be remarked that Austen uses language very playfully. She not only

employs different narrative techniques but also chooses her vocabulary delicately in order to

establish an ironic view. Even on the first page of Pride and Prejudice, an ironic word game

can be observed: Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way! You take

delight in vexing me. You have no compassion on my poor nerves. You mistake me, my

dear. I have a high respect for your nerves.

They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these

twenty years at least. (4). The conversation about Mrs Bennets nerves might be interpreted

that Mr Bennet cares for her wifes nerves. On the other hand, it can be concluded from Mr

Bennets words that Mrs Bennet has been repeatedly complaining about her nerves since they

got married, his wifes mentioning of her nerves all the time is not only ridiculous and funny

but also tiring for Mr. Bennet.

Consequently, it is clear that playing on the words to manipulate different meanings is

Austens instrument by which she draws the readers attention. Marsh makes a further

commentary about the function of this type of irony as: Jane Austen does not tell in a single
 21

view; she gives a several different views, which often seem contradictory, and she makes to

think about them without resolving them.

Furthermore, since Austen narrates her stories from several points of view, it can be

suggested that she has multiple visions in her works, which convey her message of female

identity. The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice reveals a social belief. It is a truth

universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a

wife. That is, a wealthy man is expected to get married. However, the sentence reflects both

the societys view and Austens ironic attitude towards the social obligations.

However, Austen criticises this belief in Pride and Prejudice with the help of

Elizabeths refusal of Mr Collins proposal. Elizabeth rejects Mr. Collins because she has no

feelings for him. It is clear that Elizabeths denial makes her a brave girl however; her mother

needs to warn Elizabeth. Furthermore, married couples might be categorized as couples of

romantic marriages and couples of material marriages. In order to disclose the disparity

between the matrimonial standards of the era and the factual spirit of marriage, Austen

generates these two types of couples Elizabeth and Mr Darcy and Jane and Mr Bingley

are the merry couples of the novel. They establish their marriages not only on wealth and

status, but also on love and respect. Morris observes that with the help of these couples,

Austen ironically implies the ultimate goal of marriage. In their marriages, romantic love is

represented as a magical transformation in the lives of the heroes and the heroines. In other

words, in their marriages, family authority, social status and economic considerations are

supported by romance. It can be concluded that marriage for both Elizabeth and Jane shifts

from a material alignment into a way of expressing their desire and femininity.

On the other hand, the marriages Charlotte and Mr Collins and Lydia and Mr

Wickham are due to financial reasons. Mr Collins existing richness makes him an
 22

appropriate match for Charlotte. In their conversation with Elizabeth after her engagement

with Mr Collins, she makes her reasons clear for such a marriage. It is obvious that,

Charlottes words summarize the beliefs in Austens time about the reasons to get married. In

the eighteenth century middle class society, for Charlotte and for many of other girls, if a man

had pleasant qualities, a woman was expected to be happy with him. However, Elizabeth is

totally against the way Charlotte approaches marriage. She believes that marrying a man like

Mr. Collins who is conceited, pompous, narrow-minded and silly in order to feel safe in the

future degrades a womans self-respect: She had always felt that Charlottes opinion of

matrimony was not exactly like her own, but she could not have supposed it possible that

when called into action, she would have sacrificed every better feeling to worldly advantage.

Charlotte, the wife of Mr. Collins, was a most humiliating picture! (101).

Elizabeth displays that Charlottes basis for marriage is merely wealth-orientated,

which devaluates the nature of love and marriage. Thus, since Charlotte marries to Mr Collins

gain a worldly advantage, Elizabeth regards her behaviour as something that humiliates

ones own dignity. Similarly, Lydia and Mr Wickhams marriage is materialistic because it is

established on receiving benefits. Although they have eloped, Wickham would not show any

interest to get married to Lydia. Indeed, Mr Darcy persuades Wickham to marry Lydia by

giving him a certain amount of money that is enough to pay all his debts. Since Wickham

was not the young man to resist an opportunity of having a companion (244), he accepts

this marriage. However, it is ironic that Lydia knows nearly nothing about Mr. Wickham and

she thinks that he has a large fortune and high status: He was her dear Wickham on every

occasion; no one was to be put in competition with him (244). The only thing that she has in

mind is that she has managed to conclude her elopement with a man by marrying him long

before her elder sisters get married. As a result, she is really proud of herself.
 23

