HÌNH ẢNH NGƯỜI PHỤ nữ ANH nửa đầu THẾ kỷ XIX được MIÊU tả TRONG tác PHẨM KIÊU HÃNH và ĐỊNH KIẾN của JANE AUSTEN

ABSTRACT
As an attempt to contribute to gaining more insights into the fiction Pride and
Prejudice by Jane Austen, this research aims to investigate the image of English
women at the turn of 19
th
century depicted in the fiction. Specifically, the study
focuses on the low status of women in marriage, inheritance and education. In
addition, the reaction of those women, both supporters and opponents, was also
meticulously analyzed. Beside the disapproval to prejudice at that time on feminine
rights, Jane Austen successfully built her admirable image of women – Elizabeth
Bennet. Indeed, the novel Pride and Prejudice helps the novelist express her criticism
of social conventions against women at the turn of 19
th
century.
ii
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
1. The rationale for the study 1
2. Aims of the study 1
3. Scope of the study 2
4. Methodology 2
Chapter 1: Literature review 3
1.1. The definition of fiction 3
1.2. The elements of fiction 3
1.2.1 Plot 3
1.2.2. Character 4
1.2.3. Setting 4
1.2.4. Theme 5
1.3. The connection between literature and life 5

Chapter 2: An overview of the novel “Pride and prejudice” 10
2.1. An overview of English literature in Jane Austen’s time 10
2.1.1. Social setting 10
2.1.2 Literature movements 11
2.2. The biography of Jane Austen 12
2.2.1. Jane Austen’s life 12
2.2.2. Jane Austen’s career 12
2.3. The summary of “Pride and Prejudice” 13
iv
Chapter 3: English women at the turn of the 19th century as depicted in “Pride
and Prejudice” 16
3.1. The women’s status shown in the novel: low status 16
3.1.1. Low status in marriage 16
3.1.2. Low status in inheritance 25
3.1.3. Low status in education 27
3.2. The women’s reaction towards social prejudice 30
3.2.1. Women’s surrender 31
3.2.2. Women’s striving 35
3.3. Elizabeth Bennet – Admirable image of women by Jane Austen 38
3.3.1. Elizabeth Bennet – an intelligent woman 39
3.3.2. Elizabeth Bennet – A strong characteristic 41
1. Conclusion 43
2. Limitation of the study 44
3. Suggestions for further research 44
Reference 45
v
Part 1: Introduction
1. The rationale for the study
The more mature I get, the more I realize that time goes by so fast. It seems to
me that many great things pass by quickly and wait for no one. As George R.R. Martin

(cited in Franich 2011) said “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man
who never reads lives only one”, I can acquire more knowledge on the outside world
from books. On these days, only when preparing for the graduation paper do I have
chance to enjoy the novels which used to be my habit. The name “Pride and Prejudice”
by Jane Austen immediately sprang to my mind. Not only is this novel sweet but it is
also well – reflected on English society at the turn of the 19
th
century. This masterpiece
mentions a wide range of life aspects in England at the turn of the 19
th
century, from
pride and prejudice to lifestyle and convention, from the value of money to the story of
courtship and marriage. Under the ironic pen of Jane Austen, the lively images of
English women are also clearly shown. She offers a startlingly complete continuum of
women's characters, “with Lydia and Mrs. Bennet on one side as the least responsible
and capable, and with Lady de Bourgh on the other as the most powerful and
controlling” (Pride and Prejudice theme of women and femininity, 2012). This range is
much wider and more diverse than the range of male characters. Hence, this
inspirational novel has caught my attention to the status of women in early nineteenth-
century England. In attempt to study deeper on female identities, I quickly decided to
choose the novel “Pride and Prejudice” and the above topic for my thesis.
2. Aims of the study
The thesis aims to study deeper the topic of the English women in the late 18
th
and early 19
th
century by analyzing two main issues that the status of women and their
responses to their own status. In addition, the thesis focuses on Jane Austen’s
viewpoint on the ideal image of women. The researcher hopes to contribute to the
1

