irony in preide and prejudice
Pride and Prejudice and The Edible Woman: Negative Effects of the Society's Throughout history, society has played an important role in formingthe value and attitudes of the population. Jane Austen's Pride andPrejudice and Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman are two novels whichexemplify the negative effects of society's influence. Both ElizabethBennet and Marian McAlpin are strong women who rebel against society'sinfluences in their lives. They refuse to accept the pre-set roles andidentities handed to them. Both women realize that the individual's needsare not necessarily the same as what society imposes on them; they rebelagainst this very society in order to gain the independence necessary to Society in the early 19th century world of Pride and Prejudice isrepresented through Mrs. Bennet and those like her, who are "of meanunderstanding, little information, and uncertain temper" (Austen 53). Fromthe beginning of the novel, society prominently displays its views onmarriage. When Mr. Bingly moves to town, Mrs. Bennet immediately entreatsher husband to go introduce himself. Mrs. Bennet describes Bingly as "asingle man of large fortune; four or
In Elizabeth's case, she does not want to marry forwealth and good connections; she wants to marry for love. Marian proceeds to subconsciously rebel against society's pre-setrole for her, using food as her vehicle for rebellion. However, the two are still notfree to be together. Elizabeth refuses toaccept this view. He is arising young lawyer, socially acceptable, all around popular guy. Evenvitamin pills, now her main source of nourishment, become forbidden as she "wonder[s] what they grind up to put into these things" (234). She tells Elizabeth thatto marry "a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world"(364) would " disgrace him in the eyes of everybody" (367). Marian breaks the spell of anorexia when she finally decides tostop trying to change herself and instead to take control of her life. Both characters ultimately realize that they never desired the "norm" of society. However, she now attempts to changeherself to fit society's pre-set role of women. He thinks he loves Elizabeth, yet he continues to degrade her on the basisof her family's socioeconomic situation. Marian assumes she will do the same, although theprospect is far from appealing to her. Lady Catherinedoes not care about her nephew, instead she is only concerned with what "everybody" will think. In fact, "the business of her life was to get herdaughters married" (53).
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