Lit 12 - Nov. 13 - P&P Fishbowl

Goal of literary essay: "Looking at the text as a work of art, demonstrating clear critical judgment and explaining to the reader of your essay how the enjoyment of the text is assisted by literary devices, linguistic effects and psychological insights; showing how the text relates to the time when it was written and how it relates to our world today."

Advice: look at class notes and your own improvements
-see if you can come up with a topic which fits all three topics
-extend your ideas to show how it connects to our world today
-passion

Discuss how Austen uses character as a vehicle to show _______________________ in the novel, Pride and Prejudice.


Society in the 1800's

- First sentence - specifies - man, money is important
- Lizzy is judgmental of Charlotte - are we?
- Charlotte doesn't want to be a burden - money and a good home - she's brave - she knows she's being condemned to Mr. Collins - admirable - she's "not a romantic"
- Love is secondary
- Selfless of Charlotte - Mr. Collins would never be her first choice
- Also, Charlotte's sister can now marry and be accepted into that level of society - mingling with Lady Catherine
- Marrying for love is not all that socially accepted at the time
- Lizzy does care about her family - Fitzwilliam - she knows she can't marry him because of his lack of money - he has class, but no wealth
- Lydia - "the death of your daughter would have been a blessing compared to this" - why would the reputation of the family would have been ruined? - taints the family name
- Mrs. Bennet - allowing her daughters to be "out in society" - (like Lady Catherine says) turns out to be disastrous - 15 year olds can't really be trusted
- Women of this status must be virgins before marriage - if one sister is "promiscuous" - it reflects badly - especially if it's the youngest - as Lady Catherine says, "all of them out? Before the older ones are married?"
- Lydia proves Lady Catherine correct [but not by our rules]
- [how do these rules apply to us today? What does this say about our society?]
- Lady Catherine says they should have a governess - this ends up being correct as well
- Lady Catherine reinforces the rules of the society (159)
- Higher classes look down on those of lower - "Lady Catherine likes to have the distinction of rank preserved" - Collins - of course she would
- [everyone but Lizzy kowtows to Lady Catherine]
- "Is this your mother?" - Lady Catherine's bad manners are accepted [isn't this true somewhat of our famous people?]
- People with the most money - may be the least respectable as people [what about Darcy] - Lady Catherine has status - Austen satirizes this unearned status [think of how royalty - born into it - undeserved status and power]
- Character vs. money (Lizzy has character)
- How similar is our society when it comes to judging/selecting husbands - security? [today women can attain degrees and have power of their own]
- Everyone knows that Collins isn't a catch - but he provides security
- Income affects…marriage
- Charlotte would NOT have married Collins, Jane couldn't have married Bingley if he had no money
- Lizzy turns down two marriage proposals - unheard of [we see that her father supports both of these denials!]
- Lizzy is ahead of her time - the way she talks to Lady Catherine, her wittiness, the way she talks to Darcy… - she calls Lady Catherine out ["I am a gentleman's daughter, so far we are even"(339)]
- Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are contrasted - Mrs. Bennet would have had to secure financial support - he didn't have to do this - he is a "gentleman" meaning he did not have to work and has an income.

Gender Roles

- What gender roles play out - first line of novel - men "must be in want of a wife" - men have control over wives and daughters
- Charlotte Lucas shows how women don't have much of a choice "I'm not a romantic" "Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance" (21) - later - better to not know the person you marry - they will just be different any way
- Women can't attain their own fortune (Lady Catherine is an exception to the rule)
- Mrs. Bennet (5) "the business of her life was to get her daughters marry, its solace was …news"
- Contrast Jane and Lydia - Jane is the 19th C ideal - quiet, doesn't speak her mind
- Lydia speaks her mind, out of control, runs off with Wickham - the opposite of what women are supposed to be in that society [compare to our society]
- Mary - has trouble interacting - doesn't like balls [tries to play the piano to show herself]
- Social status of men is also controlled - Wickham, Fitzwilliam
- What do women control? - family, daughters, home, reputation of the family
- [so much depends on virginity]
- Women have the power to ruin or make other daughters chances for marriage
- Darcy "going against the wishes of my family and friends" - he has to uphold his own status [the proposal - 180 ish]
- Charlotte does control Collins - go to the garden/ front room - has control over home life
- Primogeniture
- (59) - Mrs. Bennet doesn't understand why Collins can just come in and take the property if Mr. Bennet dies [laws of the land - favouring sons]
- How does Lizzy conform to her own society? - she goes against class, speaks up, throws it away to marry up and gain status - ends up doing what she is supposed to do - counter argument - her plan was to find love and she ends up doing that [kind of a fairy tale for Austen - she herself died alone and unmarried - nice that the woman who goes against her society fares best - the rebel wins!]
- Jane marries Bingley for money or love? - both- she couldn't marry him if he had no money - first meets him and knows he has money - we also don't see much of what Jane thinks - we see how she reacts when the Bingleys go to London and never contact her
- Importance of Mary - [she's who Charlotte would be if Charlotte refused Collins - she shows what happens when a woman is not good looking or wealth]
- Does Lizzy change in her aspirations? Does her mentality change?
- Does Lizzy really change when she sees Pemberly [wasn't this tongue in cheek] -Loi counters this argument - when she hears what the maid says about him - she's impressed - also she has an epiphany when she reads Darcy's letters - she looks within as well - she had been "blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd" (198) - she also realizes what Darcy does with Lydia
- Lizzy is attracted to Wickham - but really understands when he switches affection

Love, marriage, family

- Lydia and Wickham = Mrs. and Mrs. Bennet - base on lust
- Rivalries between who gets married first
- Having them all out at the same time equalizes [but really it's just laziness - Mr. Bennet shows that he's indulgent and perhaps even negligent]
- Different views on marriage - Lizzy is going to marry for love; Jane likes everyone [but she's devastated when the Bingleys leave]
- Most intelligent - Jane and Lizzy
- Sisterly love [interesting when Lizzy doesn't confide in Jane when she finds out that Wickham was trying to debauch Darcy's younger sister - she tries to turn over a new leaf]
- Passion/violent love - how long does this last - are passion and love the same thing?
- Lydia and Wickham's lust - impulsive - won't last - doesn't work - we don't see how it ends, but we can see how Mr. and Mrs. Bennet's marriage - in our society we see these marriages or relationships fizzle and burn (Ariana Grand and Pete Davidson; Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) - sexual or physique
- [how does this work with Charlotte and Collins?]
- Collins and Charlotte's marriage is the one that lasts - choosing your best option
- Wickham marries Lydia because he is paid to
- Right choice for Charlotte = financial stability (otherwise she would end up dependent on her family) - marries out of love for her family - her father even mentions how her sister benefitted from the connection
- Charlotte and Collins could go up in friendship, love, and happiness
- The way Darcy and Lizzy's relationship works = very contemporary - she is allowed to say no [this is how arranged marriages work these days] - "one word from you will silence me forever" (348)
- In the 1800's women would just say yes to a wealthy man
- Darcy also understands his society's rules - he at first thinks he can just pick and choose (like Collins) - he learns from Lizzy's rebellion - he changes - reassesses - becomes more humble [even though society has given him license for pride] - Miss de Bourgh is supposedly betrothed to Darcy - shows us how intermarriage is acceptable to maintain status [Royal family]