Lecture 12
The Romantic Period
Walter Scott
Jane Austen and her Pride and Prejudice
Contents
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Romantic
RomanticMovement
Historical background
Romantic Movement
Schools of English Romantic poetry
Walter Scott (1771---1832)
His life experience: (p187-188)
His works
Features of Scott’s historical novels
Jane Austen(1775---1817)and Pride and Prejudice
Life experience
Main works
Literary features
Appreciation and simple analysis of her masterpiece, Pride and
Prejudice
Romantic Movement
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Historical background (Read from p164 to
the first line on p167)
The Romantic Movement was international in
the 19th century. The outburst of Romantic
feeling in England was sudden. It was triggered
off by certain specific events of historical
significance: the French Revolution and
American Civil War.
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American Civil War and the French Revolution, especially,
the Declaration of Rights of Man approved by the national
Assembly and the storming of Bastille, aroused great
sympathy and enthusiasm in the English liberals. Patriotic
clubs and societies multiplied in England.
In England itself, there appeared conflicts. There were
political upheavals, and ideas of revolution. And as a result
of the Enclosure and the agricultural mechanization, the
peasants were driven out of their land. They swarmed into
the industrialized towns and became poor workers.
The working class was in a worse-off condition both in
work and in life with no protection and no power whatever.
The government became more and more repressive. Its
law was “the survival of the fittest”.
With the battle of Waterloo, the first modern depression in
England began. While the price of food rose rocket-high,
the workers wages went sharply down; 16 hours’ labor a
day could hardly pay for the daily bread. This cruel
exploitation caused large-scale workers’ disturbances in
Britain. The climax of popular agitation and government
brutality came in August 1819 at St. Peter’s Field,
Manchester, where a huge but orderly group of peaceful
protesters were charged by mounted troops who killed
nine and wounded hundreds more. This is the notorious
“Peterloo Massacre” which roused indignation even among
the upper class.
6. In 1832, the Reform Bill was enacted. However, the
workers who played the major role in the fight got little.
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Romantic Movement
British Romanticism, as a historic phase of literature, is
generally said to have begun in 1789 with the publication
of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s Lyrical Ballads and to
have ended in 1832 with Sir Walter Scott’s death and the
passage of the first Reform Bill in the Parliament.
However, as a new current of literature, in fact, it had
started long before the publication of this writing. We
have just learned about that, such as Blake and Burns
who were the forerunners of Romantic poetry.
2. The Romantic Movement, whether in Britain,
Germany or France, expressed a more or less negative
attitude toward the existing social and political conditions
that came with the industrialization and the growing
importance of the bourgeoisie.
The ideas that the Romanticists have about human
are different from those of the 18th century. (The
last paragraph on p167 to p168)
4. The famous representatives and their romantic
characteristics (The middle paragraph on p168)
 So, representing the highest achievement in
English poetry, the English romantic period has
been considered the second great period in
English literature, second only to the Elizabethan
age.
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Schools of English Romantic poetry
Romanticism (a literary term): It is an artistic and
intellectual movement,originating in Europe in the late
18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in
nature, putting emphasis on the individual's expression of
emotion and imagination, departing from the attitudes
and forms of classicism, and rebelling against established
social rules and conventions.
Two schools of English poetry:
The Lakers: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, and Robert Southey are the representatives. As
they lived close to the lake area in North England, they
have been called “Lake poets”, or “the Lakers” (p 170)
The Satanic School: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley
and John Keats are representatives. They were more
rebellious and aggressive,
Walter Scott (1771---1832)
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Pictures
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His life experience
Sir Walter Scott wrote romantic poems and adventure stories of the
past. The setting is often in Scotland. Famous writers whose
historical novels he influenced include James Fenmore Cooper,
Alexandre Dumas and Aleksandr Pushkin. He popularized his
country's history and traditions.
Early Years of Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, First Baronet, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on
August 15, 1771, the son of a lawyer whose name was also Walter
Scott, and a doctor's daughter. He was said to have inherited his
father's disciplined attitude and his imaginative gifts from his
cultured mother. At two, he became ill, which caused his right leg to
be permanently crippled, but this did not deter him from his pursuits.