study of English literature as well as express the admiration for the talented writer Jane
Austen.
3. Scope of the study
The thesis only deals with a small aspect of the novel “Pride and Prejudice” by
Jane Austen, that is, English women at the turn of the 19
th
century. Hence, it will not
cover other significant values of the novel. Besides, a brief analysis of Jane Austen’s
viewpoint on the ideal image of women is also included in the last section of chapter 3.
4. Methodology
The method of analysis which is attached to this graduation paper consists of
searching for materials, analyzing, giving judgments and drawing some conclusions.
2
Part 2: Content
Chapter 1: Literature review
1.1. The definition of fiction
Fiction is one genre of literature, written in prose, which can be considered as
the product of imagination by which the author depicts the picture of society and the
problems of human life through characters and events.
Fiction can be defined as a piece of writing in prose in which the writer creates
believable characters and events. Even though the fiction is born from the imagination
of the author, its unreal characters and events do not cause a strange sense for readers.
In contrast, readers find the familiarity in daily life through the fiction. Characters are
put in particular situations to express the same kinds of feelings and emotions of a
normal person. Readers follow and enjoy the sequence of events that characters relate
in. In other words, readers experience the same feelings of characters. In this term, the
fiction manages to entertain the audience. The writer opens a door to a new world of
wonders and complexities for readers to discover. However, entertainment is not the
only target of fiction. The authors, through fictions, share their own opinions and
attitudes towards the vivid world. From the viewpoint of one artist, readers also have

different look into the life. It is admitted that reading fiction brings the inspirations to
the audience. In the light of understanding and investigating the fiction, it is interesting
to discover and enjoy many aspects of life. Fictions add colors to the soul and spirits of
people who love reading.
1.2. The elements of fiction
1.2.1 Plot
As one element of fiction, plot helps make the work appealing and real to the
audience. Plot is a sequence of main events which closely relate to each other. Fiction
is created by imagination so the plot can be diversified with the creativity of the writer.
3
Not only can the writer make up the plot from the cycle of daily life but also imagine
unreal world with fictional features. Although the plot can be real or unreal, the events
must be neatly connected. One event must be the result of the previous event and, at
the same time, the cause of another. The events make the fiction coherent and exciting
to the readers. A plot can contain several factors: the beginning, conflict (problem’s
arising), rising action (premises for the climax), climax (often the most appealing part
of the fiction), falling action (the outcome of the climax) and conclusion.
1.2.2. Character
Character is considered as the most important element in the fiction. Characters
take part in the plot, express the feelings and emotions, and take actions. They have the
emotions and thoughts including happiness, sorrow, despair, hope, etc. To evaluate the
character, the readers need to deeply expose them through their appearance, thoughts
and actions. Though the characters can be people or animals, even aliens or man-like
robots, they represent the messages and ideas that the author hopes to share with the
readers. The various kinds of characters play different roles in the plot as well as in the
fiction. Particularly, each character is usually the symbol of certain type of people in
the society. There are four types of characters in the fiction: main character, minor
character, round character, and static character.
1.2.3. Setting
Another important element of fiction is setting. The location and the time in

which the story of fiction takes place form the setting of the fiction. Both general and
specific settings, including chronological setting and physical setting exist in the
fiction. Thanks to the setting, it is easier for readers to imagine the atmosphere
consisting of social milieu, culture, historical period, geography, etc. that characters
belong to.
4
1.2.4. Theme
Theme can be defined as the point of the fiction. The author hopes to share a
message or lesson through the theme. It can be related to life, society, relationship, etc.
However, the author does not directly express the theme. The readers need to analyze
deeply the work to comprehend the theme. And when the readers catch the theme, the
writer is successful in conveying the message. Normally, there can be more than one
theme in one fiction. In addition, depending on the views of readers, each theme can
be understood in many various ways.
1.3. The connection between literature and life
Warner (2010) points out that:
There is an intimate connection between literature and life. It is, in fact, life
which is the subject matter of literature. Life provides the raw material on which
literature imposes an artistic form. Literature, as we defined in the previous section, is
the communication of the writer’s experience of life. But this connection between
literature and life is not so simple as it seems. This problem has been discussed by
some of the greatest literary critics of the world, and their conclusions have been
sometimes contradictory.
Plato, the great Greek philosopher, was the first to give a serious thought to this
problem—the relation of literature to life. In his discussions he referred mainly to
poetry, but what he said about poetry can be equally applied to literature as a whole.
He regarded poetry as a mere ‘imitation’ of life, and thus he condemned the poets. His
opposition to poetry was based on his theory of knowledge. According to him, true
reality consists in the ideas of things, of which individual objects are but reflections or
imitations. For example, when we say a black dog, a good dog, a lame dog etc., we are

