Authors Note:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune, must be in want of a wife” the first sentence, and allows the reader to understand the theme of the novel, Pride and Prejudice (PP) (Austen, 1813, p. 1). According to The Pemberly Republic (2010), “"Jane Austen can in fact get more drama out of morality than most other writers can get from shipwreck, battle, murder, or mayhem." Ronald Blythe” (para. 2).
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
In Steventon, Hampshire, England Jane Austen, uses observation on social proprietary and uses free indirect style (third-person using the nature of first-person) for her writing. With this style she became one of the prominent and fortunate novelists. Her publications in the 19th century still has appeal. Her successful work, and life (she was very private) resulted in scores of adaptations including film, Broadway, and music. PP alone has nine film adaptations and latest film produced in 2005 (Teuber, n.d.). The examination of Pride and Prejudice includes how the novel fits with literature of genre, time when published, the cultural significance, the success, and exploring value alignment of the period. Brief Overview of Pride and Prejudice
Setting the novel is rural England on the cusp of the 18th and 19th century perhaps as a mirror to her own life. Entertainment heavily depends on visiting neighbors in country estates. This is noteworthy for two reasons for the comparison of country living to city living in terms of pretentiousness and for the characteristic of class and wealth. A common topic at the beginning of the 19th century, women lacking money had to marry well, or rather above the current station. Any gentleman with good standing will suffice. The Bennett family has five daughters. The family is in the lower ranks of upper society. The family is not poor and not well off either. Mr. Bennett upon death does not have enough for Mrs. Bennett to support dependents (Vic, 2008). Mrs. Bennett makes a mission out of marrying off her daughters. Suitable candidates live within the community, but a common problem facing upper class gentry is, marrying down disreputable. Sisters of the men plot to prevent some of the marriages but not with success. One marriage involves a daughter running off with a vagrant gambler. The title of the book has specific meanings to the story. Pride is characteristic of the gentry. This also means a snob in the context too. Prejudice means the same as it does today, but the reference is to the lower and upper-class gentry in relation to marriage.
About Jane Austen
Jane Austen’s life began on “December 16, 1975, and died July 18, 1817” (Teuber, n. d. p. 1). Pride and Prejudice is Austin’s second novel. The original title was, “First Impressions” and completed at the age of 21 in 1796 (A Study Guide for Pride and Prejudice, n. d.). Austen’s father was her primary educator and supporter of writing, which at the time unheard of let allow encouraged with women. In an ironic twist, Jane Austen fell in love with Thomas Langlois Lefroy. According to Andreas Teuber, Jane Austen Biography (n. d.), under threat of disinheritance, “ if he married the daughter of a penniless clergyman, Madam Lefroy cut short the courtship by sending her nephew away” (para 16).A Square Peg Fitting into a Round Hole
PP as her most successful and popular novel, and remains in circulation today. No, Austen did not fit in with the literature at the time of publication. Too embarrassed to confess to reading sappy romance novels, most would suffer humiliation to acknowledge doing so (Teuber, n. d.). Especially ones with plots of sophisticated and arousing heroines released from perilous circumstances by gorgeous and audacious champions. Popular authors at the time focused more gothic like novels of “dark castles, secret chambers, and rusty daggers are dripping in blood” (A Study Guide for Pride and Prejudice, n. d., p. 11).
Cultural Significance and Value
Austen's novel reflects the complexities of the Haute Tone on the cusp of the late 18th to early 19th century England, a society in which the man holds fiscal and societal, familial and external power by rank of gentility. A humorous representation of challenge to attain income, Austen cunningly and dryly recognizes responsibility with the bargain, frustrating the assessment of principles of the Haute Ton and the superiority of English society. PP has various essentials of societal practicality, and centers on amalgamation of social class during the time when England defeated Napoleon, won the war with France, and rapid modernization of industrial growth (Teuber, n. d.). PP triggers questions as the story progresses by intentional design to classify the fundamental nature Elizabeth Bennett. Austen develops a sense of concern finding a sense of balance between practicalities, the obligation of attaining nuptials, and impracticality, mainly Elizabeth's romanticism, Austen stages the female protagonist fight to find a position inside the societal establishment of matrimony. The exact temperament of poise is not understood, and regardless of appearance of a happy marriage, the chances are high for conflict with Elizabeth’s personality, autonomy, and lack of pretension with Mr. Darcy's social responsibility and orthodoxy. However, the story appears to strike a balance between the two.
Economic Success or fan following
In 1811, Austen sold her book and copyrights for a meager £150 pounds (Vic, 2008). The first print ran out requiring a second print yielding £450 for the publications (Vic, 2008). Most of her novels have the same central theme, women securing social and economic standing through marriage. The novel was not a huge economic success with present-day comparisons. £450 estimated spending power today equals £15,282.00 (Vic, 2008). Jane Austen has a huge fan base. A Google search on April 25, 2011, on the name, Jane Austen yields 8,930,000 results (Google, 2011). Fans of Jane Austen call themselves Janeites, or Janites, depending on the local. Just as an example to the craze, a woman named Alice Flynn has a website and on it sells Janeite button badges (2008). Conclusion
Jane Austin as a fanatical writer edited her novels more than once. Pride and Prejudice sat on her shelf untouched after the original draft for 15 years. Jane Austen wrote about popular culture in a time when the term did not exist. Austen felt the need to expose the flaws the societal norms and the Haute Ton’s clique. Inheriting estates had a different set of rules today. The will set aside an annual income to support spouses and children, “Mrs. Bennet would be expected to live off the 4% interest of her £5,000 marriage settlement, or £200 per year, “No wonder she became shrill every time she thought of her unmarried daughters, for Mr. Bennett’s entire yearly £2,000 income and his house were entailed to Mr. Collins” (Vic, 2008, para 3). This equals to £6,792.00 annually. Women in the 19th century had to meet a gentleman to survive, and may have had the burden of supporting the surviving widow, and children. Choosing marriage partners was not in the equation most of the time. Cultural significance here is survival of the fittest. References
A Study Guide for Pride and Prejudice (n. d.) retrieved from Glencoe Literature Library http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/pride_and_predjudice.pdf
Flynn, A. (2011). Janeite pin badge button for jane austen fans. Etsy. Retrieved from http://www.etsy.com/listing/64004571/janeite-pin-badge-button-for-jane-austen
Google. (2011). Google Search. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1WZPE_enUS424&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=jane+austen
Teuber, A. (n. d.). Jane Austen Biography. Retrieved from Brandeis University, USEM 27b: Coming in to one's own http://people.brandeis.edu/~teuber/austenbio.html#AboutThisEssay
The Pemberly Republic. (2010). Jane Austen's Writings. Retrieved from http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/janewrit.html
Vic. (2008). Pride and prejudice economics: or why a single man with a fortune of £4,000 per year is a desirable husband. Jane Austens World Word Press. Retrieved from http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2008/02/10/the-economics-of-pride-and-prejudice-or-why-a-single-man-with-a-fortune-of-4000-per-year-is-a-desirab
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