an analysis of the FEMINIST theory
IN THE PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
BY JANE AUSTEN
MAULIYA
RISALATURROHMAH
FACULTY OF
ENGLISH LANGUAGES AND LETTERS
UNIVERSITY
OF PESANTREN TINGGI DARUL ‘ULUM JOMBANG
Abstract
Jane
Austen’s novel about Pride and Prejudice has attracted the attention of
numerous literary critics. This article takes insights from feminist theory and
examines the compatibility / incompatibility of women in the perspective of
gender roles at workplace and in family life. It is the study of profound
meaning underlying in the female social, psychological and sexual reality in
the novel Pride and Prejudice in Victorian England. It explores into the
heroine Elizabeth to study Austen’s special perspective on feminism in the
patriarchal society. This study aims at identifying
the female characters which have connected in the Victorian Age.
Keywords:
Pride and
Prejudice, Feminist Theory, Victorian Era, and female consciousness.
I. Introduction
Jane
Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813, exactly
two hundred years ago, but it still appeals to readers and film makers alike. Pride
and Prejudice is a novel detailing the social relationships among middle
and upper class families in England’s countryside during the Regency period. At
the center of the novel it stands its heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, who pursues an
idealistic vision of life, love, marriage within the conservative, restraining
social order of her community. She eventually unites with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy
landowner, in a marriage founded on mutual respect and sincere affection. This
novel is well known story of Mr.Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet as initial Pride
and Prejudice turned in love.
Jane’s
novel attracted the attention of the feminist literary criticism. Pride and
Prejudice’s feminism field describes a culture in which women are treated
differently than men, and in that difference of treatment, women are at a
disadvantage. Feminism assumes that such role of women. In Pride and
Prejudice, the role of women was to marry successfully to a man of
importance, fame, and money. In order to achieve this, women had to act in
graceful, pleasing manners to obtain the status of a perfect maiden. It happened
in the Victorian Age. And Mothers were presented as desperate women who were
trying to have their daughters married well. Marriage was an important ritual
that needed to happen at a young age. This created an endless cycle of mothers
pushing their daughter to be wedded to prevent them from becoming an "old
maid".
From
a feminist perspective, Jane Austen’s emphasis on female personal space implies
that intelligent women must secure privacy in order to remain independent,
freethinking individuals within a patriarchal society. By linking privacy with
mental growth, Austen takes part in a larger network of feminist literature in
which private space is equated with female creativity and freedom from domestic
duties. Therefore, Austen’s examination of privacy serves as a critique of
limitations on female intellectual growth.
II.
Methodology
A. Summary of Novel
Pride and
Prejudice portrays the Bennet family, with its five
unmarried daughters, and their mother often desperately attempts to marry them
off into financial safety, as the family estate is “entailed” to a distant male
cousin, Mr.Collin. It is a novel detailing
the social relationships among middle and upper class families in England’s
countryside during the Regency period. At the center of the novel stands its
heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, who pursues an idealistic vision of life, love, and
marriage within the conservative, restraining social order of her community.
She eventually unites with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy landowner, in a marriage
founded on mutual respect and sincere affection.
Elizabeth
Bennet is the daughter of a middle-class country gentleman living in
nineteenth-century England. Her mother is intent on finding husbands for
Elizabeth and her four sisters since the family’s estate will be passed on to a
male cousin after the father’s death, and Mrs. Bennet and her daughters will be
left with nothing. When Mr. Bingley, the rich gentlemen, moves into a
neighboring estate, Mrs. Bennet is determined to secure him as a husband for
one of her daughters. Mr. Bingley, indeed, falls in love with the eldest Bennet
daughter, Jane, but his arrogant sister Miss Bingley and his best friend, the
proud, wealthy, and supercilious Mr. Darcy, discourage him from pursuing Jane.
Unpopular in the neighborhood, Mr. Darcy develops an affection for Elizabeth,
but suppresses his feelings for her since her witty, yet biting demeanor toward
him convince him that Elizabeth is not interested in his advances. Besides, the
discrepancy in social class between the two makes them an unsuitable match for
one another. When Mr. Darcy finds he cannot deny his love for Elizabeth any
longer, he proposes to her but is rejected. It is only after Elizabeth learns
more about Mr. Darcy’s past and experiences his generous and caring character
first hand that she changes her mind. In the end, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy like
Jane and Mr. Bingley discover they are made for one another, defy social
protocol, and marry.
B. Feminist Theory and Victorian Era
Feminism is
the women’s quest for recognition, power and authority, and it attempts to
relocate women beyond the confines of their patriarchal society. Women fight
for emancipation because “they are treated as a kind of subordinate beings, and
not as a part of the human species” (Mary Wollstonecraft).
In the introduction
to Lizbeth Goodman’s Literature and Gender,
feminism is defined as the movement against the cultural and historical
subordination of women and the struggle for economic, political and social emancipation.
Feminist literary criticism is literary analysis that arises from the
viewpoint of feminism.
Feminism
was an aesthetic that attained prominence and significance in the early
twentieth century. It happened in the Victorian era that writers like Jane
Austen had already written works (Pride and
Prejudice) that were later recognized as feminist literature.
