'Elizabeth Bennet as "new" heroine'

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Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) is a heroine who transcends time due to her modernistic views and her rebellious approach to the expectations of society. Elizabeth, although a radical character in her time, is respected in the 21st century for her strong feminist defences and self assurance that allow her to act with independence. She critiques society through the use of satire, and mirrors Jane Austen’s opinions of Regency England. Elizabeth does not conform to the stereotype of a traditional heroine in the19th century; physically beautiful, submissive, meek, dutiful and innocent, accomplished yet dependant on the socially ‘superior’ gender. Lizzy’s character is opinionated, self-assured and even to a degree, masculine. She defies the conforms of the traditional heroine in the novels of Regency England as she is in general against matrimony, she does not allow those superior to her in class to undermine her simply because of her social standing and bravely acts against a current of social followers.

During the 19th century, the time in which this novel was written, it was the common consensus that women ought to be married off as soon as they entered their twenties. This would ensure that they did not impose a burden on their parents and that their welfare and maintenance would now be the business of their husband. In Pride and Prejudice this expectation excited young many girls notably Kitty and Lydia, who were more than willing to fulfil this role. Characters such as Mrs Bennet and her two younger daughters are portrayed as foolish to fantasise about the sentiments such as wealth and status that a fine matrimonial alliance would bring. In contrast, Lizzy is shown as an atypical female in her era, as she believes ‘marriage does not always bring happiness’, as is demonstrated with her ill-matched parents. She thus resolves to only marry if deeply in love. In today’s society, this vow would be respected, even admired, yet in the 19th century it was quite unheard of.

‘This kind of decision would have had to invoke a lot of thought towards the future and shows a mind that is able to grasp larger concepts and does not just follow the crowd.’ 1

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We the readers can also see that Lizzy would not receive vast portion of her family’s estate as the entailments of the Bennet line fall to the closest male relative. Jane Austen and modern writers alike acknowledge a woman’s pursuit of lifelong stability which greatly influences marriage.

"Single women have a dreadful propensity for being poor, which is one very strong argument in favour of matrimony"2

‘Given all this, some women were willing to marry just because marriage was the only allowed route to financial security’3

Elizabeth’s only choice in retaining a comfortable, seemingly well-off life, is to wed. Without ...

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