Jane Austen’s Novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Essay (Book Review)

November 3, 2021 by Essay Writer

Updated: Aug 23rd, 2020

Jane Austen’s novel is impressing for its concern with the social fabric of England as a patriarchal society during the late 1800s and early 1900s. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ delights readers from its witty display of the social atmosphere concerning the courtship rituals of the English gentry. Jane uses elegantly structured satire to discuss the effects of romanticism during this century. In the novel, romanticism breeds a complicated love and marriage between partners with different statuses. For instance, Darcy and Elizabeth are struggling to get along, but come together when they find similar tastes between them. The current study explores the link between romance with the natural, the supernatural, and emotion versus reality to understand romanticism characteristics in the novel.

Emotion and rationality

Jane Austen depicts an ideal marriage because of true love between a man and a woman. Without the romanticism associated with love, it is impossible to make a perfect marriage. For Instance, Elizabeth and Darcy are far apart in relation to social class. However, through their pride and prejudice, they get to experience several events that let them understand each other. The romanticism between them breeds a mutual understanding between them. The pride and prejudice disappear and true love shines between them. Elizabeth’s marriage contrasts with Charlotte’s, who is a realist. Charlotte believes that all she wants is a happy marriage and all the things that accompany a comfortable home. Although Charlotte Mr. Collins do not have similar tastes or love for the other, they agree to get into a marriage based on comfort. In this instance, Romanticism places the emotions and feelings between Elizabeth and Darcy above everything else, unlike the traditional rationality and intellect associated with Charlotte’s marriage.

The love of nature

Romanticism is obsessed with its love for nature and the beauty of the natural environment in the outside life. Lydia and Elizabeth appreciate nature for its physical beauty. For instance, Lydia is ecstatic about going out during the summer to be exposed to a public place. She elopes during the summer to find romance and to escape the folly of the society. After a while, she exclaims at the idea that romantic men are non-existent and that they no longer appreciate the love of nature. Lydia’s expeditious nature shows the obsession of the romantic with nature. Austen however, retrains Elizabeth from escaping into the natural wild, but sends her to the northern lakes that are known for their romantic splendor. Elizabeth gracefully accommodates the change of nature to get satisfaction and happiness. She finds that the summer at the home country compensates the disappointments that follow. To her, this is an opportunity to get to bond with her loved one more.

Passion

Restraining romance to live a happy marriage between Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet embodies a virtue that restrains her passion. Although Jane is a passionate romantic, she lets it go to pursue happiness while obeying moral standards. She still ends up getting a happily arranged marriage. The author insists that love is just a pathway to true happiness. The two partners love each other deeply though are shy of breaking the traditional love standards. The lack of romance between them leaves the relationship dry, as Mr. Bingley is not out to ensure that they obstruct they love repeatedly. Jane depends on virtue to keep the marriage going and to fuel the marriage. Although Jane does not seek love positively, she acknowledges that virtue is a result of romanticism that a couple must have to sustain their marriage all through.

The supernatural

Romanticism breeds the belief in the supernatural and the mysterious. Romantics have been fascinated with the belief in the mysterious love at first sight axiom that celebrates passion and physical attractiveness or marriage on property status. Jane inverts the accepted and often mysterious love at first sight using the convention of Darcy and Elizabeth, who mutually disliked the other at first sight. Jane Austen arranges events that could melt away the dislike between the two. The sensibility and virtue of Elizabeth allows her to break the bonds of misunderstandings to breed love. This goes against the belief in love at first sight and advocates for sensibility and virtue in romance. Governed by similar tastes, Elizabeth and Darcy find it easy to share the ideas and thoughts without any confines or meeting under the supernatural banner of love at first sight. What she gets out of romanticism is a marriage based on understanding and equality.

In sum, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ tells of the experiences of life through romance and sensibility. The three romanticism characteristics identified in the study tell the emphasis of romance with the natural, the supernatural, and emotion versus reality. Jane Austen widely explores these effects of romanticism to bring out a generalization of the English gentry. She depicts romantics coated beneath the three effects in her limited way to produce a landmark in literature. In the study, love at first sight is satirized in romance, Elizabeth is excessively optimistic about their journey to the Lake District, while rationality and emotions exists in Elizabeth and Charlotte’s relationships. The three romanticism characteristics break the bonds of pride between two people who did not fit into a social class or status to bring them together. The result is true love. Elizabeth longs for someone who understands her inner feelings, loves her, and expresses his love past the natural environment.




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