Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Essay Example

‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen Introduction The novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ based on its content has attracted varying criticism both positive and negative in equal measure. Thematically, the writer explores how characteristics of the society influence the actual individual lives as well as their decision making. Faced with decisions, the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ clearly highlight that people look back to their environments, values and cultures. In this paper, I will discuss the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the meaning of its title, and how it influences the plot based on different critics. The Meaning of the Title The words “Pride” and “Prejudice” have been used to title the novel. Pride literally is a manifestation of pleasure by an individual after an accomplishment while prejudice is a show of contempt towards an individual or a group. In the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the terms “pride”; “prejudice,” have extensively been employed to show emphasis on the behaviors, cultures, and the characteristics of the main and supporting characters (Austen and Bloom 56). The title of this novel (Pride and Prejudice), to some extent makes the content of the novel predictable. In the plot, prejudice and pride are manifested both by the main characters Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy as well as the supporting characters Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley. Contrastingly, the protagonists manifest their pride or prejudice in a more direct manner as compared to the minor characters, who to some extent are unpredictable, and portray their pride or prejudice by influence as opposed to direct involvement (Austen and Thomson 77). Practically, in the plot, the main characters antagonize in fulfillment of the title of the novel; as Elizabeth Bennet manifests prejudice through her character, Mr. Darcy shows the character of an individual who is both proud of himself as well as where he comes from. The fulfillment of the title is shown by the main characters in the first chapter (Austen and Thomson 98). In the first chapter, Elizabeth’s elder sister Jane, falls in love with a rich individual in the character of Mr. Bingley. Seemingly, Jane and Mr. Bingley are destined for marriage, but not until prejudice and prides are threatening the advancement of their relationship. In the relationship between Jane and Mr. Bingley, it is evidenced that the social status of either is considered an essential factor before finalizing their matrimonial union. With a wide social gap between them, people convince Mr. Bingley that Jane does not love him when actually Mr. Bingley’s family and peers just do not like the idea of him getting married to a lady with a completely different social class. From this episode, Mr. Bingley’s family and some of his peers manifest prejudice; they look down upon Jane based on her social class and decide that Mr. Bingley does not deserve a marriage to her. Jane manifests pride. Jane does not show signs of bending to the environment to save her relationship with Mr. Bingley (Austen and Thomson 89). While Mr. Bingley’s relationship with Jane is seemingly hitting the wall, his close contact Mr. Darcy seems to be falling in love with Jane’s younger sister Elizabeth. The relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is not short of problems either. With the dislike he is receiving from his neighborhood, Mr. Darcy does not have to hear much from his neighbors unlike Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth, however develops a different opinion about Mr. Darcy (Austen and Thomson 65). Based on what Elizabeth hears from about Mr. Darcy, she comes to judge him as a vile and a very proud individual. Elizabeth eventually declines a marriage proposal from Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth, however comes to realize that she made a mistake in her judgment of Mr. Darcy, even though it originally threatens the stability of their relationship. Elizabeth is depicted here as portraying prejudice as Mr. Darcy portrays pride. The Title and Its Influence on the Plot In a nutshell, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is a moral novel that tells a story through the family of Elizabeth Bennet in the 19th century with the milieu nation being England. Throughout the novel, Elizabeth Bennet together with her four sisters is involved in the pursuit of happiness, which their mother believed could only be achieved through successful marriages (Austen and Thomson 121). The Bennet’s family is of a low social class and a marriage to a person of the same social class as theirs would prove futile and unsuccessful, according to their own standards and to the people who surround them. The novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is anchored around relationship controversies. The family ties and social classes prove vital in the decision making skills of the characters throughout the novel. In addition, all the decisions that the characters make are circled around their manifestation of either pride or prejudice depending on the character. Summing the novel up is the portrayal of contrasting characters, varying cultures and social classes, who in one way or the other fight for or against each other (Fullerton 90). In all the actions and manifestations of the deeds of the characters, either pride or prejudice played a part in at least each move or decision that the characters made from the beginning to the end of the novel. The Influence of the Title on Readership The title plays an essential role in the flow and cohesion between similar and contrasting ideas in novels. The novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is not a letdown when it comes to how its ideas contrast. Moreover, this is the case because all the similarities are aimed at the same objective; to be relevant to the title. However, the main characters do not play a whole part in the manifestation of pride or prejudices as might have been predicted (Fullerton 45). The supporting characters have a huge influence to the main characters through their varied relationships. In most cases, where pride or prejudice is brought out, the supporting characters bear the biggest influence, which was a kind of letdown to the readers. How About Another Title? To most critics of the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the title should have been changed, maybe to something more lovely and romantic as most of the novel is, however, to me, the title fits the novel. The main theme of this novel is to show how social contacts and class actually have a huge influence on our decision making endeavors (Fullerton 76). The employment of “pride” and “prejudice” clearly brings out the contrast and passes the message just in the right manner-humbly. Conclusion Based on the description of the title herein, it is true that what the title communicates has a huge influence on the content of the book. In the case of the novel “pride and prejudice,” the message might not be literal just like in most novels, but eventually, the content of the novel clearly informs that people can surely read novels by the contents of their titles. Evidently, the themes of pride and prejudice are brought out in the novel. Work Cited Austen, Jane, and Harold Bloom. Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice. Philadelphia, Pa: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. Austen, Jane, and Hugh Thomson. Pride and Prejudice. United Kingdom: Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax, 2008. Print. Fullerton, Susannah. Celebrating Pride and Prejudice: 200 Years of Jane Austens Masterpiece. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press, 2013. Print. Read More