comparing the dog which we actually see with the ideal dog, our idea of the dog,
which is the true, unchanging reality, while the dogs which we name as black, good,
lame etc. are mere reflections and imitations of that reality. Thus the poet, who
imitates those objects which are themselves imitations of reality, is obviously
5
producing something, which is still further removed from ultimate reality. Plato
developed this argument first with reference to the painter. Painting is an imitation of a
specific object or group of objects, and if it is nothing but that, if reality lies not in
apprehending reality, the painter is not doing anything particularly valuable. Just as the
painter only imitates what he sees and does not know how to make or to use what he
sees (he could paint a bed, but not make it), so the poet imitates reality without
necessarily understanding it. Poetry or literature as a whole is an imitation of imitation
and thus twice removed from truth.
There is an obvious error in Plato’s reasoning. Being too much of a philosopher
and moralist, he could not see clearly the relation between literature and life. He is
right when he says that the poet produces something which is less than reality it
purports to represent, but he does not perceive that he also creates something more
than reality. This error was corrected by Plato’s pupil, Aristotle. In Poetics he
undertook to examine the nature and qualities of imaginative literature with a view to
demonstrating that it is true, and not false as Plato had shown it. He agreed with Plato
that poetry is an imitation of reality, but according to him, this imitation is the
objective representation of life in literature or, in other words, the imaginative
reconstruction of life. Poetry is thus not connected with the outside world in the simple
and direct fashion supposed by Plato. The poet first derives an inspiration from the
world by the power of his imagination; the art of poetry then imitates this imaginative
inspiration in language. The art of poetry or literature as a whole exists to give shape
and substance to a certain kind of imaginative impulse; the existence of the art implies
the existence of the impulse. Now it is just possible to imagine life exactly as it is; but
the exciting thing is to imagine life as it might be, and it is then that imagination
becomes an impulse capable of inspiring poetry. This is true even in the case of what

we call realism in literature; it is true even when the life imagined was originally an
actuality of some highly exciting nature in itself. Imagination may no more than
concentrate the actuality, by dropping out all its insignificant passages. But that will be
6
enough to make the resultant poetry, or literature, something different from the copy of
the world which Plato’s condemnation assumed it to be. This was Aristotle’s reply to
Plato. Art or literature is not a slavish imitation of reality twice removed from truth.
Presenting as it must do individual men or women in the trappings and circumstances
of life, it does not leave them there, but pierces to what is significant in action and
character, expressing through their words and action that is true for all human nature—
the poet’s truth, the universal truth. The poet is concerned with truth—but not the truth
of the annalist, the historian, or the photographer. The poet’s business is not to write of
events that have happened, but of what may happen, of things that are possible in the
light of probability or necessity. For this reason poetry is a more philosophical, a more
serious thing than history. For whilst history deals with the particular only—this event
or that event—poetry deals with the universal. The poet selects from life according to
the principle of poetic unity and poetic truth. He seeks to draw out what is relevant and
representative, and to present it harmoniously, in a self-contained situation. The truth
with which he deals is not that which the anatomist may lay bare on the dissecting-
table, but that which a poet divines and translates.
Aristotle, thus, met Plato’s charge that poetry is imitation of an imitation by
showing that the poet, by concerning himself with fundamental probabilities rather
with casual actualities, reaches more deeply into reality than the annalist or historian.
Sir Philip Sidney, who next took up the question of the relation of literature to life also
refuted Plato’s contention that literature is a mere imitation of an imitation. According
to him, the poet does not imitate, but creates; it is the reader who imitates what the
poet creates. Taking his material from the actual world, the poet creates an ideal world
by means of his imagination. For Sidney the ideal world of the poet is of value because
it is a better world than the real world and it is presented in such a way that the reader
is stimulated to try and imitate it in his own practice.

The problem of literature’s relation to life was next taken up by Dryden who
pointed out that imaginative literature gives us a ‘just and lively’ image of human
7
nature by representing its ‘passions and humours’. This point was further developed by
Dr. Johnson who expressed the view that the poet ‘holds up a mirror to nature”.
According to him, “Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representation
of general nature.” The way to please the greatest number over the longest period of
time, which is the duty of imaginative literature, is to provide accurate pictures of
nature. Explaining his view that the poet is the illuminator of human nature Dr.
Johnson wrote:
“The business of the poet is to examine, not the individual, but the species… He
must exhibit in his portraits of nature such prominent and striking features as recall the
original to every mind, and must neglect the minute discriminations, which one may
have remarked and another have neglected, for those characteristics which are alike
obvious to vigilance and carelessness.
“But the knowledge of nature is only half the task of a poet; he must be acquainted
likewise with all the modes of life. His character requires that he estimates the
happiness and misery of every condition, observe the power of all the passions in all
their combinations, and trace the changes of the human mind, as they are modified by
various institutions and accidental influences of climate or custom, from the
sprightliness of fancy to the despondence of decrepitude. He must divert himself of the
prejudices of his age or country; he must consider right and wrong in their abstracted
and variable state; he must regard present laws and their opinions and rise to general
and transcendental truths, which will always, be the same. He must, therefore, content
himself with the slow progress of his name, condemn the applause of his own time,
and commit his claims to the justice of posterity. He must write as the interpretator of
nature and the legislator of mankind and consider himself as presiding over the
thoughts and manners of future generations, as being superior to time and place.”
According to Dr. Johnson, the poet must know the manners and customs of men of
all times and conditions, not because it is his duty to make vivid to the reader the