He attended Edinburgh University and trained as a lawyer. At 26, he
married Charlotte Carpenter and had five children.
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Scott walked and rode around the countryside when he had spare
time from his legal work. He collected the old ballads that people
sang. These had fascinated him since boyhood, which he spent near
Scotland's border with England.
Scott Turns to Writing
Aged 31, Scott's ballads appeared in a three-volume collection called
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. Soon after came The Lay of the Last
Minstrel, his own long poem about an old border country legend
followed. At 40, Scott had written two more story-poems. By this
time he became rich and famous. He purchased a border country
estate and started building a mansion beside the River Tweed.
Waverley was the first of his 27 novels which he wrote; he was 43
years old. This novel deals with the rebellion of 1745, which
attempted to restore a Scottish family to the British throne. Like
most of his later novels, his hero's loyalty is often split between two
rulers, affecting a way of life.
His works:
1. His poems:
The Lay of the Last Minstrelsy; Marmion,; The Lady of
the Lake; The Lord of the Isles; Rokeby.
2. Subjects of his historical novels:
Scott has been universally regarded as the founder
and great master of the historical novel. His
historical novels covered a long period of time,
ranging from the Middle Ages up to the 18th
century. His historical novels can be divided into 3
periods:
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* The novels on the history of Scotland: Waveryley, Guy
Mannering, Old Morality, Rob Roy. These representative
works were highly successful for their vivid descriptions of
typically Scottish characters and their powerful
representations of the past events in Scotland. These
novels have made known as “Waverley Novels”.
* The novels of the second period concern English
subject. The novels represent different phases of English
history, covering the history after the Norman Conquest.
His most famous novel in this period is Ivanhoe
* Scott’s novels in the third period are about the history
of European countries. His best known novel in this
phase is Quentin Durward. St. Ronan’s Wells is the only novel
of Scotts that deals with his contemporary life.
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Features of Scott’s historical novels
The combination of historical fact and romantic
imagination.
Historical events are closely interwoven with the
fates of individuals.
When describing historical events, Scotts is
concerned not only with the lives and deeds of
kings, statesmen and other historical figures, but
is always considering the fates of the ordinary
people such as peasants, shepherds and villagers.
A landscape of romantic imagination
Jane Austen(1775---1817)
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Pictures
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Brief life experience
JANE AUSTEN was born at the Rectory in
Steventon, a little village in north-east Hampshire,
on 16th December 1775. She was the seventh
child and second daughter of the rector, the Revd
George Austen, and his wife Cassandra Leigh. Of
her brothers, two were clergymen, one inherited
rich estates in Kent and Hampshire from a distant
cousin and the two youngest became Admirals in
the Royal Navy; her only sister, like Jane herself,
never married.
Steventon Rectory was Jane Austen's home for the first 25
years of her life. From here she travelled to Kent to stay
with her brother Edward in his mansion at Godmersham
Park near Canterbury, and she also had some shorter
holidays in Bath, where her aunt and uncle lived. During
the 1790s she wrote the first drafts of Sense and
Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger
Abbey; her trips to Kent and Bath gave her the local
colour for the settings of these last two books. In 1801 the
Revd George Austen retired, and he and his wife, with
their two daughters Jane and Cassandra, left Steventon and
settled in Bath.
The Austens rented No. 4 Sydney Place from 1801-1804,
and then stayed for a few months at No. 3 Green Park
Buildings East, where Mr. Austen died in 1805. While the
Austens were based in Bath, they went on holidays to
seaside resorts in the West Country, including Lyme Regis
in Dorset - this gave Jane the background for Persuasion.
In 1806 Mrs. Austen and her daughters moved to
Southampton, and then in 1809 to Chawton, where they
had a cottage on one of Edward's Hampshire estates. Here
Jane was at leisure to devote herself to writing, and
between 1810-1817 she revised her three early novels and
also composed another three - Mansfield Park, Emma,
and Persuasion.
Jane fell ill in 1816 - possibly with Addison's Disease - and
in the summer of 1817 her family took her to Winchester
for medical treatment. However, the doctor could do
nothing for her, and she died peacefully on 18th July 1817
at their lodgings in No. 8 College Street.