Lady Catherine Lucas who is Mr Darcys aunt, reflects how upper-class people

believe that they have a right to control everything in the society. For example, after hearing

the rumour about the engagement of Mr Darcy and Elizabeth, she asks Elizabeth to stop her

relationship with her nephew because she believes that the best match for Mr Darcy is her

own daughter: I will not be interrupted! Hear me in silence. My daughter and my nephew are

formed for each other. They are descended, on the maternal side, from the same noble line;

and, on the fathers from respectable, honourable, and ancient, though untitled families. Their

fortune on both sides is splendid. They are destined for each other by the voice of every

member of their houses; and what is to divide them? The upstart pretensions of a young

woman without family, connections and fortune. Is this to be endured? In marrying your

nephew I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman; and I am a

gentlemans daughter: so far we are equal. (274).

It is clear that Lady Lucas reflects the importance of class in the society when she

attacks Elizabeth and, the Bennet family. However, Elizabeth points to the importance of

personality. For Elizabeth and for Austen, having a genteel character is better than

belonging to an upper class. Moreover, apart from criticising the aristocracy, Austen deals

with the legal problems of women such as inheritance in Pride and Prejudice. The Bennet

girls legally own nothing after their fathers death. Mrs Bennets obsession to find wealthy

sons-in-law is due to the difficulties related to inheritance. That is because, in accordance

with eighteenth century laws, women could not have their own property. Thus, since the

Bennets have no son, when Mr Bennet dies, all his property will pass on to his nearest male

relative who is Mr Collins. In chapter seven, before Mr Collins appears in the novel, Austen

describes the situation as: Mr Bennets property consisted almost entirely in an estate of two

thousands a year which, unfortunately for his daughters, was entailed, in default of heirs
 24

male, on a distant relation; and their mother mothers fortune, though ample for her situation

in life, could but ill supply the deficiency of his.

In other words, since women could not own any property by law, only sons of a

family were to provide their mother and unmarried sisters with allowance, bed and board

after the fathers death. Thus, it is obvious that the laws did not give any value to women but

considered them as a property of men; husbands or brothers. Mrs Bennet reacts against the

laws hopelessly by describing them as the cruelty of setting an estate away from a family of

five daughters (50). As a result, Austen focuses on the absurdity of laws by employing

problems related to inheritance that forces women to get married to insure their future.

Elizabeth always possesses respectful manners in her interactions with the others.

Nevertheless, while dancing with Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield ball, she orders him to speak.

It is your turn to say something now, Mr. Darcy talked about the dance and you ought to

make some kind of remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples. (74). It is quite

unconventional for an eighteenth century woman to initiate a conversation. However,

Elizabeth refuses the silence and the secondary place of women that is forced on them by the

society. Moreover, she has enough courage to talk about her own thoughts and wishes in life

unlike the conservative ladies of the era. Similarly, YasmineGoonerate describes Elizabeths

independence as Elizabeths views on marriage, on society, and her own position in society

reflect her independent spirit and her critical intelligence, and they are masked ( for her own

safety) behind the external surface of good manners, polite acquiescence to her superiors in

age and status, and her feminine difference that society expect to see.

However, although she has a certain sense of propriety most of the times, Elizabeth

sometimes forgets the social responsibilities of the era mostly because of her sisterly
 25

affections. Therefore, it can be said that she gives greater importance to what is sympathetic

and necessary than the pure propriety. For instance, when she hears that Jane is ill at

Netherfield, she walks there in order to see her sister. Going from one estate to another on

foot is totally absurd according to the daily conventions of the era. Thus, when Elizabeth tells

how she will go to see Jane, Mrs. Bennet finds her idea completely ridiculous. Her reaction to

Elizabeth reveals the significance of social obligations among the neighbours: How can you

be so silly cried her mother as to think such a thing, in all this dirt! You will not be fit to be

seen when you get there. I shall be fit to see Jane which is all I want. (27).