8
different ways in which men hove lived and behaved, but so that he is not taken in by
surface differences and is able to penetrate to the common humanity underlying there.
Walter Pater, a critic of the later nineteenth century, who discussed the relation of
literature and life in detail, remarked in his essay on “Style”: “Just as in proportion as
the writer’s aim, consciously or unconsciously, comes to be the transcribing, not of the
world, not of mere fact, but his sense of it, he becomes an artist, his work fine art; and
good art in proportion to the truth of his presentment of that sense.”
Thus, according to Pater, the literary artist does not give us a photographic
‘imitation’ of reality, but a transcription of his vision of it. It is from reality or life
from which the artist starts, but he tries to reconstruct it when he would ‘see it steadily
and see it whole’.
Taking into consideration the views of Plato, Aristotle, Sidney, Dryden, Johnson
and Pater, we conclude that the notion that literature is not concerned with real life is
wrong. All great pieces of literature are ‘true to life’. But the literary artist is not
content to ‘hold the mirror upto nature’, because his business, as Matthew Arnold has
pointed out, is a ‘criticism, of life’. He concentrates on those characteristics and
aspects of life which are permanent, but which might easily pass unobserved. He
clutches at anything which promises some permanence among what is always fleeting.
That is why he gives us a picture of reality which is more characteristic of life than
anything which we discover by our own day-to-day observation. The images which we
are creating by our own observation of life at every moment of our working experience
are hazy, half-finished and unrelated. It is the literary artist who finishes them, makes
them clear and puts them in their wider setting, and to that extent makes life less
obscure, because he knows more about life than anyone can know without regarding
life with his eyes.
9
Chapter 2: An overview of the novel “Pride and prejudice”
2.1. An overview of English literature in Jane Austen’s time
2.1.1. Social setting

The 19th century was a relatively peaceful era for Britain. This country was
transformed by the industrial revolution. At that time, as the first country to
industrialize, Britain had a head start over other nations and became the richest and
most powerful nation in the world. The industrial revolution did cause many changes
to citizens, especially a host of inventions made life more comfortable and convenient.
A large part of the population lived at subsistence level. Along with changes in
economy, Britain also witnessed the political reform. The government was divided
into competitive parties consisting of the Conservative and the Liberal Whigs.
Consequently, at the time of revolution in politics and economy, social status was
depended on wealth.
The inheritance law of this time was unfair. If the father died, the eldest son or
the nearest man in family branch got everything. The other children only had some
choices if they wanted to do something without being burdened by work. They could
follow traditional custom and work as a clergyman. But if the church was not suitable
for them, the army or the navy were also other choices. If nothing of these was of no
interest in them, they went to Oxford or Cambridge and studied law. In contrast,
women did not have so many choices. The most popular option was to get maried. The
other one was to spend the whole life with her parents or go to rich family as a lady`s
companion or a governess.
At this time, behavior was deemed to be a component of everyone`s
personality. Good behavior included in addition to the right manners, specific forms of
address. In the majority of cases, married couples used their last names. Fellow human
beings rated the behaviors of others, so again, it was very important to use the right
10
behavior. In particular, women were expected to follow all the manners. The manners
consisted of an interest in the arts such as music, drawing or dancing, as well as polite
form of uses, expression in face and eyes, acceptable clothing, elegance in movements,
gestures and attitudes.
As a result, Jane Austen was strongly influenced by social background, which
could be clearly seen on her works including the novel Pride and Prejudice.