She was buried a few days later in the north aisle of
Winchester Cathedral. Jane's novels reflect the world of
the English country gentry of the period, as she herself
had experienced it. Due to the timeless appeal of her
amusing plots, and the wit and irony of her style, her
works have never been out of print since they were first
published, and are frequently adapted for stage, screen
and television. Jane Austen is now one of the best-known
and best-loved authors in the English-speaking world.
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Her main works
Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)
Emma (1815)
Northanger Abby (1818)
Persuasion(1818)
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Her literary features
With great details drawn from everyday life, the
picture of her characters is vividly portrayed and
everyone comes alive.
With simple language and conversing dialogues,
her novels are surprisingly realistic
Her plots appear natural and unforced.
She keeps the balance between content and
form.
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Categories of women characters portrayed in her
novels: There are three types of women characters in
her novel.
The women who marry for only money, position, and
property;
Those who marry just for passion
Those who marry for love which is based on
consideration of the persons personal merits as well
as his economical and social status.
The reasons why her novels have been still
fascinated (p192)
Appreciation and simple analysis of
Pride and Prejudice
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Historical context and Austen’s contribution in
writing the novel
To think about Pride and Prejudice in historical-terms, you
have to realize that there was a "war of ideas" going on
at this time. It was taking place everywhere – in art,
politics, society. On one side was the "Romantic
movement," which was a response to the Enlightenment
ideal of rationalism. The Romantics were all, "let’s talk
about our feeeelings" and "let’s return to nature." The
Romantics were reacting against the firmly entrenched
conservatives who really liked rules, tradition, and the
rigid conformity of the scientific method.
Every day the Romantics would express their ideas, and
then the conservatives would express theirs, and the ideas
would fight in these mad air battles all over England. But
which side was Pride and Prejudice fighting on? Pride and
Prejudice has some characteristics of the Romantic
movement, namely, that it deals with feelings, but love in
Pride and Prejudice is still grounded in a certain kind of
rationalism and celebration of human intelligence;
Elizabeth and Darcy make sense as a balanced,
complementary couple, and it is only after their heads
come to terms with their hearts that they are ready to get
engaged. So there are at least two reasonable options for
thinking about Pride and Prejudice in the context of this
intellectual war: it’s either waving a white flag between the
conservatives and the Romantics, or else it’s simply
ignoring them altogether.
There was another war. This conflict was going on in the
literary world, where the novel was just growing up. There
were two decisions a writer could take during this time –
she could focus on developing her characters’ tortured
inner lives, or she could focus on developing awesome
storylines with great action sequences.
Her contribution: Pride and Prejudice was one of the first
novels to bring both of these together – the characters’
complex inner lives don’t prevent them from living within
an interesting plot. Austen weaves the two together
skillfully by giving the less important characters a similarly
less interesting inner life – Lydia’s character and her
elopement, for example, is used to demonstrate the depth
of Darcy’s commitment to Elizabeth and her family. By
synthesizing these two novel forms, Austen helped the
modern novel grow up.
Role of women then:In the eighteenth century a
woman's role in society was determined by her father and
husband. Convention demanded that women were
submissive and modest. Their educational opportunities
were inferior to men's and they were not expected to
think for themselves. On the surface, Austen's fiction
would appear to perpetuate this. Marriage is deemed the
most a woman can hope to achieve, and her novels end
happily with this confirmation. Yet Austen heavily
criticizes the ignorance endorsed by popular expectation,
such as Mrs Bennet's comic fickleness and absurd
hypochondria, Lydia’s 'ignorance' and 'idleness', etc.
However, it is through Elizabeth and her relationship
with Darcy that Austen betrays most her resentment at
the restraint upon women. Elizabeth is contemptuous of
idle small chat, preferring to converse with the gentlemen.
She possesses wit and intelligence far removed from the
conventional representations of women at the time.
Elizabeth argued that in order for women to achieve
equality they must think independently with reason. Yet
for all her spirit and quick wit, Elizabeth still conforms
to expectation. She may have been prepared to reject one
of the richest men in England, but at the end of the
novel she is keen to assume her role as mistress of
Pemberley.