It is clear that Austen makes use of the culture of women in expressing female voice

in her novels. Therefore, it is inevitable that sisterhood is vital to dramatize the solidarity of

women among themselves. Likewise, as Kaplan remarks that emotional intimacy and

frankness characterize the relationship of Elizabeth with the other ladies in the novel,

especially with Jane. Elizabeth and Jane have such closeness and backing that Elizabeth can

even understand Janes feelings by simply observing her manners. When she sees the

expression on Janes face in a crowded ballroom, Elizabeth instantly read her feelings (77).

The relationship between these two sisters is mutual because they empathize with one

another. Therefore, it is not strange to see Elizabeth walking three miles to Bingleys house,

after she learns that Jane is ill.

Furthermore, another feature that makes Elizabeth an unconventional heroine is her

awareness of her own soul as a woman. In other words, she gives importance to reflecting her

thoughts and feelings, and thinks critically about the place of women in society. She has

positive attitudes and affections towards femininity and has a talent to express her feminine

identity in society. Those qualities of Elizabeth discriminate her from the other heroines of

the novel. For example, the conversation between Elizabeth, Miss. Bingley and Mr. Darcy
 26

about what should be the exact features of a woman, properly demonstrates their different

points of view about female identity. Elizabeth refuses the ideas and conventions of the

society that disregard womens place and value. On the contrary, Miss. Bingley accepts these

values of society with a strong belief in their function and necessity.

What Elizabeth tries to express is indeed their artificiality while describing a ladys

characteristics. It is obvious that Elizabeth disagrees with Miss. Bingley and Mr. Darcy

because she thinks no woman can fit in with their criteria. Her intervention implies that all

those features in their lists do not aim at improving womens image in the society. Rather,

they reflect their conventional view of how a lady should be in order to be accepted in society

as a good wife. Moreover, Miss. Bingleys very last remark about Elizabeth that she intends

to draw mens attention by talking so unconventionally is indeed a sign of her narrow-minded

conduct. Miss. Bingleys harsh criticism reveals the attitude towards independent women in

society. She intentionally puts Elizabeth in an odd woman out situation due to her own

delusions about feminine ideal and value. The clear comparison of Miss. Bingley and

Elizabeth Bennet gives clues about how Austen constructs her characters. Her characters have

a double-sided vision in order to reflect all the facets of a conservative society.

Moreover, with the help of this double vision, Austen satirizes the problems both

about and within the females. Likewise, Marsh observes that the list of qualities which

women are expected to carry according to Miss. Bingley and Mr. Darcy includes different

criteria. Physical feminine features such as the certain something in the air and manner of

walking are combined with learned information knowledge of modern languages. Yet,

when their own internal features are considered, the views expressed by them seem to have

no ground (134).
 27

Apart from all these qualities, another important notion about Elizabeth that makes

her an independent heroine is that she is aware of the fact that being a man in itself creates

the opportunity for the power in male dominated societies. For sure, this chance is

something that women cannot possess. Elizabeth reacts against this discrimination by

talking and expressing her own ideas liberally. For instance, while talking with Colonel

Fitzwilliam, she openly states her ideas about Mr. Darcy. She believes that gentlemen like Mr.

Darcy gain particular advantages in the society only due to their gender. Besides, she

criticises those advantages.

Austen criticizes the inequality between genders by drawing attention to the rights and

opportunities that men have in society. Elizabeths observations about the privileges of Mr.

Darcy over Miss. Darcy reveal the supremacy of males. Similarly, Deborah Kaplan observes

that in order to convey an awareness of sexual inequality and overt expression of its

unfairness, the heroine speaks with a female voice (189). Thus, it can be concluded that

Austen makes use of the problems about the power struggles between genders in her novels

so as to generate an appreciation for the equality between sexes. That is why, Elizabeth acts

beyond the fixed roles of her era and questions the injustice between the rights that men and

women possess in the society.

