Compare the ways in which Austen and Waugh present relationships between the sexes within a satirical context in 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'A Handful of Dust.'

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Compare the ways in which Austen and Waugh present relationships between the sexes within a satirical context in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘A Handful of Dust.’

Relationships between the sexes in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen and ‘A Handful of Dust’ by Evelyn Waugh are often portrayed within a satirical context. Each author uses different methods of effectively displaying the variety of interactions between opposite sexes. The two novels may seem unusual pieces to compare as they were written more than one hundred and thirty years apart, causing the authors to write from noticeably different biographical perspectives and contrasting historical contexts, yet when I analysed the novels closely I became aware that they were surprisingly similar compositions in terms of theme and approach, therefore allowing me to compare the themes and techniques of the two authors.

        Firstly, both authors focus their novels upon sexual relationships in contemporary society, equally within and outside marriage. Each novelist writes about the society he/she lives in and what they believe society’s attitude would be to these relationships. The approach of both is satirical, that is, they employ a comic mode to explain a serious moral. Both authors in their opening chapters display this comic approach. Firstly, Austen’s opening sentence is seen to be epigrammatic as her sarcastic, witty authorial view comes into play:

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune,

 must be in want of a wife.’

This is ironic as it is the women of society who hunt men who have money. The satirical tone is therefore established from the beginning of the novel and these opening lines raise the interconnection of money and marriage, a major theme of the novel. Moreover, Evelyn Waugh like Austen uses an incisive, ironic tone:

‘What with Brenda’s pretty ways and Tony’s good sense, it was not surprising that

 their friends pointed to them as a pair who were pre-eminently successful in solving the problem of getting along well together.’

Through his own voice, yet one whose cynicism is apparent in its forceful expression, Waugh like Austen presents us with an exploration of failed marriages, prudential marriages, relationships outside marriage and society’s attitude to these marriages within a satirical frame.

        As we are presented with portraits of marriages in failure through Mr and Mrs Bennet and Tony and Brenda Last, the two couples present good ground for a comparison of authorial techniques. Mr Bennet continually ridicules his wife showing us their intellectually unequal relationship, often portrayed as being virulent, as the ongoing verbal battles wear down themselves and those around them:

        ‘You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends.’

This direct, sarcastic statement by Mr Bennet shows he is in control. This is supported at the end of the opening chapter by the formal latinate diction of Augustan prose as Austen tells us:

‘Mr Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice,

 that the experience of three and twenty years had been insufficient to make his

 wife understand his character.’

        I believe in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ that the Bennets’ unstable marriage is often down to themselves. It is often hard to imagine why they married in the first place. We see through Mr Bennet’s heartfelt plea to his daughter that he is certainly aware that his marriage has become unsolvable:

        ‘My child, let me not have the grief of seeing you unable to respect you partner in life…’

Thus through the voice of a minor character, Austen is able to present to us the suffused passion and frustration of an individual, which a futile mis-match can bring.

        Moreover, in ‘A Handful of Dust’ there has been much critical debate on whether Tony and Brenda is actually to blame for their unsuccessful marriage. Waugh gives an unbiased and balanced insight into the couple’s marriage thereby allowing us to see the faults present on both sides. We may expect Waugh’s sympathy to lie with Tony due to his personal history, married in 1928 and divorced in 1930. I do not believe this is the case, however, as the compassion Waugh feels for Tony if any is contradictory, and has to be elicited via a disguised authorial comment. Waugh’s authorial intervention is even more rare than Austen’s. He leaves it up to the reader to interpret the various relationships. Waugh expresses himself in different ways. He uses highly metaphorical language, alien to Austen, which allows him to convey Tony’s disillusionment:

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        ‘A whole Gothic world had come to grief…there was no embroidered feet on the

green sward; the cream and dappled unicorns had fled.’

Waugh employs deliberate archaisms to describe this fairytale world, and through his highly visual language allows us to understand that Tony has been living under illusions for too long. The elaborate medieval imagery is alluring, but I believe is used to express Waugh’s point that living in the past is dangerous and may have been one cause of his failed marriage.

 Another ambivalent authorial technique Waugh often employs is the use of motifs such as:

        ‘Hard ...

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