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Plot overview
The arrival of the wealthy to the estate of
Netherfield Park causes a commotion in the nearby
village of Longbourn. In the Bennet household, is
desperate to marry Bingley to one of her five
daughters—, , , , or . When Bingley meets Jane at a
ball, he seems immediately smitten with her. Yet
Bingley’s snobby friend is rude to Elizabeth.
Through the next few social gatherings, Jane and
Bingley grow closer, while Darcy, despite himself,
finds himself becoming attracted to Elizabeth’s
beauty and intelligence.
When Jane is caught in the rain while traveling to visit Bingley, she
falls ill and must stay at Netherfield. Elizabeth comes to Netherfield
to care for Jane, and though Bingley’s sisters are rude and
condescending to her ( wants Darcy for herself), Darcy’s attraction
to her deepens. Elizabeth, however, continues to consider him a
snob. Meanwhile, , a pompous clergyman and Mr. Bennet’s cousin
and heir, visits the Bennets in search of a marriageable daughter. At
about the same time, the Bennet sisters also meet , an army officer
Elizabeth finds charming, and who claims Darcy wronged him in
the past. Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy hardens. Soon after, at
a ball at Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet, much to Darcy’s annoyance,
comments that a wedding between Jane and Bingley is likely to soon
take place. Collins, in the meantime, proposes to Elizabeth, who
declines, angering her mother, but pleasing her father. Collins then
proposes to Elizabeth’s friend , who accepts out of a desire for
security rather than a need for love.
Bingley suddenly departs for London on business, and
Caroline informs Jane by letter that not only will they not
be returning, but moreover her brother is planning to
wed , Darcy’s sister. Jane is crushed. Elizabeth is sure
Darcy and Caroline are deliberately separating Bingley
and Jane. The sisters’ aunt and uncle, and , invite Jane to
London hoping that she will get over her disappointment,
but after she arrives Caroline snubs her and she regrets
ever marrying Bingley. Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr.
Collins, where she encounters Collins’ patron and
Darcy’s relative, the wealthy and formidable . Darcy
arrives and surprises Elizabeth by joining her for long
intimate walks. She grows angry, however, when she
learns that Darcy advised Bingley against marrying Jane.
Oblivious, Darcy announces his love for her and
proposes marriage.
Elizabeth refuses his proposal, accusing him of ruining
Jane’s marriage and mistreating Wickham. In a letter Darcy
explains that he intervened because he felt Jane did not
truly love Bingley. Wickham, he writes, is a liar and a
scoundrel. Elizabeth begins to feel she has misjudged
Darcy and may have been rash in turning him down.
Returning home, Elizabeth finds that has become smitten
with Wickham. She urges her father to intervene, but he
chooses to do nothing. Elizabeth soon accompanies the
Gardiners on a trip. During the trip, Elizabeth visits
Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. She fantasizes
about being his wife there and is further impressed when
he unexpectedly shows up and introduces her to his
charming sister, Georgiana. Bingley also arrives and reveals
that he is still in love with Jane.
Elizabeth’s trip is cut short by a letter from Jane announcing that
Lydia has eloped with Wickham. Fearing a scandal that will ruin all
the daughters’ futures, the Bennets search for Lydia in London.
When Mr. Gardiner tracks them down, Wickham demands his
debts be paid off in return for marrying Lydia. The Bennets assume
that Gardiner gives in to the demand, since Lydia and Wickham
soon return, playing the happy newlyweds. (Mrs. Bennet is happy
that at least one of her daughters is married.) Elizabeth soon
discovers that Darcy, not Gardiner, paid off Wickham’s debts, out
of love for her. Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield and
Bingley finally proposes to an overjoyed Jane. While Darcy goes to
London on business, Lady Catherine visits Elizabeth, warning her
not to marry Darcy. Elizabeth refuses to promise. On his return,
Darcy asks Elizabeth again to marry him. This time she accepts,
telling him her prejudice against him had made her blind. Darcy
acknowledges that his pride made him act rudely. Both couples are
married and the Bennet family rejoices in their daughters’ happiness.
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Plot analysis: Classic Plot Analysis
Most good stories start with a fundamental list of
ingredients: the initial situation, conflict,
complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and
conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the
recipe and add some spice.
