Comparison of the Roles of Characters in Pride and Prejudice - Essay Example

Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 1 Comparison of the roles of characters in Pride and Prejudice. Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 2 Jane Austen, is well known for her domesticated stories, her novels revolves around families and the coinciding incidents and situations will have a link within the family circle. Pride and Prejudice is one of her best written novels, Jane Austen’s success could be identified from the realistic way of characterisation and the situations that drags the characters into the scenes. She has a fantastic ability to give a shade of reality in each and every step of the novel is yet another feature that deserves applause. Pride and Prejudice is totally a family story which focuses on the Bennet’s family and particularly how does the importance of “marriage and courtship”[1] that was insisted during the 18th century England affects the lives of these family members and how this aspect prepares the place for rumours and prejudices against all qualified men for marriage. The plot revolves around the Bennet sisters Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia and Kitty, where each one of them is at the appropriate stage qualified for marriage, and Mrs. Bennet is found in a determined search of good matches for her daughters. The plots continues with how these girls get into the life circle and settle finally, though not all of them get a better opportunity. The first important character would be Elizabeth Bennet, a twenty year old woman of a quickly prejudicing nature. Next comes Jane her elder sister of a completely different nature when compared to that of Elizabeth. It is these two sisters who occupy. Foot Notes: [1]. During the early 18th century courtship or the act of having a relationship Intimately with the purpose of winning a favour before marriage was considered as an important aspect. In Pride and Prejudice Mrs.Bennet is keenly involve din enhancing her daughters to engage themselves in marriage is a reflection of that aspect. And one more tthing would be that Mr.Collins would be inheriting the property of Mr.Bennet as the later has no male heir, so the chance of Mrs. Bennet and her unmarried daughters to live as homeless could be another reason for Mrs.Bennet to go deep in search of a good match for her daughters. Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 3 the major portion of the plot. The other characters are included in order to emphasise the characteristic features of the main characters such as Elizabeth, Jane, Darcy and Mr.Bingley Wikiepeida [2006] has noted that “Jane Austens literary strength lies in the delineation of character, especially of women, by delicate touches arising out of the most natural and everyday incidents in the life of the middle and upper class , from which her subjects are generally taken. Her characters, though of quite ordinary types, are drawn with such firmness and precision and with such significant detail as to retain their individuality intact through their entire development…” Jane Austen concentrates on conversations between these characters than simply describing their appearances. That is why each character is presented with a flash of realism. As commented above Jane Austen’s characters are women in majority, and they retain their individuality. For example Elizabeth Bennet plays the main role and she is depicted as the one resembling the theme “Prejudice”, and on the other hand Darcy is a symbolic personification of “Pride”. Elizabeth is presented from the beginning as an intelligent woman filled with wits; she is the favorite daughter of Mr.Bennet. Though in terms of personality she might not come under the category of a beautiful woman, but then she earns the appreciation of all the readers by her character and noted particularly for her attractive eyes. Darcy gets impressed by Elizabeth’s eyes later when he develops a soft corner for her. Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 4 Elizabeth is also of a loving and faithful nature. But the love that develops between Darcy and Elizabeth undergoes several distractions and diversifications. Elizabeth has the tendency to create a first impression by prejudicing over other’s hints that is why when Darcy proposes her she rejects it spontaneously and adds the remarks said against him. Darcy himself is a strong reason for that. When Bingley asks him to dance with Elizabeth he comments directly that “tolerable but nor handsome enough to tempt me”[“Pride and Prejudice” p-9][a]. The point that Elizabeth is not very attractive to dance with him, shows his pride of a upper class morality and this particularly increases Elizabeth’s prejudice against Darcy that he lives in his upper class moralities and Darcy personifies pride by commenting so. The character of Darcy is interesting and at the same time he amplifies the plot by his pride. He reflects his upper class morality now and then , but when he gets chance to meet Elizabeth often [at the house of the newly wed Collins and Charlotte Lucas and Lady Catherine De Borough] he starts loving Elizabeth against his pride and against the objectionable family of Bennett’s’. But when he unfolds his mind she learns that it was he who has stopped Mr.Bingley form getting married with Jane. Mr. Bingley is found to be mentally engaged to Jane, though this pair undergoes a separation as part of prejudices formed by Elizabeth and Darcy. Later Darcy’s letter pronounces the real character of Bingley, that he is really in love with Jane. Bingley’s role seems to be less effective, as he does not have an influencing part when compared to Darcy. But as far as introducing Darcy is concerned he takes the important part in the Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 5 ball. It is Bingley’s wealth that covers the attraction of Bennet’s rather than his personality or mind. Finally, Jane was the only exception who fixes a new place for Bingley. Jane on the other hand is portrayed as a reserved woman, but beautiful and witty inside. She gets full support form her sister Elizabeth in her love life. She is of a very soft nature. Wikiepedia [2005] has to say on Jane that “a 