Critically analyse class expectation and gender in Pride and Prejudice Essay

Critically analyse class expectation and gender in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Essay Example Collins who spends so much of his time fawning Lady Catherine expresses class consciousness. Mr. Collins is an epitome of a society that cares nothing but getting their feet off the mud with the misconception that wealth, status and power are the basis of a good life. He has a complete disregard of the more important values in life. Austen depicts the barriers in classes in the 19th century England in the character of Mr. Collins. (Pascoe, 2002, p. 11-19) The boundaries in class are vividly drawn by Austen through the characters in the novel. Another example is Lady Catherine’s aristocratic image in the story. She appears as the protagonist who comes in between the relationship of Darcy, his nephew, and Elizabeth. The image-conscious aristocrat represents the people from the upper class of the society. She is prejudiced of the likes of the Bennets and most especially, Elizabeth. She finds the Bennets inconsequential due to their status and the fact the sisters are not able to draw. Aside from those, Elizabeth’s character, an uncommon girl in her era, makes Lady Catherine dislike her even more. Her incompetence in singing and playing the piano is far from what a girl in that time should be. (Goodin, 1972, p. 85-96) The social structure in the 19th century is present throughout the novel though the definition of characters relies more on the dialogues and not much on the description. Darcy for instance, portrays a character with excessive pride which is due to what society expects of him and with the big influence of what his father taught him. He is basically born into aristocracy but due to his honest and kind heart, tagged with his encounters with Elizabeth, Darcy eventually sees that the factors other than material possessions, status quo and power are the ones that truly belong to aristocracy. (Peterson, 1982, p. 11-13) When she declines the marriage proposal of Darcy, it shows that she does not belong to the class-conscious women that the only thing that runs in mind is to look for a wealthy man who can give them tiaras to make them belong to the upper class. Her character is the most prominent in the novel that breaks the stigma on women marrying wealth to climb a few notches higher in social ladder. The novel shows how someone like Elizabeth, a woman from the middle class values what she thinks and couldn’t care less if the society rejects her for being far away from the norm. Her character defies the concepts of social class and gender in the 19th century. (Austen, 1933, vol. 2 p. 86-89) Pride and Prejudice portrays the absurd value of marriage – financial security. Charlotte Lucas explains to Elizabeth upon accepting the marriage proposal of Mr. Collins that is refused by Elizabeth, â€Å"I am not romantic you know. I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collin's character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state." (Haggerty, 2008, p. 125) This line shows that Lucas sees marriage as resolution to poverty. Lucas represents women in general who will do everything to enter the upper class world to attain the respect middle class women don’t get. A marvellous irony of disrespecting oneself to be respected is what Austen tells through Charlotte’