On the other hand, like many of Austens heroines, Elizabeth is not infallible. She

makes mistakes throughout the novel while being internally educated. In other words,

Elizabeths profound pride that is observed at the beginning of Pride and Prejudice shifts to a

mood of respect at the end of the novel. Likewise, Goonerate affirms that conscious of her

intelligence and proud of her critical eye, Elizabeth thinks too well of her own judgements.

As a result, she makes mistakes. However, her faults are not faults of character, rather they

are the faults of judgement. Elizabeth is morally superior to her society despite her faults.
 28

That is because she does not accept the fixed roles assigned to women by society. In

other words, living in a male dominated society leads to an excessive pride in Elizabeths

character as a way of struggling with the problems of suppressed femininity. However, at the

end of the novel, Elizabeth realizes her own delusions and develops a more conscious female

voice.

Elizabeths independent and questioning mind is presented in contrast to Janes

trusting and objective conduct. Similarly, both sisters have sincerity, and they both share

the same prejudice. Yet, Jane Bennet is more tender-hearted than Elizabeth Bennet. It is

clear that Elizabeth is very much fond of her sister. With the help of their relationship, Austen

points out the significance of female solidarity (36). Janes candid personality is crucial in the

novel when Elizabeth needs to be comforted. For example, Elizabeth feels frustrated after

Jane and Bingleys argument and Charlottes decision about marrying Mr. Collins. However,

Jane tries to cheer her up: The more I see the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and

everyday confirms my belief in the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little

dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense. My dear Lizzy, do

not give way to such feelings as these. They will ruin your happiness. You do not make

allowance enough for difference of situation and temper. (107)

In other words, the relationship between Elizabeth and Jane demonstrates the

importance of sisterhood and the womens effect on one another. Another woman whom

Elizabeth cares for a lot is Charlotte Lucas. Since Elizabeth has a more open state of mind,

she criticises Charlottes consideration of marriage as insurance. Apparently, the counter

views of these two close ladies about marriage reflect the different views of women about the

need for marriage. Although Charlotte is a sensible, good-natured lady, she has deficiencies in

terms of gaining a female voice. That is the result of her fear about the future. As a middle-
 29

aged lady, the only way to ensure her future life depends on marrying a suitable man. This is

how the narrator gives Charlottes feelings as: Her reflections were in general satisfactory.

Mr. Collins, to be sure, was neither sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his

attachment to her must be imaginary. But still, he would be her husband. Without thinking

highly either of man and matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only

honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune, and however

uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest preservative from want. (98).

It is obvious that Charlotte feels uncertain about her future. Therefore, as a

conventional lady, she thinks that the only way of guaranteeing her future is marrying. Austen

exemplifies properly the social pressure over women, which disregards feminine identity,

with the help of Charlottes marriage. Apart from Jane and Charlotte, Lydia is another

significant female figure as a foil to Elizabeth. She is the counter-heroine of the novel who

symbolizes the results of the lack of female education. Lydia Bennet simply thinks about

satisfying her needs and she does not care about the propriety of her behaviours. Her

elopement with Wickham evidently shows how she disrespects her own identity as a woman.

She ignores her own morality by being involved in such a disgraceful action. Thus, the

difference between Elizabeths and Lydias independence is clear. Elizabeth chooses to act

autonomously as a reaction against the patriarchy. On the contrary, Lydias independence is

completely for personal satisfaction. Likewise Alistair Duckworth points out that Lydias

youth and her animal spirit form her chief attraction and her judgment. She is too immature to

be expected to make moral decisions. Therefore, a moral contrast is drawn in Pride and

Prejudice between Lydia and Elizabeth in both maturity and intelligence (98).