1. Initial Situation
We meet the Bennet family: five single daughters with no money. And
then a young, rich, single man moves into the neighborhood.
This is clearly an initial situation because there’s way too much
instability in this system. Pushy mother? Poor, single daughters? One
rich, single man? Anyone else predict that the pushy mother is going
to be pushing her daughters on the single man?
2. Conflict
Bingley starts falling for Jane, but his sisters and friend don’t approve.
An obstacle in the path of true love and familial happiness! Yes, this is
conflict. To make matters worse, Darcy has developed a crush on
Jane’s sister Elizabeth, and all the objections he has to Bingley
marrying Jane (lower class family with crazy family members) also
apply to the prospect of him marrying Elizabeth.
3. Complication
Bingley’s sisters and Darcy succeed in dissuading
Bingley from marrying Jane; Darcy sinks lower
and lower in Elizabeth’s estimation.
Our lovers seem as far away from each other as
possible: Bingley’s sisters effectively quarantine
him from seeing Jane, and Wickham drips
(figuratively) poison into Elizabeth’s ear about
Darcy’s character. While before Elizabeth simply
disliked him, she now feels full-on disgust.
4. Climax
Mr. Darcy shows his heart; Elizabeth learns her errors in judgment.
All the festering feelings come to a head here. Darcy finally tells
Elizabeth how he feels, saying he can repress his emotions no longer,
and Elizabeth counters with a, "if you were the last man alive, I still
wouldn’t marry you." OK, those weren’t her exact words, but they
were pretty close. She finally vents all her anger over what Mr. Darcy
has done to Jane and to Mr. Wickham.
But! That’s not the end of the climax! Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter
that exonerates him from all the charges she leveled against him. Both
characters question their identities. As for Elizabeth, who prides
herself on being a great judge of character, she learns that people’s
exterior masks can fool her. This is the climax of the novel because
the greatest attitude shifts come here, towards the end of Part Two.
It’s all smoother sailing from here on out for our two main characters.
5. Suspense
Lydia runs off with Wickham, potentially ruining the
Bennet family name forever.
If Lydia goes off with Wickham to "live in sin," it will
destroy any chance at happiness for Elizabeth and Jane.
No respectable man will marry a woman who has a fallen
sister. Don’t know about you, but we’re biting our nails.
6. Denouement
Mr. Bingley proposes to Jane; Mr. Darcy proposes to
Elizabeth
Mr. Darcy uses money to force Wickham to marry Lydia.
The Bennet family is saved. Whew. Here’s the ending
we’ve been waiting for – couples reunited,
misunderstandings cleared up, in-laws chucked out the
window…
7. Conclusion
The happily ever after – the last chapter serves as
a bit of an epilogue.
Our two favorite married couples are doing well,
but Lydia and Wickham’s marriage unravels and
they become broke. Charles and Jane Bingley
move out of Netherfield after a year because they
can’t stand Mrs. Bennet, Mary becomes less
sanctimonious, and Kitty blossoms under the
guidance of her two oldest sisters. Oh, right. Jane
moves to an estate practically next door to
Pemberley. That all sounds quite peachy.
Themes
1. Love and marriage
Pride and Prejudice is most easily defined as a romantic comedy, but
Austen stresses that the first flush of romantic love will not sustain a
marriage and is no basis for happiness. Mr. Bennett is described as
being 'captivated' by Mrs. Bennett's 'youth and beauty' on first
meeting her, but this is inadequate for a relationship to last. Similarly,
Lydia and Wickham's elopement is, on the face of it, very romantic,
driven as they are by passionate feeling.
In Pride and Prejudice, a happy marriage springs from both physical
attraction and compatibility. So while Bingley may have been drawn
to Jane's beauty, it is their 'general similarity of feeling and taste' that
will ensure their marriage lasts. Their love has deepened through
their shared setbacks. On the other hand, Darcy and Elizabeth's love
only arises once misunderstanding, and blinding pride and prejudice,
is overcome. They are made to examine why they love each other
with practicality and reason.