2.1.2 Literature movements
Abbey ( 1997) points out that:
The Romanticism era or movement was basically a rebellion of the typical or
mainstream idea of literature. This was a very strong movement; it was accepted and
practiced by approximately two thirds of the popular writing population. It began in
Germany and England in the 1770s, by the 1820s it had taken over all of Europe. Since
the Romantic movement started, it has transformed poetry, the novel, drama, painting,
sculpture, all forms of concert music, and ballet. It was deeply connected with the
politics of the time. It was the voice of revolution.
The sentimental novel or the novel of sensibility was an 18th century literary
genre which celebrated the emotional and intellectual concepts of sentiment,
sentimentalism, and sensibility. Sentimentalism, which was to be distinguished from
sensibility, was a fashion in both poetry and prose fiction beginning in the eighteenth
century in reaction to the rationalism. Sentimental novels relied on emotional
response, both from their readers and characters. They featured scenes of distress and
tenderness, and the plot was arranged to advance emotions rather than action. The
result was a valorization of "fine feeling," displaying the characters as a model for
refined, sensitive emotional effect. The ability to display feelings was thought to show
character and experience, and to shape social life and relations.
Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility was most often seen as a "witty satire of the
sentimental novel", by juxtaposing values of the Age of Enlightenment including sense
and reason with those of the later eighteenth century including sensibility and feeling
11
while exploring the larger realities of women's lives, especially through concerns with
marriage and inheritance. This reading of Sense and Sensibility specifically and
Austen's fiction in general has been complicated and revised by recent critics, all of
whom see unruly and even subversive energies at play in her work, inspired by the
sentimental tradition.
2.2. The biography of Jane Austen
2.2.1. Jane Austen’s life

Jane Austen was born on 16 December, 1775 near Basingstoke, in Hampshire,
England. She was the seventh child of eight children of Reverend George Austen. Jane
Austen was educated mainly at home and never lived apart from her family. Different
from most girls at that time, she was fortunate to achieve good education, which was
the basement for her future career.
As a young woman, Jane Austen usually attended balls in many houses of the
neighborhood. She loved the country and had many Hampshire friends. Because of her
parents’ work, the whole family needed to leave the country in 1801 and until 1809,
the Austens moved back to their beloved Hampshire countryside. Her house was small
but comfortable, and most importantly, it provided the settled home which Jane Austen
needed in order to write.
Jane Austen contracted addisons disease, a tubercular disease of the kidneys.
By May 1817, she was so ill and needed treating in Winchester. Tragically, there was
no cure and Jane Austen died in her sister's arms in the early hours of July18th , 1817.
She was buried in Winchester Cathedral.
2.2.2. Jane Austen’s career
Jane Austen was a major English novelist, whose interesting fictions mark the
transition in English literature from 18th century neo-classicism to 19th century
romanticism.
12
At the age of 14, she wrote poems, stories, and other very amusing juvenilia. In
her early twenties, Jane Austen completed fictions that were later re-worked and
published as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. She
also started a work called The Watsons which was never completed.
In the seven and a half years that she lived in the house on Chawton estate, she
revised Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and respectively published them
in 1811 and 1813, and then joined a period of severe productivity. Mansfield Park
came out in 1814, followed by Emma in 1816. She also completed Persuasion which
was published together with Northanger Abbey in 1818, the year after her death. There
were no books published in her life-time had her name on them — they were described

as being written "By a Lady". In the winter of 1816 she started Sanditon, but illness
prevented her completing the work.
2.3. The summary of “Pride and Prejudice”
The Bennet family has five daughters: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia.
They live at Longbourn, close to the small town of Meryton in Hertfordshire. Mrs.
Bennet is determined to find advantageous marriages for her daughters. Charles
Bingley, a rich bachelor, comes to the location with his two sisters and his richer
friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, raising much excitement from Mrs Bennet and her family.
A town ball is held in which Jane Bennet, the oldest and most beautiful of the Bennet
sisters, attracts Mr. Bingley’s attention. The couple dances and begin to fall in love.
Meanwhile, the local society, including Elizabeth comes to consider Darcy
insufferably arrogant and proud. After several social meetings, Darcy becomes drawn
to Lizzy’s liveliness and independent spirit while Jane’s relationship with Mr. Bingley
also continues to burgeon. Sensing Darcy’s growing attraction to Elizabeth, Caroline
Bingley’s jealousy becomes obvious. At the same time, Mr. Bennet receives a letter
from Mr. Collins, heir to the Longbourn estate. Mr. Collins is a ridiculous man who
always boasts about his position and the help of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The
officers are camping near Longbourn. This kind of news is another source of great
13
excitement for Mrs. Bennet and several her daughters. Among the soliders is George
Wickham, a handsome and polite man, who shares Elizabeth about his past
mistreatment at the hands of Mr Darcy. Elizabeth’s prejudice for Mr. Darcy grows
stronger. Shortly after his arrivial, Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth but she rejects the
offer. Just three days later, Mr. Collins transfers his attention to Elizabeth’s friend,
Charlotte Lucas. Charlotte accepts his marriage proposal, which initially makes
Elizabeth shock, but she quickly calms herself and accepts to visit them. Netherfield is
abandoned by the Bingleys and Mr. Darcy, who all go to London. Elizabeth believes
that Caroline Bingley is deliberately attempting to separate Mr. Bingley from Jane.
Jane visits London in the hope of meeting Mr. Bingley, but finds herself treated
harshly by Caroline Bingley. She gradually believes that Bingley no longer cares for

