Pride and prejudice- how do pride and prejudice affects the relationship between Darcy & Elizabeth

Jane Austen was an English author who wrote Pride and prejudice and many other novels but Pride and Prejudice is claimed to be the most popular. Her early writings began in 1787 and ended in 1793.Jane Austen was born on the 16th of December in 1775 at Steventon Rectory Hampshire. She lived from 1775 to 1817 and was born the seventh child in a family of eight and Jane was mostly attached to her sister Cassandra. Jane’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility began as a novel-in-letters called “Elinor and Marianne.” These letters may reflect the relationship between Jane and her sister Cassandra. It is well documented that Jane and Cassandra were extremely close as children. When they grew older the two kept in touch by writing each other letters on a daily basis. Cassandra destroyed many of letters of correspondence with Jane to protect her privacy following her death. In 1817 Jane’s recent run of good fortune came to an end. Her health grew worse as throughout the year from what we now know was Addison’s disease; she passed away on July 18 of that year.

I think that Jane Austen was trying to tell the audience about human relationships and I also think that the purpose of this novel was to show the ups and downs of human relationships. The subject Human relationships is very interesting, this is because certain people relate to it in different ways. Some people may relate to it as cunning and bitterly whereas others may enjoy it and relate to it in different points of views. I also feel that Jane Austen was telling us how the lifestyles and the roles of society of the men and women in the early nineteenth century. After reading the novel and watching the film of pride and prejudice I noticed that men seemed to have worked at times according to their income and status. I know this because in the early nineteenth century if you earn not enough such as one hundred pounds a year you are more likely to become a servant whereas if you own a good enough amount of land and put that up for rent you would likely become Mr Darcy and earn ten thousand pounds a year and if you think of it you are not really doing nothing.

Few middle-class Women could choose not to marry or to marry Simply for love. In general, women could not enter occupations and earn their own living. A young woman might become a governess, but this job

paid little and had a status only slightly above that of a servant. A few middle-class women did earn money writing, as Jane Austen did, but they seldom made enough to live on. In addition, few women inherited wealth. By tradition, property and money were passed down through the male side of the family. Thus, for most women, marriage was the only path to

financial security. Given this circumscribed situation, women devoted themselves to attracting a husband. Usually this meant becoming “accomplished” in what were considered the ladylike arts, such as singing, playing the piano, drawing, and dancing. Reciting well-known

Poems, embroidering, and painting design on tables were other “accomplishments” for young ladies. Because their adult lives would be spent in the domestic sphere, a well-rounded education was

not considered essential for girls. The women in the early nineteenth century wore tight fitted gowns. Women’s cloths at this period were not, as a rule, brought ready made. The women were well mannered to their husbands and others. As you can see in the film Elizabeth was really a pretty object with her dress so uniformly white and orderly. Jane Austen showed us what it was like in the nineteenth century for women. Her preference for tidiness coincided with current fashion and the popularity of simple, light-weight and light coloured gowns. In those days Disorderly dressed was also disapproved, for example by Miss Bingly in pride and prejudice when she criticised Elizabeth Bennet’s appearance after her long walk to Netherfeild Miss Bingly said ‘why must she be scampering about the country, because her sister has a cold? Her hair, so untidy, so blowsy!’. As you can see It was not a great life for women unless they were rich and married to a man with a lot of money, they can expect and afford to sit at home and do practically nothing whereas if it was the opposite and earning only sixty pounds a year you are more likely to become a maid and work hard.

This is a preview of the whole essay

As you can see the Bennet family had many problems in life. They have five daughters and not a single son when their father dies they will lose their home and property to their cousin Mr. Collins, simply because the family has no male heir therefore it was down to their mindless and foolish cousin Mr Collins. The other problem that they face is when Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth but she turns him down then Mr Collins makes an offer to Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte and she says yes to him. Also their financial futures are uncertain because of the way that property and land have been left to their father. The final problem that the Bennets face is when one of their five daughters who happen to be Lydia runs off with a man and gets married. This causes a major problem in the family because they are really worried about her and suspects anything could go wrong partly she is the youngest and if you were to get married now it would be the oldest to get married first to the youngest who gets married last so it is in a particular order. This could affect the family in the future facing many problems that may occur. Also Lydia’s lack of common sense and responsibility is revealed when she takes pride in being the first Bennet girl to be married. Lydia does not take into consideration the circumstance of her marriage, the personality of her husband, or the prospects of their marriage for the future.

The main theme of pride and prejudice was to show the changes in Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship towards each other. But as time went on things changed, their feelings changed for one another, revelations changed and so did opinions but as time went on their love blossomed for each other and nobody could prevent this from happening neither her nor him. Their attitudes changed for each other. When Elizabeth first met Darcy She discovered him to be proud. I know this because she say’s in pg10 according to Elizabeth she thinks Darcy “so high and conceited that there was no enduring him”! Miss Bennet is suggesting here that Darcy thinks too much of himself which could be said to be a bad pride. However as time moves on these feelings of hers towards him change in an incontrollable manner. When Darcy comes back to meet Elizabeth she realizes that she is falling for him.