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2. Pride and Prejudice
How we judge others is a related theme - to do so without enough
knowledge invites prejudice. And Austen goes on to show how the
extent to which we know other people is directly correlated with the
extent to which we know ourselves. Thus Elizabeth is more prone to
siding with Wickham because of her prejudice against Darcy; but
both characters come to a greater understanding of themselves as
they work through their faults, this process eventually serving to
draw them closer together. It is easy to label Darcy as being the
character symbolic of pride, and Elizabeth of prejudice. Darcy takes
pride in his rank, and his arrogance colors his assessment of the
people of Longbourn. Elizabeth and the neighborhood are
prejudiced against Darcy from the beginning, taking offence at his
low opinion of them. However, it becomes clear that these qualities
infect the portrayal of other characters in the book. Lady Catherine
displays ridiculous pride in her status; Mrs Bennet is ridiculously
prejudiced in her views. Pride and prejudice seep through all of the
characters, and in many guises.
3. Women and Feminity
Although Pride and Prejudice begins with the
anonymous figure of a rich, single man, the novel
is actually concerned with the plight of the poor,
single woman. So far as the novel makes a
conscious statement about womanhood, it argues
that poor, single women have an extremely limited
range of choices: poverty or marriage. Pride and
Prejudice offers us a look into this rather intensely
feminine world of courting, marriage decisions,
and social realities.
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Character analysis
Elizabeth Bennet
Elizabeth is a spontaneous, high-spirited, vivacious,
witty, and warm young lady. She is also a bright,
complex, and intriguing individual who is realistic
about life. Unlike her sister Jane, she is not ready to
believe that everyone is flawless. She knows the
impropriety of her father and is aware that it springs
from the unhappiness of his life with his wife. She also
perceives the fickleness of her mother’s temper and her
crass social behavior. Even to the point of being saucy
and blunt at times, Elizabeth is not afraid to speak her
mind.
2.
Elizabeth is an honest individual, both to
others and to herself. Once she realizes the
truth about Darcy, she admits her incorrect
prejudice against him and regrets her previous
rejection of him. In fact, she even admits to
herself that she is in love with Darcy, but she is
realistic enough to think that she no longer
stands a chance with him. When she learns that
Darcy has saved Lydia from disgrace, she
swallows her remaining pride and states her
appreciation to Darcy. His response is to ask for
her hand in marriage once again. This time, a
much wiser Elizabeth eagerly accepts.
3.
Elizabeth main flaw is an exaggerated
prejudice. Her first negative impression of Darcy
at the Netherfield ball, Wickham’s tall story about
him, and Darcy’s influencing Bingley against Jane
fuel her prejudice. She spends most of the novel
truly disliking her future husband. When Darcy
proposes to her the first time, she does not even
give the offer serious thought before turning the
man down. Fortunately, Darcy is determined and
does not give up on Elizabeth.
Literary devices
1. What’s Up With the Title?
The title refers primarily to the love story between
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, both of whom
have serious amounts of pride and prejudice. The
common interpretation is that Darcy, with all his "I’m too
good for you" attitude, embodies the pride side of the
title, and that Elizabeth, with all her, "You’re snobby and
I don’t like you" attitude, embodies the prejudice side.
But that’s the common interpretation. What frequently
gets overlooked is that Elizabeth prideful and Darcy is
prejudiced. The point is, their collective pride and
prejudice prevent them from getting together.
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Writing Style: Clear, Witty, Sarcastic
In this dialogue-driven novel, wit and sarcasm
predominate the text. Pride and Prejudice is often an
exercise in reading between the lines, as Austen’s characters
must almost always use polite language to mask their true
intentions. (The greatest exception is, of course, when
Elizabeth chews Darcy out after his proposal.)
Setting: 19th century rural England
Pride and Prejudice is set in rural England around the turn
of the 18th and 19th centuries among the gentry, and
although we never really see the city, the novel sets up a
pretty heavy contrast between city folk and country folk.
Most of the action takes place at specific country estates:
Longbourn (the Bennet home), Netherfield (Bingley’s
home), the Hunsford Parsonage (the Collinses), Rosings
(Lady Catherine), and Pemberley (Darcy).
