A heroine is greatly admired. To some extent, Elizabeth fit this trait, however does have some foes, including Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst. We see that Elizabeth is well mannered and well bred from the cool yet polite way in which she deals with Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s taunts. She protects herself from the insults hurled at her and still remains respectful. For example, Lady Catherine claims of Darcy ‘I am... entitled to know all his dearest concerns’ to which Elisabeth replies, ‘But you are not entitled to know mine; nor will such behaviour as this ever induce me to be explicit.’ These attributes are generally associated with a coventional romantic heroine. There is irony in the conversation between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine: Lady Catherine is accusing Elizabeth of being ill mannered, however her extreme comments shows the reader that Lady Catherine is in fact, the ill mannered of the two. ‘Your alliance will be a disgrace, your name will never be mentioned by any of us.’ It is also ironic that Lady Catherine’s interference – though intended to severe all ties between Elizabeth and Darcy – brought them together. Darcy tells Elizabeth ‘I knew enough of your disposition to be certain, that had you been ... decided against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine, frankly and openly.’
It is evident that Elizabeth is clever, alert, and observant. She recognises immediately the characters of Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst, and also the character of Mr Collins, judged only by his letter. She handles Lady Catherine de Bourgh exceptionally well, remaining calm and subtly answering back. ‘You may ask questions but I may choose not to answer.’ She expresses her thoughts very clearly, yet still remains polite. ‘Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude ... has any possible claim on me in the present instance.’ We can also conclude from Elizabeth’s conversation with Lady Catherine de Bourgh that she is brave. During Elizabeths visit to Hunsford, she is the only one of the party who is not intimidated by Lady Catherine’s domineering personality. Elizabeth is able to speak back to Lady Catherine, which surprises her. This suggests Elizabeth’s own sense of personal worth. She does not rely on the good opinion of others for her own inner satisfaction. Furthermore, in a social situation, we see that Elizabeth is an individual, who does not allow herself to be treated as inferior just because her social position is lesser. She possesses an ease in conversing with everyone, which is not the case for the conventional romantic heroine, who is reserved and calm.
When Lady Catherine declares her to be beneath Darcy, she replies, ‘He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter: So far we are equal’ which shows us that she is of a good social class. She however, is not of the same position as Darcy. Mr Bennet’s estate is entailed, and must be handed down through the male line, and, as Mr Bennet has no sons, his daughters rely on marriage to remain socially accepted. A conventional romantic heroine is however, either very rich, or extraordinarily poor, and marries to become rich. Elizabeth is neither.
Like most conventional romantic heroines, Elizabeth is accomplished. We see her partake in activities such as singing, dancing, playing the piano, sewing, and reading. She is however, conventionally modest about it, ‘I am not a great reader.’ Elizabeth is conventional in that she is virtuous, trustworthy, and possesses a strong sense of morality. She does not however, possess the same sense of morality as Mary, who is pompous and often boasts about her morals, or Jane, who takes morality so far that she fails to see wrong in anyone, do.
We can see immediately that Elizabeth is affectionate, like the conventional romantic heroine. She walks three miles through muddy fields to visit Jane, when she becomes ill at Netherfield, damaging her reputation, ‘Her hair, so untidy, so blowsy ... and her petticoat, six inches deep in mud, I am absolutely certain.’ She also shows concern for Lydia when she goes to elope with Wickham – affection unseen until this time. ‘Poor, poor Lydia.’ She is obviously in great distress when she first hears the news and hurries straight back home immediately.
Unlike the conventional romantic heroine, we do not feel much sympathy for Elizabeth simply because she doesn’t need any. The only time we feel pity for her is when Austen stresses the humiliation her family cause her. In a letter, Mr Collins repeats Lady Catherine’s words, ‘Who.. will connect themselves with such a family?’
Conventional romantic heroines are seen as flawless. Elizabeth however, has many imperfections, the most apparent being her prejudice towards Darcy. If, in this novel, any character could be flawless it would be Jane. Elizabeth says of her, ‘Affection of candour is common enough – one meets it everywhere. But to be candid without ostentation or design...’ is only Jane’s attribute. However, Jane has the type of mind that ‘refuses to believe until the last moment that a rogue is indeed a rogue, and even then is content to think him a self deceiver.’ The reader is sometimes inclined to share Elizabeth’s occasional impatience over her imperturbability.
A conventional romantic heroine dreams about the perfect marriage. In Elizabeth’s case this is not so. Although she has a clear idea of what the perfect marriage for her would be, she does not dwell this. She jokingly tells Jane that such a match does not exist and that she will be a governess for Jane’s children. She has set her standards high, and therefore does not expect to fulfil them, and unlike Charlotte, will not settle for anything less. Austen contrasts Elizabeths view of marriage with the views of Charlotte Lucas, ‘I ask only a comfortable home,’ and her sisters.
In conventional novels, the story ends with the heroine achieving the perfect marriage. Although Darcy and Elizabeth do get married at the end, the path to their marriage is full of every possible obstacle which Austen can present. In the first few chapters, we would in no way expect Darcy to become attracted to Elizabeth and, we have no indication that the author is planning to create a romance between these two apparently opposite people. Thus, this is not a conventional romance, as the two main charcters do not meet and instantly fall in love with one another. In some ways, Austen is ridiculing the traditional literary romance, - taking the conventional romance and reversing it. In eighteenth century traditional novels, the hero is all knowing, competent, and wonderful, and the heroine is always grateful and admiring. In ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ the hero is not immediately captivating and the heroine challenges him at every opportunity. The conventional relationship in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is that of Jane and Bingley.
To some extent, Elizabeth is portrayed as a conventional romantic heroine. Her attributes, however, go beyond convention. Austen purposefully places emphasis on Elizabeth’s non-conformist attitude to draw her away from the title of a conventional romantic heroine heroine. Although Elizabeth Bennet is a traditional literary she is not a conventional romantic heroine.
