Pride and Prejudice
by
Jane Austen
Literary Perspective
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Austen wrote in the first half of the 19C. when writers such as the Bronte’s and Dickens were
active. She doesn’t indulge in the panoramas, or in the romantic, sentimental or passionate
tales of the kind they told.
She is more closely allied to the 18C. novelists and writers who believed that tales should have
morals, and the world should be a balance, logical place where a rational mind should govern
the heart.
In another way, however, Austen is sometimes regarded as the first modern novelist because
she is concerned with exploring on the small world she really knows: the development of
characters and their relationship to other characters and to situations.
She pays close attention to the composition and design of her novel. Everything is subordinate
to her main theme.
Language in Historical Perspective
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Differences between the writing of Austen and 20C writers – differences in spelling, vocabulary
and syntax (word order) – create a formality in Austen’s writing not present in most modern
novels.
This formality shouldn’t be confused with ornate or elaborate expression.
The gentry were the ‘new money’ of the town – narrow social stratum
Austen’s style of Romanticist literature was in response to the Enlightenment period. It values
order and good sense.
Austen says “intricate characters are the most amusing”
Comedy of Manners
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Satirically explores social manners and morals
the inter-relationship of position, behaviour and moral character
Reflection allows obstacles to be overcome
Virtue, civility, honour, accomplishment, duty, responsibility and elegance are values
Balance
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Verb
A feature of Austen’s style is rhetorical balance. The constant use of balanced sentences ad
paragraphs helps to build up the idea that balance, logic and order are important VALUES.
Sometimes a balanced sentence, will suggest the thinking of a balanced mind. It can also be
used to emphasise a difference in characters as when Elizabeth Bennett ponders that no
improvement can be brought about in the manners of her younger sisters:
“Her father, content with laughing at them, would never exert himself to restrain the
wild giddiness of his youngest daughters; and her mother, with manners so far from right
herself, was entirely insensible of the evil.”
Balance also occurs in sentences that build up to a rhetorical climax: “Bingley was ready,
Georgiana was eager, and Darcy was determined tom be pleased.”
Balance in paragraphs often occurs when Bingley and Darcy are confused.
when a character is stable and balanced emotionally it is reflected in their speech e.g.
Elizabeth, the Gardiners
Unbalanced characters never achieve the balance in their language e.g. Lydia, Mrs. Bennet
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doing and being
Focus on the speech of different characters
The verbs Austen uses help her maintain a feeling of calm and a sense of emotions being
controlled. Austen also uses verbs that convey very little physical action. They are often related
to ways of talking.
Austen was interested in the development of character, rather than the telling of a story full of
action.
Imagery
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Because the subject of Austen’s novels was everyday life it was not necessary to embellish the
events with imagery that might distract from the themes of logic and reason.
Her writing is largely straightforward and unadorned. When she does use imagery it is of such
everyday variety that it hardly registers as such.
Narration & Point of View
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Austen chose an omniscient third person point of view for all her novels. Her novels are
conveyed to us in four different ways:
1. Through the indirect and direct reporting of the consciousness of the characters,
primarily the heroine. By far the most common narrative technique in Austen’s novels is
her narration of events through Elizabeth’s consciousness. this arouses sympathy for
the heroine, which is essential if we are able to desire her good/reform. By carefully
shifting from one character’s consciousness to another’s Austen can control how much
we know about events and/or emotions, thus creating suspense. In Pride and Prejudice
Austen doesn’t report from Darcy’s point of vies during the period between his two
proposals, so that the reader, like Elizabeth, in uncertain whether he is “lost forever”. In
the first section of the book however Austen must occasionally report from Darcy’s
point of view so that the reader can be made aware of his growing attachment for
Elizabeth and also Elizabeth’s folly in misinterpreting his actions.
o “She was becoming an object of some interest”
o “then he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent…”
o “her figure to be light and pleasing”
o “easy playfulness”
o “she was…unaware”
o “not thought her handsome enough to dance with”
2. Through authorial intrusion and comment especially at the intro and conclusion. The
use of an intrusive narrator is often satirical and adds humour to the novel. Austen
intrudes more noticeably at the beginning of her novels, when introducing her
characters, and at the end of her novels, when she indulges herself in the happy endings.
3. Through dialogue. Dialogue is an important narrative device. We learn about a
character from what is said as well as from how it is said. Furthermore, the spontaneous
nature of dialogue allows for mistaken judgments based on ambiguous statements.
Thus, the first half of P&P, when judgments are being made, is largely in dialogue.
When Austen is more concerned with self-realisation she uses less dialogue and tends
to report of dialogue to differentiate character should be noted.
Every character has an individualised manner of speech suggested by vocabulary,
phrasing and syntax.