In chapter 33 it is an exposure that is made to Elizabeth by Fitzwilliam which guides Elizabeth to believe that Darcy has ruined her sister’s chances of marriage. Elizabeth is hurt and absurd and this changes her feelings towards Darcy to prejudice. In this chapter Darcy is showing to be extremely prejudiced to the Bennets and Wickham. This is done by the means of Fitzwilliam saying in this chapter “Darcy congratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage” therefore this tells me that Mr Darcy thinks that Jane was not good enough and doesn’t fit in his needs for Mr Bingly and it would have been a waste of time if Jane had married him. When Fitzwilliam said to Elizabeth “Darcy congratulated himself on having lately saved a friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent marriage” this is a downfall on her pride towards Darcy and especially when she has a crush on him and was beginning to like him and now her prejudice towards Darcy is growing. I know this because she says “his pride and caprice were the pride of all Jane had suffered…no-one could say how lasting an evil he might have inflicted”. Elizabeth feels herself to have been “blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd; realizes her false pride. In this chapter it mentions her feelings and emotions towards this, for example “her heart swelling with indignation”.

In chapter 34 Elizabeth is re-reading all the letters sent by her sister Jane since being in Kent. I think she does this because it is her desire to hate Darcy even more. I know this because Elizabeth say’s “Mr.Darcy’s shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict gave her a keener sense of her sister’s sufferings”. This shows me that she wishes to dislike him further more than she already does. Elizabeth gets interrupted by surprisingly Mr Darcy who would have been the last person she will want to see now. I think that if Darcy came and spoke more appropriately things would have been more differently to Darcy’s proposal. Darcy’s behaviour makes the situation worse. My evidence to support this is: “after a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner” and he also says “could you expect me to rejoice in your inferior connections?” As he is proposing to her, Elizabeth can tell he has “no doubt of favourable answer. In spite of the fact that Elizabeth has not shown any partiality or affection toward him at all, he assumes that she will accept his proposal simply because of his great wealth and rank. Further, his strong class prejudices are shown in the way in which he speaks at length about the inferiority of her connections and his desire to avoid proposing to her because of them. Even worse is his insensitivity to her in spelling out these objections in such a tactless manner. Elizabeth's comment to him--"had you acted in a more gentlemanlike manner"--makes him start, and as will be seen later in the novel, has a profound effect on him. Darcy had made the situation worse by ‘controlling his tongue’; he may have stood a chance. I think that Elizabeth already knew what her opinion of Darcy was. I know this because she says “your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr.Wickham”, which is enough to see that she had an opinion of him. Elizabeth also say’s “I had not known u a month before I felt you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed upon to marry”. This is enough to know that Darcy did not stand a chance of persuading Elizabeth to love him.

In chapter 35 Elizabeth takes a walk and runs into Darcy, who gives her a letter. He walks away, and Elizabeth begins to read. Given what Elizabeth had been led to believe, her actions at that time were noble, just, and brave. - Given the truth, they were merely brave. This letter was Darcy's attempt to set the record straight, and he does that admirably. The letter is an altering event that changes Darcy’s attitudes to a more gentlemen behaviour therefore which changes the relationship towards Darcy and Elizabeth. In the letter Darcy gives reasons towards his past deeds and does not only think of him but for others with kindness and tenderness. I think that Darcy’s character is different in a way he shows others and in a way he expresses himself in the letter and he can be gentlemen if he wants to be. My evidence that proves this is in the starting of the letter “Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetitions of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you. I write without any intention of paining you. You must, therefore, pardon the freedom with which I demand your attention; your feelings, I know, will be bestowing it unwillingly, but I demand it for your justice”. I think his main aim in writing this letter was to change Elizabeth’s feelings and opinion towards him other than her prejudice. Darcy concludes his letter by hoping that she will acquit him of any cruelty towards Wickham, and that if she needs any proof of the truth of what he had written, she could talk to Colonel Fitzwilliam. He also says “of having injured Mr Wickham, I can only refute it by laying before you the whole of his connection with my family.” Darcy was trying to say how Wickham a gold-digger and a fool my evidence that proves this is when he says “Mr.Wickham’s chief object was unquestionably my sister’s fortune, which is thirty thousand

Pounds”. Later on in the letter he says “The serenity of your sister’s countenance was such, as might have given the most acute observer, a conviction that, however amiable temper her heart was nor likely to be easily touched” he also says this to change her opinion of him. I think that even though Elizabeth tries to offend Darcy continues being a gentleman and she is quite impressed. I Notice how the letter begins with a controlled fury, but it is the fury of a lover toward his beloved. That is to say, the first paragraph is all anger and yet says nothing that can give offence - nothing that would later require an apology. I Notice also, that, throughout, Darcy manages to praise Elizabeth and to acknowledge the value of her opinion even while holding steadfastly to his own - masterful! He says, Wickham is a thoroughly bad character. Elizabeth believes

