1、盐城师范学院毕业论文- 1 -The Comparison and Analysis of the Female Characters in Pride and PrejudiceChen YezhiAbstract: Pride and Prejudice is written by Jane Austen. It is Janes representative masterpiece. This novel mainly writes the development of the love between Darcy and Elizabeth, and depicts us four m
2、arriages. It teaches us a lesson that one should have neither pride nor prejudice in his or her relationship. The writer also reflects the feminism in this novel. The following research will analyze the main distinctive heroines one by one and then do a comparison among them, from their marriages an
3、d the angle of feminism, in order to find the different kinds of female consciousness.Key words: Pride and Prejudice; female consciousness; the comparison of the female characters1 IntroductionIn the 18th century, the number of female writers increased quickly, but novels didnt take up a rather vita
4、l part and were shortage of convention. Till the 19th century, a lot of female writers started to create novels to describe the society, the politics, and people with different fates. From these, people can see that the female literature in Britain was originated from the 18th century and developed
5、in the 19th century. The novel Pride and Prejudice which created by Jane Austen is a symbol of the formation of the British feminist. And Jane Austen fully shows her distinctive feminist consciousness in this novel. Jane changed the womens peeped position in the literature which was long controlled
6、by males, so she proved to be a historic writer.1.1 Jane AustenJane Austen was born in Steventon, Hampshire in Britain in 1775, and she was the seventh daughter in her family. Rev. George Austen, her father, a clergyman in that parsonage of that village Hampshire, must have posed some special influe
7、nces on Janes growth and literary road. Educated at home, together with her sisters, Jane began to write at an early age and passed her life very quietly. After her fathers death, Jane, together with her family, moved to Southampton and then to the village of Chawton. She lived there uneventfully un
8、til May 1817, when her family moved to Winchester to seek skilled medical attention for her illness. But Jane died two months later and she was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Although Janes books mainly picture love and marriage, she remains unmarried all her life.1.2 Janes works and Pride and Prej
9、udiceJane altogether completes six novels in her life: Sense and Sensibility (1811); Pride and Prejudice (1813); Mansfield Park (1814); Emma (1816); Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion (1818). Her novels mainly depict the life of the middle class in the country where she spends most time. Her mos
10、t works concern the youths love and marriage. The themes of her 盐城师范学院毕业论文- 2 -novels are common, but have the insight deep.In 1796, Jane Austen started to work on the first version of Pride and Prejudice, but Jane was not very successful with the publishers later. So at last, the novel was first pu
11、blished in 1813, which was two years after her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility.The novel is mainly about the love affairs and marriage of the five distinctive daughters in the Bennett. In this novel, there is the good mannered Jane, the wise and independent Elizabeth, the unbridled Lydi
12、a, the arrogant Mr. Darcy, etc. People know the development of the plot clearly by describing the simple life. However, in this novel, the females are the real protagonists, they instead of the males enjoy the priority. The different kinds of women also make up important parts of the novel, they are
13、 mentioned much.Pride and Prejudice, of course, as Janes masterpiece, has ranked the top ten English novels around the world nowadays. “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” It is the most famous sentence in this novel, a
14、nd it is written in the book as the opening sentence. From this sentence, Austen wants to satirize the monetary reality bounded in her society. And from this sentence, it can infer that there must be some plots about courtship and marriage. The novel is about the marriages of four pairs of young peo
15、ple. The love story between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is the most important one. Their love story is full of humorous, lovely and comic style. The novel also reflects the human relationship in that time and shows us what on earth the ideal marriage is.From this novel, there have been some feminist ele
16、ments in the novel. Its why Pride and Prejudice can be a symbol of the formation of the British feminism. But in fact, Jane cant be strictly feminist. It still didnt influence the situation of the novel in British feminism. Jane herself is regarded as important as the first British female writer ack
17、nowledged to be of truly major stature as an artist. And her work Pride and Prejudice has been considered as the literary work that can maximally change the attitudes of women toward themselves.1.3 The history background of Pride and PrejudiceBefore making a comparison of the female characters and t
