In this quote, Mr Bennet takes the role of the author’s voice to be cynical towards Mrs Bennet, who represents those elements of Georgian society who had similar views as Mrs Bennet. This is effective because it shows the total stupidity of Mrs Bennet and Austen uses Mr Bennet and a vehicle to highlight Mrs Bennet’s highly strung character.
Another quote that Jane Austen uses to satirise the Georgian society at the time is:
‘Why, my dear, you must know, Ms Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England’
This quote shows the gossipy side of Mrs Bennet, who is based on the satirised people with this ‘defect’, as Austen probably would have looked at it as. Many women of the time that were like Mrs Bennet would need a good dose of gossip regularly to survive and most of this gossiping emerged when a wealthy single man arrived on the scene. Jane Austen did not believe in gossiping or being a ‘busy body’ like some women of Georgian society, Mrs Bennet is used as a replica of what these types of women were like. Austen criticizes these women in this quote with Mr Bennet who makes no reply to this. This nil input winds Mrs Bennet up and Mr Bennet is placed in the novel to take the role of the author’s voice and persona. This is placed in to amuse the audience and constantly spark a reaction off Mrs Bennet, which tends to amuse the other characters as well as us.
The final comment I am going to analyse of Mrs Bennet is her polite flirtation towards other characters. The example I am going to use is when Mrs Bennet shows herself up to the Bingley sisters about the amount of families she dines with.
‘I believe there are few neighbourhoods larger. I know we dine with four and twenty families’.
To the Bingley sisters, twenty-four families would have been very pitiful and small, they would have laughed at this. Mrs Bennet is very proud of her twenty-four families and is completely oblivious to the ridicule she has opened herself to. Jane Austen has placed this part in the novel, so everyone except from Mrs Bennet herself can see and feel the embarrassment. This is very effective, because it shows how totally stupid and ridiculous Mrs Bennet is.
Lady Catherine is another prime example of Austen’s use of satire. This is because Austen has completely different views to the people that Lady Catherine represents and the idea that the more money you had, the better person and more intelligent you were seen as. But, many others had this same view at the time. Lady Catherine takes the view that because she is wealthier and higher up the social chain, she is better than the lower classes, for example the Bennets. On page 137, we see the first ridicule of the Bennets by Lady Catherine:
‘Why did you not all learn? -You ought all to have learned. The Miss Webbs all play, and their father has not so good an income as yours’.
Lady Catherine goes on about music and how her taste is the most magnificent. She criticizes the Bennets for not all playing, when her own family doesn’t anyway. As you can see, here she brings up the matter of money and tries to tease Lizzy. This is effective because it shows how Austen has used Lady Catherine to represent the opinion of certain people from the Georgian society who believed that rich people should get what they want because of their wealth.
Austen has given Lady Catherine the role of representing those with the same opinions as the wealthy people at the time, she believes young girls should not have an opinion or voice it. She also has the view that it is appalling if lower class people should challenge her, and especially if it is someone younger than her. In this case, Lizzy. For example:
‘Upon my word’, said her ladyship, ‘You give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person, -pray, what is your age?’
We can see here, that Lady Catherine disapproves Lizzy, voicing her opinion very boldly and doesn’t care what Lady Catherine thinks. Austen has given Lizzy the same views as herself. We can see that Austen has based the character very much on herself. This certain ‘comment’, is placed in the novel for humour. Lizzy challenges Lady Catherine, and all of the time, Lizzy comes out on top. This is very effective because many people would back down to people like Lady Catherine, but we can see the rebelliousness from Austen’s characters, and probably how she herself would have acted in a situation similar to this.
Because of her wealth and her social status, Lady Catherine believes her instructions should be followed without question. An example of this is found at the end of the novel when she demands Lizzy not to marry Darcy.
‘Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for my attentions to you last spring?’
This shows that Lady Catherine is following the conventions of Georgian society and trying to impose her will and status to get Lizzy to obey her. This outburst shows her horror and disbelief that a young lady of low status likes Lizzy would dare speak to deny her what she wants. This is effective because it highlights the aspect of Georgian society which Austen disagrees with and also it strikes a reaction with the reader because Lizzy is the heroin of the story and Lady Catherine is an arrogant and obnoxious character.
In the first passage about Mr Collins, we can automatically presume what his character is like: ‘Mr Collins was not a sensible man and the deficiency of nature has been but little assisted by education or society. A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect, which he felt for her high rank. Mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman’. Jane Austen voices her opinion in this quote and soon we can see that he lives up to his reputation. Through Mr Collins, Austen criticizes that male inheritance is wrong and how the society was very much based upon and around men. The first mention we hear of Mr Collins is his letter to Mr Bennet, confirming his stay with them soon. In this letter we can see Collins’s great admiration and enthusiasm to the great and bountiful Lady Catherine De Bough. This is on page 50, volume 1 chapter 13:
‘…I have been so fortunate as to be distinguished by the patronage of the right honourable Lady Catherine De Bough…whose bounty and beneficence has preferred me to the valuable rectory of this parish…’
In this quote, we can see that Collins is over the top, using elongated words, in his praise of Lady Catherine. Here, Austen uses Collins as his own satire, he makes himself look like a complete bambling idiot and needs no input of Austen’s voice at all to make him seem like this. This is an effective idea, as it amuses the audience and shows who Collins represents in the Georgian society.