4. Through letters. In addition to using dialogue, Austen makes many characters speak
directly through letters. One would expect less spontaneous, more formal language in a
letter as is the case with the letter’s of Austen’s characters. Characters are often
introduced in a letter.
The letter also has permanence and can be read multiple times, as is done by Elizabeth
concerning Darcy’s letter. This is advantageous for self-realisation and
misinterpretation.
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Austen varies these techniques effectively so as to direct in a subtle way the reader’s attention
to her themes.
For example, because she is interested in reason rather than passion, she avoids emotion by
not using dialogue in scenes of passion – e.g. Darcy’s letter. In contrast, the proposal of Mr.
Collins is given in dialogue and in full so that his faults are clearly on display.
Irony
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Austen uses irony as the basis for her study of human folly.
Verbal irony
o Mr. Bennet peppers his conversation with irony
Dramatic Irony
o Wickham – “it gives me pain to speak ill of a Darcy”, although he means to damage
Darcy’s reputation
Irony of situation – irony resulting from fate or bad luck
o Jane, Mr. Collins, Elizabeth’s visit to Pemberly
Characterisation
Mr. Bennet
 “Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice…” –
authorial intrusion
 duality of qualities and weaknesses, from dour, biting and sardonic, to detached and indifferent
 He is sarcastic: of Wickham “he is as fine a fellow…”
 Honourable but also indolent
 “let me for once in my life feel how much I am to blame”
Mrs. Bennet
 comic, unsophisticated character, gauche and unrestrained, maladroit, loud and querulous
 short, periodic sentences with lots of exclamation
 quick to judge, but also to reverse her opinions
Elizabeth Bennet
 “lively, playful disposition…”
 “She is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia”
 misguidedly proud of her perceptiveness
 enjoys the mental challenges of dueling with Darcy, the “spur” to her “genius”
 introspective, prude, courageous, laughs at misfortune, honest, self-aware, self-determined,
fiery in spirit
 “no very cordial feelings towards him”
 “a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world”
 “obstinate headstrong girl, I am ashamed of you”
Fitzwilliam Darcy
 peceptions of Darcy are filtered through the impressions of others (focalising)
o “Oh! that abominable Mr. Darcy”
o “fine tall person” “handsome features” “discovered to be proud”
 his interest is stimulated by Elizabeth’s resentful treatment
 his flaws are forgivable because he learns humility and shows he is a true gentlemen by having
the courage to acknowledge his mistakes
Lady Catherine
 “an arrogant, conceited” individual
 dictating to tohers
 “officious, interfering curiosity”
Mr. Collins
 Socially inept and lacking both tact and dignity
 “a mixture fo pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility”
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satiric portrait – “impulse to praise”
simpering, hyperbolic extravagance
o “a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded silly man”
o “as absurd as he had hoped”
sentences are long, ponderous and verbose
hypercritical, lacks Christian charity
Technique
balance
example
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a
single man in possession of a good fortune, must
symbolism
be in want of a wife.
Pemberley is “neither formal, nor falsely
adorned” like Mr. Darcy
The Connections between LTA and P&P
•Weldon attempts to mimic Austen’s style – use of irony and formal language.
•Jane Austen uses balanced sentences and paragraphs to help build up the idea that balance,
logic and order are important values.
•Jane Austen also satirises the human weakness, social malice and marital warfare operating
beneath a surface world of formality, polite manners and civilised conventions.
•Use of humour to instruct and interest the reader
•Novel as an instructive tool
•Female protagonist under goes self learning as a vehicle for instruction
•Women are easily diverted
•Letters are helped to reveal character and to reflect the historical developments of the novel.
•Jane Austen’s books are all about their father’s indifference to their families’ welfare; and
male whims taking priority over female happiness. LTA expresses this to a certain extent –
with Alice’s boyfriend’s comments about her novel persuading her to not have her novel
published and her father does not show as much of an interest in Alice’s life as her aunt or
mother. And, like in Jane Austen’s books, they do not condemn the men.
•Weldon is seen as more radical (a feminist) than Austen. Austen did not necessarily like to see
the social boundaries between the classes broken down. Elizabeth was still of the same class as
Darcy – she was a “gentleman’s daughter”.
•They both see the importance of marriage for love etc. Instead of the ideas expressed in
Austen’s time where marriage was for money, security and social advancement.
•Pride and Prejudice is essentially a critique of societal institutions - this perspective can also
be read in LTA. What these does is it shows that certain values in human nature are
transcendental such as the liberation of the self. The critiques also shows different values and
ethical systems and make us appreciate the 20th and 21st century society's and its more open
and, to a small extent, our ‘equal' society. The contrast in values systems also make us feel
empathetic towards those that were less fortune in P&P and allows us to truly understand the
choices (both good and bad) of characters.
•Weldon finds that Austen’s novels are ‘real literature’ – timeless