Pride and Prejudice
Despite a limited range of characters and a simple setting, Jane Austen explores a number of social issues in Pride and Prejudice , including a woman's place in society, social constraints, and differences between members of the lower and upper class. Austen infuses these themes throughout her novel by creating distinctive characters, using subtle humour and irony and describing scenes using an omnipresent narration to create a satirical observation on the society of her time. These themes and writing techniques are exemplified in one particular scene in this novel. Elizabeth Bennett has accepted an invitation to go with her aunt and uncle on their summer holiday to Huntsford. While staying at the parsonage owned by Mr. Collins and his wife Charlotte, the formidable Lady Catherine DeBourgh invites them to dinner at Rosings, her estate. The scene discussed in this essay describes the dinner at Rosings and Lady Catherine's interrogation of her guests.Throughout the novel, and especially in this scene, Jane Austen uses characterisation in order to satirize and highlight characters' positions in society. Austen deliberately eschews the development of characters such as Lady Catherine or Mr. Collins in the course of the novel so th
The use of these techniques allows Austen to create a novel that identifies and explores pertinent issues of the time. Lady Catherine's contempt for Elizabeth and her class is seen not only in her unspoken thoughts, but also in her pointed comments during her dialogue with Elizabeth. " When Elizabeth also reveals that their family has never had a governess, Lady Catherine's surprise increases. The opening line of the excerpt, "When they ascended the steps to the hall" , illustrates the idea that the characters are temporarily leaving their social surrounds and ascending into the domain of the aristocracy. Elizabeth remained unimpressed throughout her stay at Rosings, but she politely gives a positive account of the dinner. "Lady Catherine seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer and Elizabeth suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence!" Despite her disdain, social constraints do not allow Lady Catherine to openly call Elizabeth impertinent, so the narrator makes it possible for her unspoken thoughts to be expressed. As well as depicting the great opulence of Rosings, the differences between social classes are also highlighted through the scene's setting. Lady Catherine holds very conservative views and her astonishment is evident when during her conversation she determines that Elizabeth does not always fit in with society's norms. Female characters in Jane Austen's novel help to highlight the constrained position that women held in society at the time. The omniscient narrator also adheres to Jane Austen's style of minimising embellishment of descriptions and providing subtle humour, which seems to emphasise a character's views. The excerpt's setting gives a good description of the atmosphere of the scene. The viewpoints of characters are also well expressed through their dialogue, while the use of the omniscient narrator allows the reader to form their own impression of situations. Conflict between characters is created through Elizabeth's brazen responses to some of Lady Catherine's questions, such as when Lady Catherine asks, "Pray, what is your age?" Elizabeth answers, "With three younger sisters grown up your Ladyship can hardly expect me to own it. Instead of inviting her guests to view the grounds, "They were all sent to one of the windows to admire the view.
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Acceptance Essays