The main issue highlighted jocularly in the novel, that of matrimony in the English

society and the dependence of women on making suitable alliances to maintain or better their
 30

social standing, was rooted in the lack of a proper education for women. More than education

it was accomplishments that women of upper or middle-class family aimed at,

accomplishments in embroidery or music or painting. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth

Bennet is frivolously dismissive of her accomplishment in playing the piano which is

exhibited in her reticence to practice diligently. This dismissal is both her and her creators

way of stating that little value such accomplishment added to the person concerned. Bennett

sisters Jane and Elizabeth reflect the kind of education and exposure Austen and her sister

had received in their girlhood. After boarding school, which was the most any woman of her

day had access to, Jane Austen returned home to be self-tutored, to learn in the company of

her father and brothers, with unfettered access to a well stuffed home library and in an

environment where political or social debate was freely permitted. Extensive reading and

responding to what is read, was the larger part of her education. Elizabeth Bennet and to

some extent, Jane Bennet are shown to benefit from a similar extensive reading and debating

faculty, nurtured by their father, Mr. Bennet. However the two younger sisters are shown to

lack both the interest and scope of such education, with a nearly equitable difference from

their elder sisters in their outlook to life or responding to the complexities of living.

In Pride and Prejudice Austen gives her heroine, Elizabeth, high spirit and courage,

wit and readiness, good sense and right feeling. She is manifestly superior to the people in her

environment. She perfectly deals with her own love and marriage, and gets her real happiness

in the end. Elizabeth Bennet is Austens favourite character. Austen embodies her personal

value in her heroine and is delighted with the result. Lydia and Kitty are also high spirited but

does that high spirit reflect in endeavours of value.

Finally, in privileging education over nature, Austen constructs Elizabeth Bennet as a

literary heroine rather than a romance heroine, who goes through a phase of self-awareness,
 31

to realize her shortcomings of pride (on her superior intellect) and her prejudices (against

Darcy and for Wickham) to better herself and resolve the conflict in the plot to a happy

ending. Still if there be a shred of confusion in this reading of Austens scheme of things,

which is in the person of Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte with both her natural goodness and her

educational attainments is shown to disadvantage her own prospects to serve those of

Elizabeth. This is a bit confusing to our understanding of Austen to privilege education over

nature, unless we assume that Elizabeth being her favourite, Austen willingly allows her to

outshine all others and ascribe a minor insignificance to Charlotte, even at the cost of her own

plan to speak positively for education.

CHAPTER III

CONCLUSION

Jane Bennet is also endowed with good sense and charm, a veritable mix of good

nature and sensibility too. However, somewhere to a subtle degree Janes good nature is

offset by Lizzys keener intellect, and similarly compared are Bingley and Darcy. With all

good nature and good intentions, Bingley is pliable and overshadowed by his friend Darcy-

and is quite incapable to be independent and decisive or act in accordance to his nature and

understanding. Thus, Bingleys natural goodness, kindness and other virtues are easily

maligned by the shrewdness or crudity of his sisters or the prejudices of Darcy. Even though

Bingleys good nature easily enables him to outshine his friend at first impression, the sense

of value and a consistence in thought and behaviour that education imparts is surely lacking
 32

in him, and in which skills the more educated Darcy seems to be better equipped. The good

natured couple Jane and Bingley are incapacitated not only by their inability to clearly weigh

the merits of their relationship against their loyalty to family and friend and decide the right

course of action. They may have by their conjugal union in turn resolved the prejudiced

debacle between Darcy and Elizabeth too- but rather it is left for the latter couple to resolve

and establish their supremacy, which definitely seems to be Austens way of indicating once

more, the supremacy of faculty got from better education.

This shows that societys perception of womens education at the time was largely

negative; to have a cultivated mind was to attract a malignant eye. If a woman had good

sense, she had to temper it to not appear smarter than the men in her circle, and if she had

formal education beyond what a standard finishing school would provide, it was regarded as

a shameful secret that was to be guarded at all costs. The view was that a womans first

priority in life was to secure a husband and maintain domestic felicity;;a cultivated

understanding not only interfered with that aim by distracting women from domestic tasks,

but was detrimental in that it drove potential husbands from their company. Educated women,

therefore, seemed almost unacceptable in Jane Austens time.

Another much-debated topic in the scope of womens education during the late 1700s

and early 1800s was wit. Austen does not engage with this topic often, although several of her

characters display wit. However, it is important to understand what precepts women faced in

order to fully comprehend the lack of appreciation for educated, autonomous women. The

term wit encompassed qualities such as vivacity in speech, quickness in reply, and overall

cleverness of the woman. Far from being qualities that were sought out and appreciated by

men, wit in a woman was something that was undesirable.