In the Victorian society, the
home was an important sphere and it also outlined the relations between husband
and wife in the domestic sphere, and on a larger scale, the relations between
women and men. The home was also sanctified as an island of tranquillity and
obedience which was a blessing to the patriarchal rule of the male head that
completely controlled the spouse and barred her from the public life of
politics and economy.
In the Victorian society, the
male figure was the symbol of authority, which shows the patriarchal nature of
the society. The Victorian women were economically dependent on men as a means
of survival as noted in most Victorian novels particularly those by Jane Austen
whose female characters are usually in search of propertied men. To speak of
Victorian feminism is to refer to the fight against such stereotypes and to
create equality between the masculine and feminine world.
At the time, the women had to
have many talents. For examples; they had to be able to dance, sing, play
piano, etc. Besides, they have to know the knowledge about music. Mary
Wollstonecraft, one of the early British feminists, in her work Vindication
of the Rights of Women established that “Girls marry merely to better
themselves, to borrow a significant vulgar phrase, and have such perfect power
over their hearts as not to permit themselves to fall in love till a man with a
superior fortune offers.” Due to the intensive industrialism, urbanization and
social change, there emerged a massive competition within the new middle class
who controlled the economy and this was a world controlled by men in which no
woman could belong (Nead).
Victorian feminism was the
women’s struggle for equality in the Victorian society in the political, social
and economic aspects that regimented life. In order to acquire economic
stability, women were forced to marry men of a higher economic status as
depicted by Jane Austen in her novel Pride and Prejudice.
III. Analysis
In Pride and Prejudice,
Jane Austen’s depiction of womanhood is both varied and expansive. A woman can
be gentle in spirit, incapable of finding ill in others. Daughters can be
impossibly silly in their romantic endeavors. Wives are sometimes obnoxious,
meddling fools with easily disturbed nerves. Even women linked by their
intelligence, such as Charlotte and Elizabeth, differ in terms of practicality
and adherence to social norms. There is, however, a factor that distinguishes
intelligent females in the novel from the unintelligent, their insistence on
maintaining privacy from male influence.
It
can be seen in the novel, chapter 6 (Austen 25), about Charlotte’s view on
marriage and Elizabeth’s view on marriage. Both told about Jane’s feeling in
Bingley, and so does he.
-
Charlotte’s view; she said
that women should show her feeling / affection before she lose the opportunity
of fixing the man. Women can freely begin to say to the man even a slight
preference is natural enough. But, in the fact, there are very few of women who
have heart enough to be really love without encouragement. And if a woman has
feeling to a man, the man should know it.
-
Elizabeth’s view: If our
purpose to get married is only pleasure, we can adopt it to choose the rich
man, but it’s not Jane’s feelings. She is not acting by design. Jane really
loves Bingley because he is humble, wise, and humorous.
The explanation above shows us that
women do not need to be forced when they want to get a couple. They also do not
need to wait men who engage them. It is completely different from the Victorian
era which the women have to wait the men married them. Besides, the women who are from middle class families
are impossible to marry with the rich man. But, in this novel, Austen shows
that Jane who is from middle class families can be married by Bingley who is from
upper class families. And there is no the lows that avoid them to get married.
In
chapter 19 (Austen 93), we can see that Elizabeth does not accept Mr. Collin’s
proposal to marry her.
Mr.
Collin:
“my dear Elizabeth, allow me marry you. In fact, you know that I’m, to inherit
the estate after the death of your honoured father, (who, however, may live
many years longer), I could not satisfy myself without resolving to choose a
wife from among his daughters. Believe me that i will never reproach about the
wealth when we are married. My reasons for believing it are briefly these: it
does not appear to me that my hand is unworthy your rejection, or that the
establishment I can offer would be any other than highly desirable. Therefore,
it is impossible for you not to accept me to be yours.
Elizabeth: “You are too
hasty, sir”, she cried. I’m very sensible of the honour of your proposals, but
it’s impossible for me to do otherwise than decline them. I’m different from
other women that accept the men because of the wealth. “Really, Mr.Collin,”
cried Elizabeth. “You puzzle me exceedingly. If what I have hitherto said can
appear to you in the form of encouragement, I do not know how to express my
refusal in such a way may convince you of its being one. I thank you again and
again, but to accept it absolutely impossible. I have no feeling with you, and
you will never make me happy.
In the
conversation above, it shows that Lizzy (Elizabeth) dares not to accept
Mr.Collin’s engagement. It is because she does not love him and also she is not
interested in his estate which becomes the guarantee when they get married.
However, in Victorian age women marry because they want to live happily with
the rich man. It is very different view shown by Elizabeth. She have struggle
that women have a chance not to accept every men who come to them. Women can
freely choose the man to be the husband.
In chapter 22 (Austen
104), Charlotte’s acceptance of Mr. Collins’ proposal, as Charlotte goes on to
say to Elizabeth in regard to her marriage with Mr. Collins, “...I hope you
will be satisfied with what I have done. I am not romantic you know. I never
was. I ask only for a comfortable home, and considering Mr. Collins’ character,
connections, and situations in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness
with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state,”
This further demonstrates the point
that Charlotte, in a male-dominated society, felt compelled to marry in order
to secure her own future. It shows that between Charlotte and Elizabeth have
different intelligent. Charlotte only thinks about her future, And Lizzy still
thinks about her feeling.
