How far does Austens writing in Volume I and Volume II persuade you that Elizabeth can be regarded as the heroine of the novel?

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How far does Austen’s writing in Volume I and Volume II persuade you that Elizabeth can be regarded as the heroine of the novel?

Austen’s writing is almost constantly persuading the reader that Elizabeth is the heroine of the novel; from the opening pages it is clear by Austen’s brave statement that the matrimonial prospects of the Bennet daughters will dominate the novel: ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’ yet the reader is still unaware which daughter it is. Since it cannot be Mary (described as a pedantic, book educated bore), nor Kitty or Lydia (both critically depicted by the narrator as flirtatious and idle girls) the reader is left to decide between Jane and Elizabeth. Austen at first hints that it may be Jane, with her perfect charm and character yet soon it is apparent that Austen prefers a less conventional heroine whose lack of extraordinary physical beauty makes her both an inspirational character and also a kind of girl with whom everyone can identify. Elizabeth is also admirable to the reader as she is independent of thought and stands up for herself, even to those far above her in social standing (Darcy, Lady Catherine) which Austen fully supports.

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Austen’s writing partly reveals this simply by the large amount of attention paid to the events that happen to Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s opinion about every event and the way in which the narrator seems to second all of Elizabeth’s opinions, mimicking Elizabeth’s language and style by Austen’s use of free indirect speech for example ‘it was impossible not to long to know’ when Elizabeth is curious about the strange greeting between Wickham and Darcy. This allows the reader to sympathize with Elizabeth and to understand Elizabeth’s feelings without her having to say them out loud. Austen’s writing style is also mimicked ...

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