 33

Womens education during Jane Austens time was defined primarily by these

moralists, who commented on specific habits and characteristics a woman must practice to be

dutiful to their husbands and to God. Women often receive a small education at a finishing

school, but this traditional education largely provided women only with skills necessary to

attract men and become wives. The traditional portrayal of a womans education did not

extend beyond the realm of her domestic duties. However, Jane Austens novels provide a

comprehensive social commentary on the state of womens education and a progressive view

of what a womans education should include. Her six novels, when examined chronologically

in a larger context, reveal an holistic interpretation of what a womans education should be in

order for the woman to improve herself and her society. She provides social commentary on

the idea that accomplishments were methods to ensnare quality husbands, and ultimately

demonstrates that the goal of education is social mobility and the ability to improve ones

place in society through gaining respect.

In Pride and Prejudice, taste is only mentioned in relation to Lady Catherines love of

music and her boast that she has excellent taste. Instead, the novel centers around the idea of

accomplishments as tasks that women perform to demonstrate their superiority in society.

Lady Catherine interrogates Elizabeth Bennet about her various accomplishments and is

stunned to learn that she never had a formal governess to teach her drawing, piano, or other

skills deemed necessary to genteel ladies. Lady Catherine declares, I always say that

nothing is to be done in education without steady and regular instruction, and nobody but a

governess can give it (191). While Elizabeth appears to have the bare minimum of

accomplishments necessary to interact with those of a higher status, she is judged harshly by

other women in the novel with formal educations because she never had a governess of her

own.
 34

Louisa and Caroline, Mr Bingleys sisters, are entitled to think well of themselves

and meanly of others because they had been educated in one of the first private seminaries

in town (54). Their formal education molded them into accomplished women, which enables

them to maintain their higher standing and superior self-regard. However, Austen also

emphasizes the negative effects of a formal education. She creates antipathy toward formal

training in a womans life and, instead, portrays the Romantic idea that education enabled

snobbishness, which is especially evident in Bingleys sisters. Austen also demonstrates that a

substantial education can be just as bad as an inconsequential one. After all, George Wickham

attended Cambridge for his education and serves in the militia. His only hope for social

improvement is to marry a rich woman.

Mr Darcy and Elizabeth are frequently reading novels and educating themselves.

They improve their intellect and their ability to interact in social situations. In fact, Elizabeth

even counsels Mr Darcy to practice his conversation much like she practices the piano (199).

Through Elizabeth, Austen demonstrates that auto-didacticism is integral to a universal

understanding of society. Conversation and the practice of speech allow Elizabeth to interact

with ease with all classes in society. Wider interaction in society displays a broader

knowledge;; Elizabeth not only reads to improve her mind, but also to improve herself in

order to better navigate social situations. Georgiana, Mr Darcys younger sister, is receiving a

structured education, but lacks the social skills necessary to function in society. Her inability

to navigate social situations is seen as detrimental as not being able to perform specific tasks

or accomplishments. Likewise, Mrs Bennet has a weak understanding and illiberal mind,

which do not inspire affection, respect, or esteem in Mr Bennet, who states that due to Mrs

Bennets folly, all his views of domestic happiness were overthrown (250). Elizabeths

ability to examine her prejudices after reading Mr Darcys letter demonstrates a solid
 35

understanding of her own nature and faults. Through novels, conversation, and the analysis of

ones own behaviour, a woman can learn not only accomplishments, but also the method of

interacting in society, which will enable her to earn respect and esteem. These qualities

combined enabled women to be displayed at their best advantage in society; ultimately, in the

case of Pride and Prejudice, to attract a husband of a higher class. Austen portrays education

as a route to a better life through marriage, allowing women to self-improve both their minds

and their social position. Education is viewed largely as a way to attract men, which is a stark

contrast to the distasteful way the moralists explained what women should do to gain a

husband. When Lydia takes Janes place at the table as a married woman, Austen

demonstrates that society valued marriage as a greater achievement than intelligence and

honour (322). Similarly, Charlotte Lucas demonstrates that marriage was the main objective