her. Elizabeth visits Charlotte’ house and meets the domineering Lady Catherine de
Bourgh who is Mr. Darcy’s aunt. She is paid a visit by Darcy and his cousin, Colonel
Fitzwilliam. Elizabeth knows that Darcy was involved in separating Mr. Bingley and
Jane. To Elizabeth’s surprise, Darcy proposes to her, making it clear that he had been
fighting his feelings due to the Bennet family’s inferiority. Insulted at his speech,
Elizabeth refuses his proposal and mentions two reasons for her dislike of Mr Darcy.
Because of him, Jane is unhappy and Wickham is poor and miserable. The next day,
Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, which explains everything. Elizabeth visits Derbyshire
with her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs Gardiner. They visit Pemberley, Darcy’s grand
estate, thinking that the master is currently absent. She gets information from the
housekeeper that Darcy is considered to be a kind and generous man. Elizabeth is
embarrassed to see that Darcy has returned to Pemberley, and feels terribly awkward
when they meet. However, Darcy’s behaviour is hospitable and courteous to her and
her family. Elizabeth’s affection for Darcy grows rapidly. Elizabeth later learns from
Mrs Gardiner that it was Darcy that organised and enforced the marriage between
Lydia and Wickham, which helped her family’s honour. Elizabeth feels gratitude and
also curiosity about his motivations. Lydia and Wickham leave for Newcastle. Bingley
14
and Darcy arrive at Longbourn, and soon Bingley proposes to Jane. She accepts.
Darcy’s behaviour appears a little cold. Mrs Bennet does not know the debt of
gratitude owed by the Bennets to Mr. Darcy, and continues to treat him aggressively,
leaving Elizabeth feeling embarrassed. Lady Catherine de Bourgh pays a visit to
Longbourn, angry at rumours that Darcy plans to propose to Elizabeth. She demands
that Elizabeth would refuse an offer of marriage. Elizabeth declines to give in to Lady
Catherine’s demands. Darcy knows Elizabeth’s defiance. He proposes once more.
Elizabeth accepts and the marriages of Mr. Bingley to Jane, and Mr. Darcy to
Elizabeth, are held together. Both couples have happy and rich life.
15
Chapter 3: English women at the turn of the 19
th

century as depicted in “Pride
and Prejudice”
3.1. The women’s status shown in the novel: low status
In Pride and Prejudice, the low place of women at the turn of the 19
th
century is
successfully depicted under the pen of Jane Austen. It seems clear that they restlessly
swayed in the cyclone of finding convenient marriage, inheritance and education. In
late 18
th
and early 19
th
century, the provincial society of England was significantly
different from what it is today. This is clearly shown that the status of English women
at that time also was definitely different, from marriage to education, from love to
financial issues.
3.1.1. Low status in marriage
Through Pride and Prejudice, Austen wants to share the story about low status
of women in marriage with the readers. Right at the very beginning of the fiction with
the sentence “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of
a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” (Austen, 3), the writer clearly states the
central concerns of marriage in the book. Austen raises the alarm to women for
carefully considering the happiness through marriage. In Austen’s time, marriage was
as much an affair of convenience as of love. The life of both married and unmarried
women was low and undependable. So as to thoroughly apprehend the status of
English women, it is vital to analyze all the course of the novel Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen. Throughout the fiction, the position of female is fully explored.
Women - commodities in the marriage market
Mrs Bennet and her life business to have her daughter marry
Under the mighty pen of Austen, Mrs Bennet is successfully described as a

