Austen's Manipulation of the Reader's Emotions Towards Characters in Pride and Prejudice

Thesis: Throughout the text of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen challenges gender and social norms in the Georgian Era through the development of Elizabeth Bennet as she interacts with characters in the novel.

Pride and Prejudice tells a story of a young girl in the midst of a very materialistic society. Jane Austen uses the setting to dramatize the restraints women had to endure in society. As the novel develops, we see how women have to act in a way according to their gender, social class, and family lineage. Elizabeth Bennet’s sisters represent the proper societal lady while Lizzy is the rebel. Through her characters Austen shows how a women’s happiness came second to the comfort of wealth. As the plot develops, events are laid out to illustrate how true love is unattainable when women marry for intentions of wealth. Women have very specific and limited roles in a society where men are the superior. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice examines and critiques a society built upon gender roles. Austen does this by examining the obstacles women experienced in the Regency Period. Austen expresses how women were controlled, and objectified by men through their need to get married to a man. Additionally, the novel ridicules how women who could not afford to live without men were shadowed by their partner. This commentary is seen through the portrayal of the Bennet sisters. The females of the family are forced to marry because they do not inherit any wealth. The family is forced to comply with the same boundaries Austen was governed by. Therefore, Austen focuses on how the Bennet sisters overcome a society that suppresses them. This allows the reader to comprehend the strength, perseverance, determination, and assertiveness of the women in this time. Overall, Jane Austen addresses gender issues throughout the story. This is seen in the progressive image of Elizabeth, as she combats the inequality women experience. Although it was not common for women to criticize the patriarchy, the overall depiction of females is progressive. Elizabeth represents Austen’s feminist views, and the depiction of women in the novel is seen through her feminist image as she deals with Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy.

Jane Austen originally wrote Pride and Prejudice in 1813 as a novel of manners. Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist, encompasses Austen’s viewpoints on the world, although Austen uses Elizabeth’s transformation through the novel to demonstrate them fully. Included on pages 11 to 12 of the novel is a passage Austen utilizes to depict major themes that recur throughout the novel. She did this by using dialogue between Elizabeth and Jane, as well as Elizabeth’s thoughts. The Bennets have recently met the Bingleys at a very informal ball. During the passage, Jane and Elizabeth discuss Mr. Bingley and his sisters, as well as their opinions of them. Austen uses sentence structure, diction that creates a cynical

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen creates a unique environment which allows her characters to evolve and to transform. One of the characters, Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, faces challenges that impact her decisive demeanor. Likewise, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Elizabeth’s love interest, confronts many obstacles which come against his character as well. Through several key experiences, both Elizabeth and Darcy undergo internal transformations – Elizabeth’s quick judgments become humbleness while Darcy’s arrogance is replaced with humility.

Through the writing, Austen makes each character unique and different. This technique is clearly shown in her novel, Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, Austen identifies the voices of characters, such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, through the dialogue. Both characters use a complex structure in dialogue. For Mr. Darcy, this shows his intelligence and high class. Whereas for Elizabeth, this shows her insecurity within her social class. Elizabeth competes with Mr. Darcy by using the same structure to showcase her intelligence and wit. Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Darcy’s first proposal demonstrates this concept. She says, “From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form that the groundwork of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike” (Austen 131).

    "Like all true literary classics, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is still capable of engaging us, both emotionally and intellectually" (Twayne back flap) through its characters and themes. This essay illustrates how Jane Austen uses the characterization of the major characters and irony to portray the theme of societal frailties and vices because of a flawed humanity. Austen writes about the appearance vs. the reality of the characters, the disinclination to believe other characters, the desire to judge others, and the tendency to take people on first impressions.

Introduced to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as a tall, handsome, self-absorbed aristocrat, Darcy experiences a change in personality and character. In order to dispose of his existent views on money and marriage, Darcy needed to feel something, to fall in love. Although he was well mannered, he did not know how to treat women with respect, especially those of a lesser economic status. The love of Elizabeth Bennet, however, changed his behavior.

The progress between Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s relationship, in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) illustrates and explores several the key themes in the novel. Their relationship highlights class expectations, pride and prejudice, and marriage, and how they play a major role in determining the course of their association. These are outlined through their first prejudiced dislike of each other when they first meet, the stronger feelings for Elizabeth that develop on Darcy’s side, her rejection in Darcy’s first proposal, then her change of opinion and lastly the mutual love they form for one another. Pride and Prejudice is set up as a satire, commenting on human idiocy, and Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s novel is commanded by women; Pride and Prejudice explores the expectations of women in a society that is set at the turn of the 19th century. Throughout the plot, Austen’s female characters are all influenced by their peers, pressures from their family, and their own desires. The social struggle of men and women is seen throughout the novel. Characters, like Elizabeth, are examples of females not acting as proper as women were supposed to, while other women like Mrs. Bennett allow themselves to be controlled by men and society. Mr. Collins is a representation of the struggles males deal with in a novel dominated by women. The theme of marriage is prominent during Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Marriage can be examined in

  In her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen portrays Elizabeth Bennet as "strong and intelligent, yet bewitching in a completely feminine way". Elizabeth's possession of these attributes: strength of character and moral integrity, great intelligence, and an attractive personality, make her an admirable person. Yet Elizabeth has faults, which makes her more human. Austen's portrayal of Elizabeth is realistic and masterful, often juxtaposing her with characters lacking her attributes to heighten our appreciation of her.

Beginning with Mr. Darcy's failed proposal and his later letter of explanation, Elizabeth's proud and judgemental nature is altered by the pressure placed on her to decide if she wishes to marry Mr. Darcy or not. Introspection and her eventual acceptance of her romantic feelings for Mr. Darcy demonstrate that strenuous emotional situations can lead to a change in character, by allowing her to open up her prejudiced mind and see that the opinions she has are not always correct. Prior to her relations with Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth is a young woman who sees little point in marrying if she does not find a man whom will bring her happiness in life. This provides a foundation from which she can change, placing her in an ideal position to change in response to the

Jane Austen is prone to creating characters that depend upon this sort of discussion. Throughout the novel, Pride and Prejudice, we are often given character analyses through the dialogue among other characters, rather than an author’s direct description. Through these dialogues, readers are able to portray each character through the opinions and attitudes of other characters within the story.

In the novel of "Pride and Prejudice", the author Jane Austen uses a lot of literary devices to emphasize her story. One of the main themes is love, which connects towards marriage or separation of the characters. She uses characterization to give the reader a much more clear perception of the different characteristics and to strengthen her themes. Irony is shown a lot on how women want to marry wealthy men to save their repetition or family matters. Lastly, Imagery is used constantly throughout the novel to show characters emotions or reactions to the events.

One of the most important artists that appeared was the great "Jane Austen" an English novelist of romance based fiction. One of Jane Austen's great writings was the novel "Pride and Prejudice". The novel was based on the idea of marriage and how it was affected by the society. A major idea that was shown in Jane's novel was the idea behind how certain physical appearances really hid how a person's real character is. It is clearly shown in the way Elizabeth was misguided with Mr. Darcy's and Mr. Wickham's appearance on how their Internal character really is as mentioned in the article "Pride and Prejudice: Appearance vs. Reality". By the time most of the novel's events are over Elizabeth comes to a decision that her primary impact on both Mr. Darcy and Mr. Wickham were incorrect. Jane Austen clearly concludes on her novel that appearance often tricks how people judge one's real character.