18、ry to understand the female consciousness perceived in the Pride and Prejudice, it is necessary to study the historical background of this novel first. The following two angles will show it:The first is the social status of the women in the 18th and 19th century.In the 18th century, the British male
19、s dominated in the society and family, and the females were underprivileged.At that time, women have no position in the economy. Take Pride and Prejudice as an 盐城师范学院毕业论文- 3 -example. In this novel, in order to support the family, Mr. Bennett has to ask one of his daughters to marry Mr. Collins who
20、is the lawful heir and really control the familys wealth. Only this way can ensure that his family will go on. From this phenomenon, it shows that at that time, the survival of women can only depend on the property of the fathers or the husbands. If a woman wants to live well, she should have a weal
21、thy father, or she should marry a person who is rich enough. But no matter how rich the womans family is, the woman herself still has no position in the economy. And the fact is that the women would lose the control of money is decided by the rule of the bourgeoisie. What more, even when the women a
22、re married, they still face with the inequality. They have no rights to dispose the property. A woman must rely on her husband after getting married. If a well educated but poor lady wants to improve her living standard, the best choice is to marry with a rich guy. Therefore, in the novel Pride and
23、Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet always expects her daughters to marry the rich.Except the above, women also enjoy a disadvantage in the social status. From the 18th century, a lot of books published in Britain were exclusively about the behaviors and manners of the young ladies. Women at that time are requir
24、ed to behave like the angles and they should also have different kinds of virtues such as be kindness, politeness, loyalty, pureness, etc.Having taken all these factors into consideration, it can be inferred that at that time, females have a low social position, and they can hardly get to their feet
25、 firmly in the society.The second is the difficulties for female writers in the 18th and the 19th century.As people know, women at that time only have three ways to choose to survive: to become a maid, to become a tutor, or to get married. If a woman becomes a maid, she would certainly receive unbea
26、rable contempt and insult. And if a woman becomes a tutor, she would have low income. So compared with these two profession, wedding is the best way for females. It is the only occupation they can get, and which is also blessed by the real life, the unequal law and her cultivation. Whats worse, wome
27、n who want to do literary creation would be blamed by the society. They would be considered doing some seriously strange things. In Pride and Prejudice, the author creates a girl Marry. She reads a lot, but she always seems stupid and doesnt have too much thought. That gives the reason for some peop
28、le say that a female should only need to play as a wife, but not write literature like males.Therefore, it can be understood why some female writers often publish their works without using their own names. And from these, it can be also understood why Jane Austen often puts a piece of paper of cloth
29、 over her desk when visitors enter her room.盐城师范学院毕业论文- 4 -In the 19th century, most female writers tended to write biographical novels. The environment around these female writers limits them. These female writers can only write what they see, experience and touch. And it can be found this phenomen
30、on in Janes novel. In the novel, peoples behaviors are always connected with their houses, furniture, cans or adornments, etc. When they go out, they just like to visit their friends nearby, attend the dancing party, simply chatting or playing cards. All of these cause that when writing, the female
31、writers like to express their feelings by the occasionally slight irony.Above all, these social status and difficulties of female writers help us more clearly to figure out how deeply Jane holds the female consciousness in her novel.1.4 FeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining
32、, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Feminism, as a kind of social and culture trends, has a long history in western countries. It has showed its force since the 19th century in the literature. Feminism has set off two waves si
33、nce the 20th century. Together with structuralism and deconstruction, feminism becomes the most significant part of the literary trends in the 20th century. The spirit core of the feminism is to protest against the real patriarchal society where women are considered as the slaves, to emphasize women