typical English mother with her all wish, determination and manner towards “the
business of her life [which] was to get her daughters married” (Austen, 4). Her strong
16
wish is clearly shown throughout the novel. She tried to find rich husbands and
convenient marriages for all five daughters. “If I can see one of my daughters happily
settled at Netherfield” “and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to
wish for” (Austen, 10).
Not only Mrs Bennet’s wish but also her determination is under eagerness to
help her daughters approach eligible men. In the very first part of the novel, as
knowing “a single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year” (Austen, 3)
taking Netherfield, she immediately adjured her husband to visit him. She, with her
five daughters, attacked her husband “in various way, with barefaced questions,
ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises” to ask about the new neighbor Mr
Charles Bingley. It worried her to think that other ladies like Mrs Long or Mrs Lucas
and their own daughters “stand their chance to introduce him” (Austen, 6) which
means that her five daughters cannot take sooner opportunity for meeting and chatting
with the new rich neighbor. There is no coincidence that Austen begins the novel with
an announcement that rich Bingley will live near the Bennets’ house, the author wants
to attract the readers to follow Mrs. Bennet and her “business” of marriage. Austen is
successful, to be sure, that she is giving her readers an ironic but interesting story
about finding sons-in-law of Mrs Bennet. She took any advantage to get her daughters
approached young men. Her main target was to have her children marry. Therefore, as
the first time of Mr Bingley’s visit to her house, Mrs Bennet hurrily prepared dinner to
invite him. Unfortunately, “already had Mrs Bennet planned the courses that were to
do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all […] Mr
Bingley was unable to accept the honour of their invitation. Mrs Bennet was quite
disconcerted” (Austen, 10). Then another occasion, as Jane was invited to Netherfield,
Mrs Bennet planned to force Jane to go on horseback. It seemed likely to rain, and her
daughter must stay all night at Netherfield. Mrs Bennet did that with the aim of
creating more private time for Jane and Mr Bingley. Finally, “Jane was therefore

obliged to go on horseback, and her mother attended her to the door with many
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cheerful prognostics of a bad day. Her hopes were answered; Jane had not been gone
long before it rained hard. Her sisters were uneasy for her, but her mother was
delighted” (Austen, 28). Following the course of the story, the readers find out Mrs
Benner’s hurry to find rich men who could afford her daughters financial life, her great
sorrow when marriages seemed to fail, and the final happiness at the end of the fiction
when very rich men married her two oldest daughters. Mrs Bennet’s determination to
find rich husbands for her daughters, to be sure, is so high.
Among successive events afterwards, most of Mrs Bennet’s behavior would be
typical of a mother whose career is making her daughters have the most convenient
marriages. However, mean understandings made her come off crude and offensive.
Getting daughters married is a normal desire of a normal mother. But, her sequence of
ugly actions and words gave others the severely bad impression on her characters as
well as her daughters. Like a professional seller, Mrs Bennet searched for potential
buyers who were rich and single men. Mr Charles Bingley was first mentioned by, not
the narrator, Mrs Bennet in conversation with Mr Bennet.” Netherfield is taken by a
young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday
in a chaise and four” and “ A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year.
What a fine thing for our girls!”(Austen, 3). The atmosphere of money and fortune
appears stuffy at the very beginning of the story. She schemed to make her girls have
as many chances as possible to stay close together with eligible men. Without any
embarrassment or hesitation, she openly expressed her wish to throw daughters into
the path of rich men. It seemed that the richer men were, the higher cost of her
daughters became. To attract the purchaser, the seller would introduce the quality of
product. And so did Mrs Bennet. In the breakfast-parlor with Mr Bingley, she
mentioned her eldest daughter Jane that “I do not like to boast of my own child, but to
be sure, Jane – one does not often see anybody better looking. It is what everybody
says. I do not trust my own partiality” (Austen, 41). At the end of the story, knowing
Elizabeth would marry Mr Darcy, Mrs Bennet’s disagreeable attitude towards Mr