22 years old at the start of the story. The eldest and most beautiful of the Bennet daughters. She has a reserved personality and tends to hide her feelings from outsiders. She is incapable of suspecting the worst of people, seeing only the good”. This is the only fault which makes Darcy prejudice over Jane as not actually interested in Bingley. Mr.Bennet and Mrs.Bennet’s role in this novel is significant in many ways, though they are not the main characters. They differ in temper absolutely. Henry Lien [1992] has observed on Mrs.Bennet that “Mrs. Bennet is clearly not an exemplary female role model. Because of her station in the leisure class, she is preoccupied with money, marriage, and all other factors in climbing an ostensibly stable social ladder that has actually been made rather rickety by changing sexual politics in post French-Revolution England” This comment is quiet true and interesting as Mrs.Bennet is the leading woman playing the role of enhancing the stress of getting married with a wealthy guy of the society among her daughters. Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 6 Lien [1992] also adds that “In Mrs. Bennet, Austen draws up the most obvious caricature of traditional values and the quiet turbulence of the world of Pride and Prejudice”. [2]. Coming to Lydia, the youngest of the Bennet sisters gains the pride to get married first. She has a role hinting at increasing the prejudice of Elizabeth against Darcy. But at the same time her elopement with Wickham increases the fear that her sister s would ever get married by her rash behaviour in such a prejudiced society. And this fear is further increased by Collins, where he writes “this false step in one daughter, will be injurious to the fortunes of all the others, for who, as Lady Catherine herself condescendingly says, will connect themselves with such a family, “[p-198 c-48][c] The other characters such as Mr.Wickham, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, MR.Collins, , All the characters in this novel is a representation of the 18th century England. Jane Austen’s mastery in characterisation should be appreciated because she has included the concept of the contemporary society in which she was also a part through the characterisation. Starting form Mrs.Bennet to Darcy, Lydia, Jane, Elizabeth , Charlotte Lady Catherine etc. all fall under the hands of setting a fortune in terms of searching a correct and wealthy hand. Amidst this struggle, the aspect of pride and prejudice is reflected through every character. Though Elizabeth and Darcy might be considered as the protagonists reflecting this Foot Notes: [2]Henry Lien has commented and compared the characters of Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice in his essay “Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations”. Published in Victorian Web. A website exclusively for selected authors of the eighteenth and Nineteenth Century. Here he compares Miss. Havisham and Mrs. Bennet and points out that there are several traitrs that these characters share, both reflect a criticism of contemporary social condition. Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice 7 trait, other characters also possess pride and prejudice against other notable characters such as Darcy, Mr.Wickham, Collins, Bingley etc. The woman characters such as Lydia, Lady Catherine, Mrs. Bennet, Charlotte are all affected by the social contexts such as marriage and courtship etc The woman characters such as Lydia, Lady Catherine, Mrs. Bennet, Charlotte are all affected by the social contexts such as marriage and courtship etc. For example Lady Catherine comments on Darcy’s decision of marrying Elizabeth could be viewed from two angles, one from the point of class pride and prejudice against Elizabeth, and another would be her plans to marry her daughter to Darcy. She says “heaven and earth! – of what you are thinking ? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?”….Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?”[P-240 c-58][b]. Finally the letter that Darcy hands over to Elizabeth could be consider as another personification that rules out the prejudices that existed inside Elizabeth’s mind. This letter acts very fast in erasing the misunderstandings which Elizabeth had developed against Darcy. She comes to know of the reason behind every action of Darcy, and Darcy’s too fantastically justifies his action. This in turn makes Elizabeth to remake her mind’s prejudices and gives way for her to develop a soft corner for Darcy. Darcy writes that “Mr.Wickham’s chief object was unquestionable my sister’s fortune …but I cannot help supposing that the hope of revenging himself on me was a strong inducement. This madam, is a faithful narrative of every event in which we have been concerned together” [p-137, c- 35] [d]. The narrative technique followed by Darcy in his letter wins the love of Elizabeth, though this love succeeds at the closure stage. On the whole each and every character in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice are portrayed in such a way that they reflect the social conditions of the 18th century England in a flawless way. The major traits of marriage and courtship are reflected through Mrs.Bennet. and who in turn influences her daughters, Lady Catherine,etc. The notion of class differences that existed in the 18th century England are also brought out by these characters. It would be appropriate to say finally that Pride and Prejudice is a novel which has pictures of English Society of Jane Austen’s time. End Noted: [a], [b], [c], [d], : all the dialogues are taken from the main text “Pride and Prejudice”. Source available form http://www.austen.com/pride/vol1ch01.htm References: Primary Source: Austen, Jane. “Pride and Prejudice” online available form http://www.austen.com/pride/vol1ch01.htm Secondary Source: Wikiepedia the Free Encyclopaedia . “Pride and Prejudice” online available form http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice Lien, Henry [1992] “Characterisation in Pride and Prejudice and Great Expectations” online available from http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/henrylien/characterisation-in-Pride-and-Prejudice-and-Great-Expectations.htm Read More