Throughout Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, she discusses modern ideas
such as feminism and marriage for love. Because of this, many critics argue that Austen
was a pioneer for women’s rights and that the protagonist in this novel, Elizabeth Bennet,
is a role model for many young women of her day. However, the way in which Austen
actually portrays Elizabeth, through the false sense of empowerment she creates for
herself, her love based on Darcy’s wealth, and the novel’s ultimately conservative
ending, prevents this novel from being considered a truly contemporary work.
While upon first reading Pride and Prejudice Elizabeth appears to be a very
modern character for the time period, after reading more closely it becomes clear that
Elizabeth’s powerful air is not in fact genuine, but rather nothing more than a forced
emotion she creates to empower herself. When Elizabeth and Darcy first meet, Darcy
insults Elizabeth by refusing to dance with her. Elizabeth responds lightly and it is noted
“she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous” (Austen 9).
This seems slightly odd for no matter how modern Elizabeth may have been, Darcy’s
slight would most certainly have bruised her ego, especially considering the fact that she
is a stubbornly proud young woman. It is also interesting to consider that “By talking so
as to render [Darcy] ridiculous she is deliberately manipulating her own psyche…In other
words, by repeating his words to others she is talking for-in effect to-herself, choosing
language not to express feeling but to create it, to make herself feel powerful”
(Brownstein 106-107). In this case, Elizabeth is not in fact empowered, but rather trying
to create the idea that she is better than Darcy by making his insult seem trivial to her. If
she is in fact using this incident to present a false sense of empowerment of herself, then
she is by no means a contemporary woman but rather just like every other stereotype of
her time: a woman who is seeking to appear intelligent and proud when in fact she is an
unsure follower.
One of the clearest examples that proves this novel is not fully contemporary is
the way in which the book ends: with Elizabeth marrying Darcy, a man she claimed to
have hated, mainly for the fact that he is wealthy. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth is at
constant war with Darcy, always allowing her pride and his insults to cause her to hate
him and to exclaim that one of the worst things in the world would be “To find a man
agreeable whom one is determined to hate!” (Austen 78). She seems so determined to
dislike him simply based on how she judged him when they first met that she is
completely unwilling to consider the fact that she may have misjudged him. However,
her feelings completely change when she visits Pemberley, his home. Upon first viewing
the mansion, Austen notes that Elizabeth “felt that to be mistress of Pemberley might be
something!” (Austen 207). Considering that no other words have been exchanged
between Elizabeth and Darcy up until this point, it is easy to presume that her change of
heart is largely affected by his home. It most certainly cannot be the simple fact that his
housekeep, Ms. Reynolds, portrays him in such a favorable light; Elizabeth would not
believe that Darcy was a good man when Mr. Bingley, a very gentle and kind friend of
her sisters, professed him to be a good man, therefore it does not make sense that she
would believe a woman hired by Darcy and thus somewhat obligated to speak highly of
him. Even if Elizabeth did completely change her mind of Darcy based on Ms.
Reynold’s exclamations, this does not prove that Elizabeth is a modern women, but rather
that she can be easily persuaded whenever she believes she can trust someone. It is
important to note that “When we consider that she finds herself drawn to the idea of
being Darcy’s wife before her renewed contract with the man himself, we must conclude
that Darcy’s social attractiveness plays a large part in the awakening of her desire” (Paris
36). Because Elizabeth begins to change her opinion of Darcy before she views his kind
treatment of her aunt and uncle, it is quite plausible that she was so entranced by his
wealth and home that she saw what she wanted in his personality and disregarded any
flaws that she had previously been so fixated with. By interpreting Elizabeth’s actions in
this way, it is impossible to call her a modern character. Her focus on wealth is far too
great for her to be anything more than a stereotypical woman of her time period.
While it is possible to argue that most of the novel is contemporary in its own
way, the ending, in which Elizabeth gives in to societal expectations and marries Darcy,
simply proves that she is not a woman who makes choices based on emotions but rather
adjusts her life according to what will most benefit her family and herself financially.
One of the most important things that Elizabeth mentioned after Darcy paid Wickham to
marry Lydia was that Darcy “was the person to whom the whole family were indebted for
the first of benefits, and whom she regarded herself with an interest, if not quite so
tender, at least as reasonable and just as what Jane felt for Bingley” (316). Elizabeth does
not say that she loves Darcy, but simply that she is indebted to him and feels gratitude for
his enormous generosity to her family. This does not support the modern belief of the
time that one should marry for love, for Elizabeth is only granting Darcy’s wish of
marriage because she owes him for saving her family’s name. While Darcy loves
Elizabeth, this feeling is not wholly or genuinely reciprocated and therefore it is
impossible to consider Elizabeth a modern heroine. It must also be noted that “If
[Elizabeth] learns things in the course of the novel, these are not fundamental values and
forms of behavior but elaborations upon what she already knows or suspects. In this, she
differs from Darcy who must undergo a radical re-adjustment so as to become, at last, a
suitable companion for her” (Cohen). This certainly does not fit in with a modern ending
for a novel of the time period, for Darcy should not have to change in order to fit into the
status quo set forth by society. If this was a truly contemporary story, Darcy and
Elizabeth would be able to be together without needing to change aspects of their
personality. The fact that they must change is evident when Elizabeth tells Darcy “You
must learn some of my philosophy. Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you
pleasure” (Austen 317). Firstly, this is obviously contradictory to the modern belief
mentioned above, that a couple should not have to change for each other. Also, while
Elizabeth’s “philosophy” may seem rational at first, when viewed more closely it is
clearly a childish view of the world. To only remember happy, frivolous times from
one’s past, she is insinuating that she is a shallow person who is not interested in learning
from the past but would rather remember trivial occurrences that bring her delight. This
is most certainly not the belief of a modernized, intellectual woman and therefore does
not add to any type of contemporary feminist theme. Only adding to the conventional
ending is the fact that Elizabeth and Darcy move to Pemberley, the epitome of upperclass society standards in the book. When one considers that “Pemberley…evolves at the
end of the novel into a utopic community where Elizabeth and Darcy can live and
entertain according to socially and sexually democratic values” (Cohen), it is clear that
the novel does not contain a contemporary theme but in fact justifies living up to
society’s expectations. Pemberley represents exactly what society would recommend for
someone in Elizabeth’s position to desire, and by attaining it Elizabeth is simply giving in
to what society expects of her. Because she ultimately marries Darcy to please those
around her and to gain what she has been predisposed to want, it is impossible to suggest
that Elizabeth marries him out of love and affection.
Essentially, this novel is not about any type of contemporary idea concerning
marriage or love; in actuality, it is about meeting the status quo and living up to the
expectations set by an obscure society. From Elizabeth’s feigned liberation, her hidden
love of wealth, and her definitive decision to marry Darcy out of debt, it is quite clear that
she does not represent a feminist woman. While Austen intended for Elizabeth to be just
this and even may have been successful on the surface, when one delves deeper into the
story it is quite clear that Elizabeth is nothing more than another product of her society;
she is simply more skilled at hiding her true intentions than others around her.
Works Cited
Brownstein, Rachel M. “Jane Austen: Irony & Authority”. Bloom’s BioCritiques: Jane
Austen. Chelsea House Publishers: Philadelphia; 2002
Paris, Bernard J. Readings on Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice. Greenhaven Press, Inc.
San Diego: 1999.
Cohen, Paula Marantz. “Jane Austen’s Rejection of Rousseau: A Novelistic and Feminist
Initiation. Papers on Language and Literature. Edwardsville: Summer 1994.
Vol. 30, Iss. 3; pg. 215