4. Tone
Satirical, Ironic
Pride and Prejudice is a lot like The Simpsons. In the same
way that Homer Simpson is a caricature of the typical
American middle-class man, Mrs. Bennet is a caricature of
a pushy mother eager to get her daughters wed. Austen
skillfully skewers Lady Catherine’s pretension (otherwise
known as the "full-of-herself" disease) and shows the
similar pomposity of Mr. Collins, the clergyman. Scenes
such as Mr. Collins’s proposal and Lady Catherine’s visit to
Longbourn offer us comic relief while also advancing the
plot. Mr. Bennet is a key character in establishing the tone
of the novel, as his observations on life are typically spoton.
Experiencing Chapter 1
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Summary
The narrator begins with the
statement: “It is a truth universally
acknowledged, that a single man in
possession of a good fortune, must
be in want of a wife.” Then the
narrator begins the story. One day
in their modest house in
Longbourn, Mrs. Bennet shares
some news with her husband, Mr.
Bennet. A wealthy young
gentleman, Charles Bingley, has just
rented the nearby estate of
Netherfield. Mrs. Bennet twitters
with excitement because she wants
him to meet her daughters and
hopefully marry one.
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Analysis
In terms of taking an interest
in their daughters’ futures,
Mr. Bennet and Mrs. Bennet
are polar opposites: she gets
involved while he remains
distant and makes jokes.
One of the most famous lines in
literature, the opening establishes
the pursuit of marriage as central
to the social world of the English
gentry. In addition, the claim that a
wealthy man must be looking for a
wife shows how desperately
important it was for women to
marry wealthy men. In Austen’s
time, they had no other means of
support.
Mrs. Bennet asks her husband to
get them an introduction. Mr.
Bennet purposely frustrates his
wife by sarcastically replying that
he’ll write to give his consent for
Bingley to marry any of his
daughters, especially Elizabeth,
whom he considers especially
bright.
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In terms of taking an interest in
their daughters’ futures, Mr. Bennet
and Mrs. Bennet are polar
opposites: she gets involved while
he remains distant and makes jokes.
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•
•
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Brief interpretation of the first sentence
The first sentence of this chapter is one of the famous
ones in English literature because of its masterful irony,
its humorous tone
The first part of the sentence "it is a truth universally
acknowledged” seems that the novel is going to dedicate
itself to lofty ideals. The second half of the sentence,
however, reveals that the "universal truth" is nothing more
than a social truth, which ironically is not a truth at all, but
a misrepresentation of social facts
A man with a fortune does not need a wife nearly so
much as a woman, who has no means of outside support
in the 19th century, is greatly in need of a wealthy
husband. Throughout the novel, it is Mrs. Bennet who
seeks suitable husbands for her older daughters.
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A comment
It is apparent from this chapter that the novel is
to center on character development and
relationship and to investigate with great detail
the behavior and manners of the landed middleclass society of 19th century England. The family
is the heart of the middle-class, and its
preservation is vital. Marriage, the key subject
matter of the book, is extremely important in
order to continue the family and to supply
stability and economic well- being for the women
of the time.
Experiencing Chapter 58
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Summary
Only days later, Darcy comes
to Longbourn with Bingley.
They all go for a walk and
Elizabeth and Darcy soon
find themselves alone.
Elizabeth cannot contain her
gratitude any longer for all
that Darcy suffered and
sacrificed for Lydia. Darcy
tells Elizabeth that he did
everything for her.
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Analysis
Elizabeth has to be a little
impolite in ignoring Darcy’s
request that Mr. Gardiner
take the credit. But by
breaking the rules, Elizabeth
allows for their climactic
emotional exchange.
Elizabeth has to be a little
impolite in ignoring Darcy’s
request that Mr. Gardiner
take the credit. But by
breaking the rules, Elizabeth
allows for their climactic
emotional exchange.
Darcy says his feelings for
her have not changed since
his rejected proposal, and
asks about her feelings.
Elizabeth confesses that her
feelings have significantly
changed. Darcy is
overwhelmed with happiness.
While there is no explicit
marriage proposal from
Darcy yet, everything hinges
on Elizabeth’s growth as a
character and ability to
overcome her prejudice..
Darcy explains that he started
to hope after Lady Catherine
informed him about
Elizabeth’s stubborn refusal
to follow her commands.
