Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a romantic novel published anonymously in three volumes in 1813. The growing relationship between Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter of a country gentleman, and Fitzwilliam Darcy, a rich aristocratic landowner, is the focus of this classic of English literature. Pride and Prejudice is set in rural England around the turn of the nineteenth century and follows the Bennet family, which consists of five very different sisters. Jane, the eldest, is mild-mannered and modest. She is Elizabeth’s confidante and friend. Elizabeth, the novel’s heroine, is intelligent and vivacious. She shares her father’s disdain for society’s conventional views on the importance of wealth and rank. The third daughter, Mary, is plain, bookish, and pompous, while the two youngest, Lydia and Kitty, are flighty and immature.
This story depicts key societal themes and the impact these themes had on the lives of the novel’s characters. One of these themes is social class, which is a major contributor to the story’s characters’ problems. Social class is an underlying issue in the lives of the characters, and it has a significant impact on the decisions they make throughout the novel. Every character recognizes the significance of social standing, and it plays an important role in the development of each individual in Pride and Prejudice. Although they were initially estranged from each other due to misunderstandings and prejudices based on first impressions (it was the first name of the novel). By refusing to dance with Elizabeth, he insulted her. He stated, where she could hear him, that he was not in the mood to prefer young ladies who had been slighted by other men. Despite this, he began to admire Elizabeth, and after further contact with her, he realizes she is the most intelligent, discerning, and virtuous woman he has ever met. He falls in love with her, but his pride prevents him from lowering himself to her social class at first.
This particular part is very similar to Spivak’s Subaltern because in his book he discusses about how the power dynamics affect the lives of two different groups. He explains the relationship between the subaltern who in this case is Elizabeth and its oppressor who is Mr. Darcy. Something that is very similar between these two relationships is the oppressor is always in the illusion that he is great. Mr. Darcy, for example, is the most obviously proud and prejudiced character. On the one hand, his pride is understandable given his wealth and social standing. He is accustomed to being treated as a social superior and an authority figure, and social codes of behavior ensure that characters of lower social status respect him. Darcy’s pride, on the other hand, is obvious, and he clearly sees himself as superior to the other characters with whom he interacts. Darcy also exhibits prejudice and is quick to pass judgment on the people he meets. He does not keep his opinions to himself and is willing to persuade those around him. For example, he admits to Elizabeth that he tried to break up Jane and Bingley’s relationship, saying, “I have done everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister.” In his letter, he later explains that he did not believe Jane truly loved Bingley. This demonstrates that he believes his observation of Jane was correct and that he did not consider whether his assumptions about her feelings were correct.
What people can take away from this story is that it is important to understand the other person before making assumptions or using information that you make not know is true against them. It also tells us that having pride in doing good things is acceptable but thinking that no one is above you and everybody has to meet your requirements in order to interact with you is wrong. Although the social class plays an important role in building pride, it all comes down to how well you behave.
Austen, J., Langton, S., Birtwistle, S., Firth, C., & Ehle, J. (1995). Pride and prejudice. London: BBC Production.