Pride And Prejudice Gender Roles

The gender roles set in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen are those of women potentials being watered down to simple, meaningless things for only marriage. Women suffered in many ways from the restrictions of advancements in life allowed for them. The only option of achieving something in life was to either marry rich or be dependent. The choices of education are obsolete and so they were only allowed to reach so far of a certain level and higher learning were only allowed for men. Deviations from these roles assigned were severely unacceptable under a society with a stern defined social norm. Elizabeth Bennet, a strong and curious minded woman, refused to play the games of others and decided her own journey. She remained an independent minded
Women were considered to be simple minded and the women knew their place in society. Their place was only for marriage and to accompany a man. A woman of stature was an unheard of thing and was never to take place in this time. Where women of our time have the option to further our lives and actually become something of importance, in Austen’s day and time they were not afforded that luxury. School was a tangible thing to the women of middle and upper class, but only to a certain degree to qualify them as accomplished. Job limitations to only certain jobs were often times degrading and unfit working conditions for the women. The lack of options only gave the women slim pickings of either marriage or to remain dependent upon family. Elizabeth on that note would not belittle herself to only marry to be dependent yet again for only wealth and even worse, on a man. Marriage was not a sense of security for Elizabeth and she would not let it become that when she stated, “Where nothing is in question but the desire of being well married; and if I were determined to get a rich husband, or any husband, I dare say I should adopt it" (Austen 14). Jane Austen allowed Elizabeth to break free from the regular actions that the women partook in and allowed an opinionated woman to be heard for
Actually obtaining a brain and a mind for herself, she did have those that frowned upon with great disapproval. Lady Catherine wanted Elizabeth to do as she said and restrict herself to follow the rules of women and her disgust for Elizabeth’s behavior was even more apparent when she stated, “Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceive yourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away till you have given me the assurance I require" (Austen 56). As if Elizabeth was not up to par of her standards of a woman and throwing a subtle insult in the mix. She doesn’t care if someone does not like her decision making because it makes her happy and refuses to compromise her wants for others. Again Elizabeth also takes the route of standing up for herself about Darcy’s standards and retorts to Lady Catherine’s by saying, “If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to his cousin, why is not her to make another choice? And if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?” (Austen 239). Elizabeth couldn’t understand why she must settle for something that a man wouldn’t. Yes, her pride and prejudiced ways were her pitfall in some occasions, but here it only makes her a woman with a backbone. Elizabeth would not let others degrade her worth and allowed