Another example in which Austen satirises the idea that men were the centre of society is when Lizzy rejects Mr. Collins offer of marriage. He believes that because he is a clergyman he is of higher rank than Lizzy and his reasons for marriage are utterly bizarre. This is featured on page 88.
‘My reasons for marrying are, first, that I think it a right for every clergyman is easy circumstances (like my self) to set the matrimony in his parish...’
Collins goes on to express his other reasons for marriage saying how it will make him feel happier and finally that it will please Lady Catherine. These pathetic reasons really show Collins for who he is and Austen is trying to express this is how some, if not, a lot of people acted in Georgian society. I believe this is very effective because it sparks a reaction with the reader and amuses them in a cringing sort of way.
Another character in Pride and Prejudice that is a target of Jane Austen’s satire is Miss Bingley, a posh, snobby, rich . Throughout the novel, we see her character progress and her snobbery shine. She believes she and her sister are better than everyone because of her fortune, and gives off very similar aspects to Lady Catherine. On page 26 we see her being snobby and rude after Lizzy walks to Netherfield to see how her ill sister Jane was feeling.
‘That she should have walked three miles….in such dirty weather and by herself was…incredible to Miss Bingley; and Elizabeth was convinced that they held her in contempt for it…’
We can see here that Miss Bingley is portrayed as a sector of society that believes wealth is a must and that decorum is highly talked of. Lizzy is only visiting her sick sister, so why should she have to be clean or be chauffeured to Longbourn. This is effective, because from the first moment, Austen portrays Miss Bingley in a few words. This sets the readers’ view of her throughout the whole novel. It is humorous as well, to think that you need to be in high decorum to visit your sick sister.
Mr Hurst (the younger sister’s husband) constantly gets a little dig from Austen every so often. Though it is simple, it’s effective. We get a description of Mr Hurst on p 27:
‘…he was an indolent man, who lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards, who when he found her prefer a plain dish to a ragout, had nothing to say to her..’ (Referring to Lizzy)
Here, we see Austen is speaking herself as the narrator. Mr Hurst represents the people from Georgian society, who were lazy, indolent and fat men. Austen targets Mr Hurst because he is a wealthy man who has the idea that he can get away with sleeping and eating. This is placed in to amuse the audience through the use of satire.
Miss Bingley likes to tease and torment Darcy and Lizzy because she herself fancies Darcy and feels they should marry because they are of similar status. She particularly wants to marry him for the money and thinks it’s ridiculous that Lizzy and Darcy would ever be an item because she is of much lower status.
On page 45, we see Ms Bingley trying to impress Darcy by inviting Lizzy to take a turn around the room.
‘Let me persuade you to follow my example and take a turn around the room. - I assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude.’
The first time we hear of walking is when Lizzy walks to Netherfield to visit Jane. Both Bingley sisters thought this was frightfully strange and looked down upon Lizzy for it. Darcy liked the fact that Lizzy walked to Netherfield and this got to Ms Bingley. What other reason would Ms Bingley want to ‘take a turn around the room’ than trying to impress Darcy. This shows that Austen is trying to satirise the people of Georgian society who were young women thinking they were better than other people.
The final character I am going to be analysing is Lydia. Lydia is portrayed as an empty headed, naïve, young girl who is very much like her mother and just as silly. One of the first times we hear of Lydia is on page 8, where Austen says a little on her and her sister.
‘Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough to be never without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball...’
This shows the silliness and flirtatiousness of Lydia. She has been brought up by her mother with the ideas that being with a partner is the most important thing in life. At every ball, Lydia dances with anyone and everyone, no matter who they are and only thinks of fun, which gets her into trouble with Wickham. Austen uses this to show how some young girls of Georgian society completely ignored the social rules and acted carelessly without consideration for their families’ reputation. She was one of the few girls who did not act like this. She shows them up through the character of Lydia and this amuses the audience.
Another way in which Austen satirises Georgian society through the character of Lydia is after the marriage scandal with Wickham, when she shows complete lack of consideration for her family and their reputation. On page 261, we see full disregard:
‘Well mamma…what do you think of my husband? Is not he a charming man? I am sure my sisters must all envy me. I only hope they may have half my good luck…’
This quote shows that despite Lydia’s scandalous actions, sham of a wedding, the fact that she could have ruined her sisters’ chances of marriage and brought shame on her family, she still thinks she is better than her sisters and is proud of her marriage. This use of satire is effective because this sparks a reaction with the reader. The fact she has broken nearly every rule in the etiquette handbook of Georgian society and still wants to be treated with respect is totally ridiculous.
In conclusion, Jane Austen uses satire very effectively throughout the novel Pride and Prejudice. She does this mainly through the use of effective characterisation, especially in the five characters that I have discussed. Austen bases a lot of what happens in the novel on her actually life. She would have been very similar to her character Lizzy and would have attended many social events and balls. When Lizzy and Darcy marry, their pride is collapsed and especially takes the toll on Darcy, since he was very much at the top of the food chain. They take the risk of losing friends and respect and marry for love, unlike what some from Georgian society would have done. Their marriage of love was not what Jane Austen managed to achieve in her life. Humour, anger and love are shown throughout the novel. These factors together add to the shear magnificence of the novel and show what Georgian society could have been like for certain people.