Theme: Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice not only has amazing characters but it also has theme, which is demostrated throughout the novel. There are many types of themes that can be explored however I will be discussing two, pride and prejudice.

Right from the start, Elizabeth and society see Mr. Darcy as the “proudest, most disagreable man in the world” (Chapter III of Volume I, Austen). Darcy’s way of not being able to verbally and non-verbally communicate with others sets a boundary that is seen as pride. Later in the novel, when Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth, he says he’s doing it against his better jugdment and the inferiority of of her birth, causing Elizabeth’s pride to be hurt. This event only seems to add to the prejudice judgment Elizabeth has for Darcy. When Elizabeth verbally attacks Darcy, he seems to re-evaluate himself and the reader is able to see the change in Darcy’s prejudice on social class once he greets the Gardinars and Elizabeth amiably.

Elizabeth’s character takes pride in being able to judge people. Her prejudice against Darcy does not start to change till the last half of the novel. Her pride gets in the way of her seeing the possibility that she could be wrong in her judgement. After Darcy’s letter and the change she sees in him when visiting Pemberly, it begins changing her opinion she had of him. Elizabeth is able to put her pride aside and accept that she was wrong. Finally she able to see the true feelings she has for Darcy. Darcy himself is able to put his pride aside to ask Elizabeth for her hand in marriage, again.

In the end they are able to understand one another and the mistakes they have made against the other persons character.




Source: English School, (19th century). Scene from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen (1775-1817). 01 Oct. 2004. Bridgeman. eLibrary. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

"Themes and Source: English School, (19th century). Scene from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen (1775-Construction: Pride and Prejudice." EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - College Edition Expanded. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

Hirsch, Gordon. "Shame, Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen's Psychological Sophistication." EXPLORING Novels. Online ed. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Student Resource Center - College Edition Expanded. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.

Inspirations

Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is one of her most iconic works of literature. Even if someone has not read the book they have heard of the novel. There are books based on the novel, from another characters point of view to spinoffs.
A book written as a spinoff is “Pride And Prejudice And Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I was shopping in Barnes&Nobles and saw the book under the recommended list, so I picked it up. My sister and I could not stop laughing after reading the first sentence, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains” (7 Austen, Grahame-Smith). The novel had me laughing from beginning to end. It’s a great read. It has a funny side and also keeps the original work.
Another enjoyable novel is “Darcy’s Story” by Janet Aylmer. I always wondered about Darcy’s side of the story, his point of view. This story is written in Darcy’s perspective, answering the question of what was going on in Darcy’s mind throughout Pride and Prejudice. I loved Darcy’s character before but this just made me love him more. The novel takes a sympathetic approach to Darcy, which I loved. It is faithful to the book. All the Darcy fans would love this book.

source: Austen, Jane and Grahame-Smith, Seth. "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies". Quirk Productions, Inc. Philadelphia. 2009. 7-319.

Aylmer, Janet. "Darcy's Story". Harper. New York. 2006. 3-277.

Society at the Time

Jane Austen began writing Pride and Prejudice back in 1796 and it was not until 1813 that it got published. She used the way of society at the time and the roles designated to men and women in her novel in a satirical way. During Austen’s time, women behaved in a proper way and were often married by fortune and not love. Jane herself was in love with Mr. Lefroy but the union was terminated as they each did not possess a grand fortune. During this time there is starvation and war going on in England. Even Mrs. Catherine de Bourgh mentions that she must go into town and stop the quarreling of the poor; the militia is also mentioned many times throughout the work. The rich were getting richer. This contrast is seen in the novel, as Mrs. Bingley wants her daughters to marry for money. Everything was about living in a privileged community and having good etiquette. At the time a movement spread of living in high society; to not socialize with the common people. Men had to ask the father for permission to marry their daughters and were expected to provide and protect them. Austen used the cruel realities of life to show the differences in the class of society.

Source: The Scribner Writers Series. TCC Library Database. 16 April 2010. < http://ezp.tccd.edu:2055/servlet/Scribner/form?l=1&o=DocTitle&n=10 >

“Jane Austen Life and Works Timeline History”. 2008-2010. Jane Austen.org. 16 April 2010. < http://www.janeausten.org/jane-austen-timeline.asp >

Perrineperrine. “Jane Austen”. Photobucket. 16 April 2010. < http://media.photobucket.com/image/jane%20austen/perrineperrine/jane_austen.jpg?o=28 >

I remember a few years ago when Pride and Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightely, was showing in theaters. I was not too familiar with the work until my senior year. My English teacher assigned a research paper. I was given a list of different works of literature and decided on Pride and Prejudice. It was the right choice because I fell in love with the novel and anything to do with Pride and Prejudice.
Jane Austen began writing Pride and Prejudice on October, 1796. It wasn’t until the following year at age twenty-one that she completed the book. When the book first started out the title was called First Impressions. Austen was not able to get the manuscript published. It was not until 1811 that she revised it and named it Pride and Prejudice. It was finally published on January 28, 1813. While alive, Jane’s novels were never under her name, like on Pride and Prejudice it said, “The author who wrote Sense and Sensibility.” Pride and Prejudice is one of Austen’s popular novels.
I decided to write about this work because I really enjoyed the book. It’s one of my favorites. I will write what society surrounded at the time of the novel and the time in which it was written. I will explore its different examples of pride and prejudice, and how many movies and books are based on the novel or given a new twist.

Resource: Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen”. 2000. Ann Harker. 31 March 2010. < http://www.austen.com/pride/ >.