Darcy for once and her prejudice against him begin to weaken. Finally, I notice the evolution of Darcy's feelings during the composition of the letter; this letter begun in a fury ends in an expression of love. After reading these explanations in the letter Elizabeth's first reaction is disbelief, but after reflecting upon and slowly rereading the letter, she begins to see that Darcy is telling the truth and that she was only inclined to believe Wickham's story because he had flattered her with his attentions, while she was inclined to think ill of Darcy because he had wounded her pride on their first meeting. Over all I think that Elizabeth is intrigued by this letter. I think after reading the letter Elizabeth feels she has been hard on him after his honesty and his more gentlemen like and how he expressed his feeling in the letter.

In the conclusion there are several reasons that cause problems between Darcy and Elizabeth. It was Firstly Darcy’s behavior at the first assembly when they first met each other. I will devote some space to his conversation with Bingley. That was the conversation Elizabeth would overhear, and would set the action of the novel into motion. The conversation can be read with two points of view. The first seems to display Darcy's boorishness and justifies Elizabeth Bennet's anger; everyone seems to notice that view. I think that they are both to blame considering their childishness and behavior because if they had behaved like adults it would not have turned out like this and would have had a far better friendship along the way. Elizabeth’s feelings towards Darcy changed throughout. At first she didn’t like him and thought at the meryton assembly their first meeting she thought of him “high and conceited” (chp3 pg10). "Every disposition of the ground was good; and she looked on the whole scene, the river, the trees scattered on its banks, and the winding of the valley, as far as she could trace it" (268). This description of Elizabeth's first visit to Pemberley marks a changing point in Elizabeth's feelings for Darcy. She also suspects that he has interfered between Jane and Bingley. She is even more put off when she hears that Darcy has treated a young man, George Wickham, cruelly and unjustly. Wickham tells her that Darcy has denied him the inheritance that his

Godfather, Darcy's father, left him. Wickham courts Elizabeth, and his

good looks, charming manners, and story of injustice at Darcy's

hands win her sympathy and deepen her prejudice against Darcy. But gradually as time goes by her feelings changes towards him and then in the end she finally gives in as her true feelings were opened to Darcy. Yes I do think their developments of their relationship are realistic partly because they have been through so much and yet come so far and also Darcy and Elizabeth are attracted to each other because they both address the other’s central weakness and can help each other overcome it. Elizabeth has the sincerity and frankness to recognize and regret her own flaw of character in being taken in by Wickham and too hastily judging Darcy. She is even able to concede the justice in his condemnation of her family. Although she is thrilled to become mistress of Pemberley, neither money nor social position determines her choice. She would have been quite willing to marry a penniless Wickham had he not proved to be a scoundrel. Ultimately she seeks a man of good character who she can respect and who will adore her. She seeks a person of character and she wins Darcy because her own character is well-developed and attractive. For Darcy, love is the determinant. Though it is heartwarming to romanticize Darcy’s passionate attraction to Elizabeth, his attraction has a very strong social element to it. He is attracted by her because she is not attracted to his money or his social position. Her lack of response elevates her in his eyes and makes her more valuable than all that he possesses, so valuable that he is willing to improve himself in order to win her. About how a man changes his manners and a woman changes her mind. In the very beginning they didn’t think anything of each other and now in the end they get married to each other. This shows that it is realistic because they both see that they find each other attractive and it develops as time goes by. In the end it is like a fairy tale and they live happily ever after but you would not have thought this in the beginning. I think that Jane Austen is trying to say about relationships is that its concerning the effects of the characters first impressions, that is their prejudice. The importance of love and equality in a relationship is continually stressed throughout the novel as the reader is shown the alternatives and the negative and positive consequences of marriage and shows that love existed. She also shows that at the end of the novel, when Darcy and Elizabeth are married, Darcy's sister Georgiana is amazed that Elizabeth can tease Darcy and make him laugh at himself- a privilege, as Jane Austen points out, that a wife may have but not a younger sister. In this final subtle touch Jane Austen shows her mastery of the art of relationships. In the course of the novel, Jane Austen

shows how several other marriages work. Some are happy, some not,

and no two are alike. In a society in which marriage was so

important to women- and to men- the qualities that make a marriage

succeed are quite a serious matter. Jane Austen treats the subject with

Comedy, but underneath the comic surface she is very serious. Notice, as you read what qualities she shows us as good and bad in a marriage. It seems that the success of a marriage in Austen's would- as perhaps in ours- depends on the characters of the married pair and the motives that brought them together in the first place. I agree with all this because it touches on themes of class, social behavior, and family relationships. It's a peek into a world that in some ways is nothing like ours, but it contains truths which seem to apply in any world. Also many people can relate to it in their own ways.

By FOUZI ABDIWAHID

11X1