However, it is extremely important that at least one of the daughters marries well, for it is vital for the survival of the Bennet household; as there are no sons in the family there is no direct heir to their estate when Mr Bennet dies. Therefore, when Mr Bennet dies their estate will be inherited by a distant relative of the family, Mr Collins, and, as a result of this inheritance, the remaining family will have no where to live if none of the daughters are married.
Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the highest importance; a woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social norms make others look down upon you. Mrs Bennet steps out of this ‘social norm’ on many occasions. The value of manners and reputation is destroyed when Mrs Bennet calls the future heir of the Bennet’s estate, Mr. Collins, ‘odious’, behind his back. She also displays rudeness when she deliberately says that Mr. Darcy, a very prosperous friend of Mr. Bingley, is not her ‘idea of good breeding’. And she later states that he, Mr. Darcy, fancies himself ‘very important’; meaning she believes he is grandiloquent and arrogant. This shows that Mrs Bennet mocks the values of manners, politeness and reputation as she is oblivious to them.
Jane Austen uses Mrs Bennet’s behavior and actions to satirize her social values. Mrs Bennet, who is foolish and strong-willed rather than evil, ridicules her social values in a ludicrous, amusing way. Like Mrs Bennet, Miss Bingley’s actions are also used by Jane Austen to satirize her social values.
Miss Bingley is a woman who values appearance and fashion. She was described as a ‘fine woman, with an air of decided fashion.’ Miss Bingley looks down upon others who are lower than herself. When, Lizzie, Mrs Bennet’s second daughter, walks into Mr Bingley’s house, Netherfield, Miss Bingley sneers at her, behind her back; Lizzie had walked all the way to Netherfield and ‘her petticoat’ was ‘six inches deep in mud’. This ‘exhibit’ was sniggered by Miss Bingley and her sister which shows she judges others on appearances; she prejudges and quickly jumps to conclusions of others through their appearance. This also shows that she is very cruel to others.
Miss Bingley also values marriage and courtship, again like Mrs Bennet. Miss Bingley tries very hard to win the attention and affection of the wealthy Mr Darcy. However, all of her hints are unsuccessful and do not win Mr Darcy. Here, Jane Austen is satirizing Miss Bingley; as at every attempt to attract Mr Darcy she fails but she never gives up and continues to place failing hints. One hint she made which backfired was when Miss Bingley said that Lizzie was mad ‘to walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles’ to Netherfield. However, Mr Darcy’s answer was in Lizzie’s support and he said the walk ‘shews an affection for her sister that is very pleasing’. This is ironic as every time Miss Bingley tries to hint it always results in the wrong way for her; she never gets Mr Darcy’s attraction. Another example of Miss Bingley’s intentions going wrong is when she asks Lizzie if she would like to ‘take a turn around the room’. Miss Bingley’s purpose of walking around the room was to highlight her figure and appearance to Mr Darcy. Though again Miss Bingley’s plan backfired as Mr Darcy took notice of Lizzie’s figure and appearance instead of her figure and appearance. Previously Mr Darcy had noticed Lizzie’s ‘fine eyes’ though now he thought they even finer. He also commented that, after Lizzie’s trek to Netherfield, her eyes were ‘brightened.’ This plainly illustrates irony; all of Miss Bingley’s attempts fail and have the opposite result in which she formerly intended.
Miss Bingley values marriage and courtship however she tries to hard to win Mr Darcy. These desperate attempts are the cause of her unsuccessful outcomes. Irony is formed because of the outcomes. This irony satirizes the Miss Bingley’s social values and also creates humour.
Miss Bingley has other social values which she judges others upon such as status, background and wealth. During Jane’s stay at Netherfield Miss Bingley asked Jane about her family’s background. Jane answered saying that her uncle had made money in trade. She also said that he lived in Cheapside. Miss Bingley and her sister again sniggered with this knowledge of the Bennet’s background; trade was, to the sisters and those of ‘their class’, a business which normally suggested people low in status and rank. This is ironic as the Bingley family also gained wealth from trade.
As Miss Bingley values status, background and wealth she satirizes her own values when she sneered at the Bennet’s background; her family shared the same background. Again, irony is used to add humour as well as to satirize the character’s social values. Another character who is satirized by Jane Austen using irony is Mr Collins.
Mr Collins, the future heir of the Bennet estate, is a loquacious, obsequious priest. He, instead of praising God, praises his employer Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr Collins talks eloquently of Lady Catherine de Bourgh and follows her commands precisely. Though, Mr Collins does not see that she exploits him and uses him when she has nothing better to do. Mr Collins is very proud of the connection he has with Lady Catherine de Bourgh which makes him feel important. A letter written by Mr Collins portrays this self-importance. During the letter to the Bennet household he invites himself to the Bennet’s house and even proposed the dates of his visit, ‘I propose…Monday, November 18th, by 4 o’clock, and shall probably trespass…till the Saturday se’night…’ This statement shows that Mr Collins feels he can do as he wishes as he is ‘important’. This self-importance leads to the ridiculing of the social and moral value of good manners and politeness, although, he seems over polite when he is in the company of others. This letter has similarities to the letter which the self-important Miss Bingley wrote to Jane, demanding that she visits her and her sister. However, Mr Collins’s letter is unlike Miss Bingley’s letter as his is extremely lengthily. The self-importance is also very ironic as Mr Collins does not actually have importance; Lady Catherine de Bourgh just uses him.
Mr Collins does not do his job responsibly, like Mrs Bennet; he is disrespectful to God when he does not fulfil his duty correctly. A priest is supposed to visit the needy people of his parish and support them. Though the only person he seems to visit is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The only example of him doing his job is when he collects tithes; one tenth of someone’s money which is collected to support religious organisations. However, Mr Collin’s primary reason for collecting the money was to provide an income; money is a social value and it is satirized when Mr Collins carries out the collection of the tithes for himself.
Love is another value which is satirized through Mr Collins. Love is meant to be sincere and beautiful but Mr Collins includes none of these qualities in his marriage proposal to Lizzie. His proposal was a rambling, insincere effort to secure Lizzie’s hand in marriage. The proposal mentioned no romantic reasons for marriage; Mr Collins says Lizzie would be a ‘useful sort of person’. This statement is not flattering and shows no sign of love. Despite the lack of love, Mr Collins continues saying he is ‘violently’ in love with Lizzie. This gives the impression of aggressiveness; that Mr Collins is forcing her to marry him. Overall, this comical scene mocks the value of love as Mr Collins obviously has no affections for Lizzie. The only person Mr Collins adores is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He even ‘arranges elegant compliments’ so he is prepared to flatter her and other women.
In conclusion, I believe, that through these techniques, which I have explored, Jane Austen is able to satirize or mock the social values of the characters. She also uses irony to ridicule her characters’ social values. Mrs Bennet’s desperate, determined attempts are satirized by her foolish actions towards marriage. She also displays no manners and consequently has a bad reputation amongst many. Jane Austen ridicules Mrs Bennet’s social values through her actions. Similarly, Miss Bingley’s social values are also satirized by Jane Austen in the same way as Mrs Bennet’s; Miss Bingley ridicules her social values through her actions. However, Miss Bingley, who is evil, mocks her social values in a more spiteful and unkind manner. Mr Collins’s social values are mocked by his foolishness and ‘self-importance’; he is unconsciousness to the fact that he is not valued by Lady Catherine de Bourgh, instead she exploits him to her benefit. Satirizing character’s social values by the character’s words and deeds is frequently used by Jane Austen as it successfully achieves its purpose; mocking the characters’ social values.