34、 should have equal rights as men. In the country, feminism advocates that the real value of women should be valued their good mood. The value of women can neither be ignored nor be replaced by subverting the unfair patriarchal society, ensuring and improving the social status of women. And all these
35、 are the true feminism.The feminist literature can be traced back to the 17th or the 18th century. At that time in Britain, Aphra Behn was regarded as the first professional female writer. At this time, there were seldom female writers. But in the 19th century, more and more middle class females beg
36、an pursuing the literature. So the scholars often call this era a time of female novelist.The classic works of these female writers interpret the special angle of the women. These female writers ignore females and entrust the writers and works the new literary meaning. By describing their special fe
37、elings and experience and expressing their will and wish, these female writers hope that the real life which is once hidden and covered by the words of males can be fully conveyed. And they also hope that a convention of the feminist literature can be set up accordingly. In such an era, Jane Austen
38、makes a contribution to the feminism.2 The comparison of the female characters in Pride and Prejudice盐城师范学院毕业论文- 5 -After having learned so much about this novel, the author, the background of the novel and what scholars find in this novel, the author will start a deep study about the novel through
39、comparing the female characters in it. The author will compare the female characters in two aspects. The first is the comparison of their different outlooks of marriage; the second is the comparison of the different feminist consciousness that reflects on them.2.1 The comparison of the different out
40、looks of marriage.As people can see, there are four marriages in this novel, Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, Jane and Mr. Bingley, Lydia and Mr. Wickham, Charlotte and Mr. Collins. These four couples show us four different outlooks of marriage.2.1.1 Elizabeth and Mr. Darcys marriageAt the beginning of the
41、novel, Elizabeth refuses Darcys proposal, because she doesnt like him. Although Darcy loves her very much, she hates him, and even looks down upon him. In her eyes, Darcy is arrogant and unreasonable, just because he is rich and has high social status. Knowing that, Darcy begins to change himself. H
42、e gets rid of those bad habits quietly to cater her taste and gets love from her. Because of Darcys perfect behaviors and good education, Elizabeth gradually eliminates the prejudices on Darcy. Then they fall in love with each other. So when Darcy makes a proposal to Elizabeth the second time, Eliza
43、beth agrees with him, and they get married and have happy family lives at last.Their marriage is based on true love. When Elizabeth first refuses Darcys proposal, it shows that Elizabeth is not a girl who really cares much about wealth and social status. She doesnt love Darcy at first, this is truth
44、. She falls in love with Darcy at last, this is also a truth. What makes her change her mind? Her sister Jane also asks her this question. Elizabeth answers that she should date from the day that she sees the beautiful lane manor park. The answer seems to refer to the property of Darcy. In fact, she
45、 refers the new Darcy in the garden. Not because of the wealth or social status, she falls in love with him just because of his changes. She doesnt love a rich Darcy, but a perfect behavior and good education Darcy. That is the true love. And that is what Elizabeth really pursues. And it can be infe
46、rred that their outlook of marriage is to pursue true love.2.1.2 Jane and Mr. Bingleys marriageBingley is Darcys best friend. His sister loves Darcy, so she wants Bingley to get married with Darcys sister Georgiana, so that she can get love from Darcy. The marriage of Bingley and Jane is ideal in mo
47、st peoples eyes. They match with each other. But their marriage has experienced some setbacks, such as the misunderstanding of Darcy and Bingleys selfish sister. 盐城师范学院毕业论文- 6 -But at last, they get married as the misunderstanding between Elizabeth and Darcy has been solved.Compared with Elizabeth a
48、nd Darcys marriage, their marriage is mostly based on same interest. They first meet with each other on the dancing party, and leave a good expression to each other. They love with each other, but both of them never show their heart to each other clearly. Whats more, Mrs. Bennett often gives comment
49、s on the marriage in public, especially the benefits of the marriage, which almost frightens Bingley away. So this good marriage is based on mutual good impression and theres scarcely true love. Fortunately, their marriage gets through the setbacks.2.1.3 Lydia and Mr. Wickhams marriageWickham, son of the housekeeper, used to be well-treated by the family and he is also the best friend of Darcy. But because of his misbehavior, he comes down in the world. He gets into debt. He wants to get money and becomes rich. He wants to achieve these through marriage. In f