In addition, in Victorian society, in
order to acquire economic stability, women were forced to marry men of a higher
economic status as depicted by Jane Austen in her novel Pride and Prejudice which
satirically depicts Mrs. Bennet’s pursuit of finding financially stable
husbands for her daughters. It can be seen in the chapter I (Austen 11).
Mrs.
Bennet:
“my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young
man large fortune, four or five thousands a year from the North England. What a
fine thing for our girls. Consider your daughters! Only think what an
establishment it would be for one of them.
Mr.
Bennet:
“You are over scrupulous seriously.”
Mrs.
Bennet:
“Oh.. you do not know what I suffer..” Please my dear, you must indeed go and
see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighborhood.
Above we can see that Mrs. Bennet
really obsesses to marry one of her daughters with the rich man to continue the
life. As mother, she cannot imagine if her daughters married with the poor men
since the purpose of her life is to get her daughters married successfully to a
man of importance, fame, and money and live happily. This also happened in
Victorian Age, Mothers were presented as desperate women who were trying to
have their daughters married well. Marriage was an important ritual that needed
to happen at a young age.
Unfortunately,
marriage did not entirely offer economic stability and independence for women
since the Victorian society was very patriarchal. There were laws which forced
women to be subservient to their husbands; for example, the common law doctrine
of covertures, which the Victorians felt defined roles ordained by the natural
and theological order, which meant that through marriage, man and woman became
one person (Shanley 8). Therefore, married women could not independently sign
contracts nor draft valid wills and any married woman’s property legally
belonged to her husband.
In addition, “Feminist critics say
women must define themselves and articulate their roles, values, aspirations,
and place in society. To do so, women must...marshal a variety of resources to
assert, clarify, and finally implement their beliefs and values” (Bressler
182). In regard to this quote, Elizabeth Bennet indeed clarifies and implements
her own beliefs and values. The protagonist, in a final spat with Lady
Catherine de Bourgh, asserts her position on marrying Mr. Darcy, free from
societal restrictions: “I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will,
in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you,
or to any person so wholly unconnected to me” (Austen 260). As such, Miss
Bennet articulates her own role and place in society, although still only as a
housewife, but a housewife that marries for love and her own values as opposed
to the socially dictated "values" of wealth and a vast fortune.
“As one of the most significant
developments in literary studies in the second half of the twentieth century,
Feminist literary criticism champions equal rights for women, so it would be appropriate
to pay attention to an occasion in which Elizabeth Bennet claims equality with
another upper-class man, Mr. Darcy. Again, in the same quarrel with Lady
Catherine de Bourgh,
Miss
Bennet
claims, “In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that
sphere [in which I have been brought up]. He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s
daughter; so far we are equal” (Austen 258).
In this instance, Miss Bennet claims
equality with Mr. Darcy as she opposes Darcy's controlling aunt. To be equal to
and have equal opportunity and rights with a man of such social ranking as Mr.
Darcy is to epitomize the very cause of feminist literary criticism to chiefly
advocate for the rights and equality of women.
VI. CONCLUSION
This
study aims at identifying at identifying
the female characters which have connected in the Victorian Age. In
order to show the female social, psychological and sexual reality in the novel Pride
and Prejudice in Victorian England that Austen used. It also explores into the
heroine Elizabeth to study Austen’s special perspective on feminism in the
patriarchal society.
Austen
regarded female as the center part of the novel. She let her female characters
describe the story as their daily life, transmit the information to the
readers. In her novels, the heroines are not traditional angles or monsters
defined by male writers. All of them are independent. She is a remarkable woman
in the literary area. Her contribution to the literature is partly to a special
writing style and partly establishes a new statue to women. She uses her
special perspective of female to show that women are independent rather than
dependent.
As a
conclusion, Austen, in her novels, created a lot of vivid characters of
snobbish and arrogant squires. She satirized the snobbery, pride and vanity of
the middle class people with humorous words. Apparently she wrote about
everyday life, but in fact, some social problems were disclosed in her novels.
Like other feminists, she cared about women’s social position and claimed for
women’s right to work, and her point of view was reflected in her novels.
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Jane. 1813. Pride and Prejudice. 387 Park Avenue South, New York: Chancellor
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Austen,
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Mantili Nugrahani,-Cet.7- Bandung: Qanita. Print.
Mikulan,
Krunoslav. 2009. Harry Potter through the Focus of Feminist Literary Theory.
The Journal of International Social Research. Faculty of Teacher Education.
University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Showalter,
Elaine. 2010. Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness. The University of
Chicago Press
Multiple
Critical Perspective. Teaching Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
Prestwick House.INC
Trans,
Betsy Wing. 1986. Feminist Readings. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P.
Paul, Lissa (1999). From Sex-Role
Stereotyping to Subjectivity: Feminist Criticism. London/New York:
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www.Ganool.com
(Pride and Prejudice Movie)