Darcy regrets his first
proposal to Elizabeth. He’s
been prideful since childhood
and presumed that she would
accept. He thanks Elizabeth
for teaching him a lesson
about humility. Elizabeth
apologizes for treating him
so roughly.
Selfish plans based on class
prejudice all backfire in this
novel.
Just as Elizabeth was
humbled after she learned
the truth about Darcy, so
Darcy learned humility in
realizing that his pride
injured her and prevented his
own happiness.
Darcy explains that he
told Bingley the truth
about Jane and advised
him to return to
Netherfield. Bingley was
angry about being
deceived while Jane was
in London, but he has
forgiven Darcy.
Darcy does penance for
his blatantly wrong
decision to lie and must
ask forgiveness: another
example that Darcy has
relinquished his pride.
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A comment
This is a very significant chapter for the climax
of the plot is reached when Elizabeth accepts
Darcy’s proposal. Even when they have
confessed their love, this intelligent pair poses
and answers questions to each other, try to
analyze their feelings, and review their past
actions. It is important to note that Elizabeth and
Darcy have undergone significant changes in the
novel, putting aside their pride and prejudices; in
contrast, Jane and Bingley have remained static
characters.
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1.
2.
Critical overview
Commentators, including Lady Darcy and Miss Mitford,
complained that the characters, particularly the Bennets, are
unrefined and socially mannerless.
"In 1819," writes Laura Dabundo in the Concise Dictionary
of British Literary Biography, "Henry Crabb Robinson wrote
the first of several diary entries in praise of her novels."
"Later in the century," Dabundo explains, "George Henry
Lewes argued for the unqualified excellence of her writing,
comparing her accomplishment to that of Shakespeare, but
nonetheless he saw her fiction as cool and unfevered."
3.
Another contemporary reviewer, the novelist Sir Walter
Scott, "recognized Austen's greatness, but his remarks
also help to perpetuate the notion that her range was
limited." It was the publication of James Edward
Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen, by Her
Nephew in 1870 that sparked a revival of Austen
criticism. However, its depiction of Austen as a
"spinster aunt" whose works were written primarily for
her own amusement created a distorted picture of the
author. It was not until after the publication of Mary
Lascelles's Jane Austen and Her Art in 1939 that
twentieth century critics began to overturn the
Victorian concept of Austen as an amateur artist
uncommitted to creating great literature.
4. Austen criticism has exploded since 1939. Scholars turn to
Pride and Prejudice for its portraits of late eighteenthcentury society, for the technical expertise of its
composition, and for its capacity to find and maintain
interest in the everyday lives of small-town English society.
"Increasingly, in studies like those of Dorothy Van Ghent,
Reuben Brower, Marvin Mudrick, and Howard Babb,"
declares Donald J. Gray in his preface to Jane Austen: Pride
and Prejudice, An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds, Reviews and
Essays in Criticism, “[twentieth-century critics] study the
development of characters and themes, the structure of
episodes and sentences, even her very choice of words, in
order to explain how novels about three or four families in
a country village are also novels about the important
business of making a fruitful life in a society and of a
character which do not always encourage the best of even
the few possibilities they permit.”
Austen's novels, Dabundo concludes, “deal with
passionate but realistic people whose world was
changing and being challenged, people who
conducted their lives in the context of their
immediate friends and family and a national
culture that nourished and sustained them.”
Assignments
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Written Work
Define the term: Romanticism
Tell the three subjects of Scott’s historical novels.
Tell the themes of Pride and Prejudice.
Make a simple analysis of Elizabeth Bennet’s character.
Give a simple classic plot analysis of Pride and Prejudice.
Why is the first sentence (It is a truth universally acknowledged that a
single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife)
satirical in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and prejudice.
Topics for discussion
Discuss the features of Scott’s historical novels.
How many types of women characters portrayed are there in Austen’s
novels? And what are the literary features of her novels.
What is related to the historical context in Pride and Prejudice?
How do you understand the title Pride and Prejudice?
Discuss the reasons why Jane Austen’s novels are still fascinated.
Love is romantic, marriage id
realistic
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A couple in love
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A couple in marriage