in society. Austen writes, Without thinking highly of either men or matrimony, marriage had

always been her object;;it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women

of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness, must be their pleasantest

preservative from want (152). An education could not provide for a woman; marriage was

consequently valued in society in a greater sense than education, and even education and

accomplishments were only means to achieve an advantageous marriage. Throughout Pride

and Prejudice, Austen demonstrates that accomplishments are performed simply to attract

male attention. They are not particularly good or bad, but simply allow women a chance to

improve their social position by ensnaring a husband in a higher class. Although Austen

satirizes the snobbery that often coincides with being an accomplished and educated woman,

as seen in Louisa and Caroline, she embodies the notion that accomplishments enabled social

mobility through marriage. A womans education needed to develop accomplishments as

 36

marketable skills in addition to providing opportunities for reading and reflection, which

ultimately enabled personal growth.

However, Elizabeths reading and conversation skills do not drive men away as

Elizabeth McElligott moralists would caution;Mr Darcy seems attracted to Elizabeths

personality as revealed through her conversation ability, in addition to her humble of

accomplishment. She knows what she wants and takes action to gain it, which is a

progressive view of what a woman of strong character can achieve. Annes actions are also

evidence that with experience and learning, a woman can improve her situation after gaining

a better understanding of self, contrasting with Austens earlier depiction of women in Pride

and Prejudice, such as Charlotte Lucas, who views the purpose of education to become wives

rather than self-directed individuals. Anne trusts her judgment and acts of her own accord,

which challenges Mores earlier conception that a woman should not depend on her own

Judgment.

The value orientation of Jane Austens female consciousness first showed at her

establishment on the female sex characteristic. For Austen, the female not only has a various

characteristics like beauty, kind-hearted, tender that should have in male society, and she has

weakness and sense and intelligence in the meantime. Her work mainly focuses on the young,

single female. They all inherit traditional virtue, sense and acquire the happiness in the end.

Unlike former female writers, Jane Austen specially emphasizes the females cultural

awareness in life. She believe this would make female more impressive, and it is an important

part of female value. With such self-cultivation, women could face the various challenges in

life and love. Then female could not lose personality and dignity as a person, get the respect

of male, and win the love finally. In Jane Austens eyes, self-cultivation, self-respect are the
 37

center part of the female value. The value orientation of Jane Austens female consciousness

is also expressed in the definite of the women status.

Though she makes every effort to promote the female's intelligence and

reasonableness, but she still thinks that the female's function lies in a family. The end-result

of the female in her works is marriage and family. No matter sexual equality and or a

character to expand all be limited by a family. The women job is concern with sons and

daughters education personality. Guide servant and insure a house is comfortable and help

husband to build up various social interaction. But she also thinks that the women need high

intelligence to bear comparison with the male, then they can exert these responsibility. Then

can also make them not lose the position ,status in the process which is full of a test This

expresses that the Jane Austen admits the differ of the male and the female in the society the

female's social role that tradition give, also affirmed the importance of this role. Although

these viewpoints class limit of the middle class women, they emerged a new kind of

consciousness of female fight for the equality: Sexual equality should start from the family.

The females functions in support family, good traditions and morality as well as male in

society.

At that time, women be just the predominate of male, and is limited. Many women

consciousness are come from male. Jane Austen not only emerge the true society, but also

forecast the social development of women consciousness in her sharp eyes, and let the

description and analysis of male as the foil of the females in her novels. Through the analysis

of the value orientation of Jane Austens female consciousness, we can see that she focus on

female subject consciousness from female aspect. The issues from her works are the sense

and intelligence when female wake up to face true society, their seek for the social status.

Jane told the readers the lovely and independent are come from `the understanding of ones
 38

own value. As women who dare to challenge to the traditional views, Jane Austen fulfilled

her new ideal of women consciousness in her works.

Darcy and Elizabeths love in Pride and Prejudice is the typical one on the ideal

Prince and Cinderellas love. In this novel, Elizabeth is a gentleman daughter whose wealth

would all e deprive. On the other side, Darcy is the man has the high position, the highest rule

class in the English society, the offspring of the peer. He has a hereditary manor, lots of lands.

