Pride And Prejudice Marx
Jack Borde
10 November 2014
English 342
Professor Goldberg
Marxism in Pride and Prejudice In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the plot focuses on the Bennet family and their five unmarried daughters. In this novel, the main idea that Jane Austen presents is that societal hierarchies are constructed through money and that people behave and act in correspondence with their wealth. This main theme or idea directly corresponds with Karl Marx’s theory of Marxism. While Marxism came after the first publication of the novel, it is interesting to note that the driving force of the plot revolves around perspective on class and the influence of money for finding a suitable spouse. According to Karl Marx, society is comprised of two separate classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx’s overarching argument is that a class conflict arises due to the increasingly distinct separation between the two classes and their relationship to the means of production. The bourgeoisie is comprised of a small group of people who own the means of production while the proletariat consists of the vast majority of the population who actually produce goods and services. In addition, Marx claims the economic means of production form a base for the world, which creates social and political relations between classes that ultimately forms the “superstructure.” In accordance with the Marxist perspective about money’s influence on society, Austen begins the novel stating, “It is a truth universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen, 43). By opening the novel with this statement, Austen emphasizes the importance of money and foreshadows the significance of class that will ultimately be the driving force of this novel’s plot. In addition to how this novel concerns itself with the class in which each character fits into, you will also find that it brings attention to how each character gained their status. In regards
10 November 2014
English 342
Professor Goldberg
Marxism in Pride and Prejudice In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the plot focuses on the Bennet family and their five unmarried daughters. In this novel, the main idea that Jane Austen presents is that societal hierarchies are constructed through money and that people behave and act in correspondence with their wealth. This main theme or idea directly corresponds with Karl Marx’s theory of Marxism. While Marxism came after the first publication of the novel, it is interesting to note that the driving force of the plot revolves around perspective on class and the influence of money for finding a suitable spouse. According to Karl Marx, society is comprised of two separate classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Marx’s overarching argument is that a class conflict arises due to the increasingly distinct separation between the two classes and their relationship to the means of production. The bourgeoisie is comprised of a small group of people who own the means of production while the proletariat consists of the vast majority of the population who actually produce goods and services. In addition, Marx claims the economic means of production form a base for the world, which creates social and political relations between classes that ultimately forms the “superstructure.” In accordance with the Marxist perspective about money’s influence on society, Austen begins the novel stating, “It is a truth universally acknowledge, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” (Austen, 43). By opening the novel with this statement, Austen emphasizes the importance of money and foreshadows the significance of class that will ultimately be the driving force of this novel’s plot. In addition to how this novel concerns itself with the class in which each character fits into, you will also find that it brings attention to how each character gained their status. In regards