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Darcy disappeared. She astoundingly exclaimed that:”Good gracious! Lord blesses
me! Only think! Dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it! And is it really
true? Oh! My sweetest Lizzy! How rich and how great you will be! What pin-money,
what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane's is nothing to it nothing at all. I am
so pleased so happy. Such a charming man! So handsome! So tall! Oh, my dear
Lizzy! Pray apologise for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will
overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in town! Everything that is charming! Three
daughters married! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord! What will become of me. I shall go
distracted” (Austen, 316). Although she felt disliked him before, she “stood in such
awe of her intended son-in-law, that she ventured not to speak to him’’ (Austen, 316).
Never did Mrs Bennet ask her daughters if they loved their husbands or not. So strange
was the situation that the readers must continue thinking of. Her concerns seemed
ridiculous with money, possession, property and other financial convenience, except
love. Love was secondary, or even nothing. Joining the marriage market, at times, Mrs
Bennet is considered as a fortune hunter. It can be seen that during this time period,
her offensive sequence of behavior was typical for English mothers who were on the
way of searching potential sons-in-law.
In her situation, Mrs Bennet’s behavior is tolerable because of educational
restrictions and her parental responsibility. Mrs Bennet seems not to be entirely
ridiculous. In Austen’s time, law on inheritance was totally different from what it is
today. Because the Bennets had no son, all estate would pass to the nearest male
relative in family tree- Mr Collins. Under the strong law on inheritance, all what Mrs
Bennet was able to resist the law was to blame her husband for neglecting his duty. “I
cannot bear to hear that mentioned. Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is
the hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be entailed away from your own
children; and I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something
or other about it” (Austen, 54). Mrs Bennet was apprehensive for her daughters’ risky
future. She was well aware that her daughters only could be saved by their marriage.
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In case they could not receive any financial support from parents, the best solution for
them was getting married to a rich man. Although her actions seemed offensive, many
other mothers would do the same in her shoes. It is necessary to understand the context
in the turn of 19
th
century that education was not fully given to women. Women at that
time were put under the influence of educational restrictions. With the low knowledge,
all desire and actions of Mrs Bennet was to help her girls. “Happy for all her maternal
feelings was the day on which Mrs Bennet got rid of her two most deserving
daughters” (Austen, 322). This is clearly shown that nothing but parental responsibility
encouraged her to take action. To modern societies, her behavior seems strange or
even morally repulsive. However, it was the norm in Victorian society. If we judge
Mrs Bennet, therefore, remember we are judging her by modern standards. It was
nothing but parental responsibility under educational restrictions made Mrs Bennet
take a disagreeable sequence of action.
It is admitted that Mrs Bennet is a typical instance of English mother in the late
18
th
and early 19
th
century. The image of an empty-headed woman whose business of
all her life is finding convenient marriage for her daughters is vividly depicted under
the ironic pen of Jane Austen.
Charlotte Lucas and the business of her own marriage
Charlotte is successfully depicted as a clear illustration of English women who
choose convenience, not true love, for their marriage. Throughout the novel, all of her
intention, acceptance and request focused on getting the plan for financial security. At
the age of twenty-seven, with only a small fortune, Charlotte was to all intents and
purposes in difficulty in finding a suitor. In addition, since Sir William left his
business, moved from town to Lucas Lodge, little family wealth encouraged Charlotte

to scheme to marry a man who could guarantee her a stable future. Mr Collins with his
own property made him the most suitable partner for Charlotte. It was the reason why
Charlotte approached Mr Collins, “its object was nothing less, than to secure her from
any conception of Mr Collins’s address, by engaging them towards herself. Such was
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Miss Lucas’s scheme” (Austen, 104). Along with the increase of her age, Charlotte
was well aware that her opportunities of getting married were decreasing. Therefore,
“without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her
objects” (Austen, 105). Just only with Charlotte’s intention, her strong desire for a
financial marriage was clearly expressed under the mighty pen of Jane Austen.
Charlotte’s acceptance also showed her aim of stable future in marriage. Only
three days after proposing Elizabeth, Mr Collins tried proposing another girl –
Charlotte. Surprisingly, “in as short a time as Mr Collins’s long speeches would allow,
everything was settled between them to satisfaction of both” (Austen, 105). Her almost
instantaneous acceptance made the audience believe that what Charlotte cared for was
financial security, definitely not a romance. She tried to attract Mr Collins because of
what he could offer. “Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely from the pure and
disinterested desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment was
gained” (Austen, 105). To a certain extent, readers could come to a conclusion that
Charlotte would accept whomever, not only Mr Collins, able to provide a home and
financial security for her. She totally knew that “Mr Collins to be sure was neither
sensible nor agreeable; his society was irksome, and his attachment to her must be
imaginary. But still he would be her husband” (Austen, 105). Accepted a propertied
man without any physical or intellectual attraction to her, Charlotte also accepted a
marriage with no true love, but material security.
All Charlotte’s requests in marriage were financial security. It seemed nothing
but money could affect her. At once accepting Mr Collins’s proposal, Charlotte
persuaded herself to feel satisfied. “it was the only honourable provision for well-
educated young women of small fortune, and however uncertain of giving happiness,
must be their pleasantest preservative from want. This preservative she had now

obtained; and at the age of twenty-seven, without having ever been handsome, she felt
all the good luck of it” (Austen, 105). As announcing her engagement to Elizabeth,
Charlotte shared her own attitude towards her request “I am not romantic you know. I
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