His family circumstances are very rich. Besides, hes handsome and distinguished. He is the

perfect prince for all the heroines in Austens novels. The combine of Elizabeth and Darcy is

a kind of overfly actually.

Elizabeths friend Charlotte take marriage as a aim all the time for not be an old

virgin. She has no distinction glorious family, beautiful colour and love story while she is

over 27 years old. She wanted a home. In the marriage market Charlotte had little advantage,

she must marry someone. Husbands were hard to find for a woman like her; once she found

one she must catch him immediately. So, when Elizabeth refuse the foolish Collinss proposal

whom inherited his fathers fortune and was promoted by Lady Catherine, Charlotte amuse

Collins on her own initiative, they finished the marriage at the highest speed, then give her a

comfortable home. She ignored husbands gaffe before his friends and dont care her

marriage is based on little love; she does her best to avoid Collins as much as possible. At

that time, hundreds of women married men without being attracted to them or greatly

repelled by them, and learned to love them after marriage, instead of before. That makes

people very uneasy and they felt embarrassed for them. For Elizabeth and any modern

women, they couldnt imagine this kind of marriage even accept it. In Elizabeths eyes,

money and benefit are not important than true love. Marriage couldnt only base on the
 39

physical elements. An ideal marriage must fulfil the needs of physical, emotion and morality

rationally.

Elizabeths character is presented mainly through contrast with other female

characters. In hunting for a husband, she is distanced from her own sisters who are either too

passive or too shameless and mindless in society of men. However, intelligent and wise

Elizabeth in the face of Darcys first proposal, she refuses it. Because at that time, he didnt

forget the worldly rank conception, and the pride in his behaviour. The scorn to her family

and relations in his first proposal really irritated Elizabeth, thus she very revolt against Darcy.

She thought that Darcy is offended and humiliate her actually. She couldnt accept such

marriage in spite of reverence. Her judgment of Darcy was absolutely from her real feeling,

not considered the physical change take from his property and position. Elizabeth was no

more the males foil and dependency, on contrary; she showed high self-confidence and

independence in intelligence and spirit. Elizabeth could be the authors mouthpiece. Jane

Austen never conceals her favour to Elizabeth, because she depend on her female personality

ideal and brand new women consciousness on this character.

"Improvement of mind" is in fact so important to Jane Austen that in considering how

girls should be educated she also shows her ideas. In spite of the physical attraction, almost

all of her heroines are deficient in the superficial virtues. Elizabeth Ben net and Emma

Woodhouse both neglect their piano practice and hence are no more than moderate

performers. Yet none of them is called upon to improve in these areas. Their education is

complete so far as Jane Austen is concerned once they have corrected certain failings in

judgment and/or feeling. The education in personality is more than the education of

appearance. The improvement of mind should be the final purpose of education.

 40

Jane Austen is hostile to the view that meekness is the major feminine so far as she is

concerned, Elizabeth Bennet behaves far more admirable when she ignores trample showing

across muddy fields to visit the sick .lane. Jane almost misses her true love by not her love to

Bingley, and it is Elizabeth's courageous action that makes Darcy realize his mistakes.

Elizabeth refused the marriage proposal by Mr Collins anger. At that time a girl in her

position without dowry, rarely can in spite of her mother's do such kind of thing, because

nobody is sure whether she has another marriage proposal or not, otherwise she may stay at

home forever. But Elizabeth does refuse the proposal and Jane Austen gives her a good

destiny in the end of the novel in order to show her great appraisal of Elizabeth. By this way,

Jane Austen tries to argue that meekness is a fault rather than a virtue. Meekness can destroy

a woman's whole life. In my opinion, Jane Austen was a feminist writer. It seemed that Jane

Austen was not as radical as the early feminists who took part in the violent movement to

struggle for their rights. Jane Austen maintained that women should have the same rights and

opportunities as men. In her novels, many women characters were not inferior to men.

Women deserved to share the equal rights with men. At this point, Jane Austen could stand

with some contemporary feminists.

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Le Faye, Deidre. Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels. New York: Harry N. Abrams. 2002.

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