Role of Women in Pride and Prejudice and Letters to Alice

Role of Women in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Letters to Alice’
Fay Weldon’s ‘Letters to Alice on First reading Jane Austen’, through the didactic literary form of an epistolic novel, serves to encourage a heightened understanding of the role of women in Jane Austen’s social, cultural and historical context, and also aims to present the parallels of women in both texts. In doing so, it inspires the modern responder to adopt a more sincere appreciation for the perspectives of Austen and Weldon of women inherent in both ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Letters to Alice’. Through the inclusion of relevant contextual information from Austen’s time and didactic assertions of the fictional character Aunt Fay, Weldon implores the responder to accept her opinions on the role of women in both her and Austen’s context. Her discussion of this, which delves into marriage, feminism and the patriarchal influence, transforms a modern responder’s understanding of the themes and context explored in both texts, and moreover, alters the way in which the responder perceives the events and decisions of the women within the novels.

The fundamental importance and value assigned to marriage in the context of Jane Austen and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is reinforced through Weldon’s discussion of the options for women outside marriage and its purpose of providing financial security for women. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Austen presents the historical context of her novel in the mock axiom of “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” The parody of this statement is presented through Austen’s satirical tone, as the novel focuses heavily on women, rather than men, seeking to marry. Austen conveys this by directly informing the audience of Charlotte Lucas’ pragmatism, as she lives “without thinking highly either of men or matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune…” Hence, she marries Mr. Collins despite not loving him, to ensure her financial security and elevate her position within society. Mrs. Bennet echoes Charlotte’s approach, as the “business of her life was to get her daughters married,” because she knew they would not be provided for if not wed after the death of her husband. The endeavors of the two women underline marriage as the economic basis of life in Austen’s social, cultural and historical context. In ‘Letters to Alice’, Weldon highlights the contrast between the contemporary value assigned to marriage and the value assigned in Austen’s time. She tells Alice that “only 30% of women married… So to marry was a great prize”, which presents a different social environment to the responders. In Weldon’s context, women had other goals in life besides marriage, which is seen through Alice’s attending a college to obtain an education. Weldon satirically comments that marriage in Austen’s time “is the stuff of our women’s magazines, but it was the stuff of their life, their very existence.” The differing perspectives on the role of women in society conveys how over time, women have been granted more choices in life, so as to find a purpose in life other than to marry. However, both Austen and Weldon ridicule the fundamental importance of marriage to women in the nineteenth century, as both composers share similar ideals about the concept of the role of women to marry. Aunt Fay’s didactic insight into the context of Austen’s world paralleled against the modern world context presents the different social, cultural and historical environments in which women and marriage are prioritized.

Both Austen and Weldon express their feminist viewpoints in their texts in response to the continual oppressiveness of the patriarchy. From the very first sentences of the novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’, the economics of marriage are cheerfully skewered with references to possession and property. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is clear-eyed about the unfairness of an inheritance system that bypasses the Bennet offspring only because they are female. However, Jane Austen’s feminism is not so much about economics but rather something more fundamental. Her ‘truth’ is about the humanity of women, yet she doesn’t convey this truth as a blatant, heavy-handed lecture about women’s rights. Instead, she portrayed her female characters as no more and no less than their male counterparts. This is evident in the characters of Elizabeth and Darcy. The character foil between these characters and Charlotte and Mr. Collins demonstrates the line between truth and mockery. Elizabeth and Darcy married for love, whereas Charlotte married for monetary security. Elizabeth challenged Darcy, rather than appeased him, demonstrating the equal standing for women Austen believed in. Women responded to Austen’s subtle brand of feminism which is, at its root, the simple assertion of women’s equality. This truth resonates within ‘Pride and Prejudice’, acting as the resistance to the conforming aspects of the novel. Comparably, in Weldon’s context, it has become more accepted and therefore easier for women to work, placing them on almost equal standing with men. In ‘Letters to Alice’, Aunt Fay suggests that women who are successful will not need to depend on men as much as they have in the past, saying that “Success kicks away the stool of masochism, on which female existence so often depends.” Weldon shows interest in feminist issues seen in other revelations to Alice about female lifestyle, quickly dispelling any “vision of Georgian England as a rural idyll”. She asserts that “Women survived, in Jane Austen’s day, by pleasing and charming if they were middle classes, and by having a good, strong back if they were the peasantry.” Weldon tells her niece, “Alice, by your standards, it was a horrible time to be alive.” This compares the social standing of women in two different environments and emphasises the strong feminist viewpoint that is alive in today’s society. Women were becoming more independent, as shown in ‘Letters to Alice’ with Aunt Fay being single and enjoying her independence and freedom by travelling the world. This representation of Aunt Fay’s drastic nature highlights how Weldon was more of a feminist than Austen was. Considering their social, cultural and historical context however, it makes sense for Weldon to be more of a radical and challenging society as a woman, while Austen would subtly point out ridicule within her societal norms. The changing roles of women in society in relation to education and employment depict the feminist viewpoints in both texts, which are demonstrated through the comparison of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Letters to Alice’.

Despite the clear distinctions in context of Austen and Weldon, patriarchy is still a relevant concept inherent in both environments that dictates the lives of the women in society. In ‘Pride and Prejudice’, gender divide is made clear, as is the overarching oppressiveness of patriarchal society. The women are strictly governed and expected to dedicate their lives to finding a husband. According to Miss Bingley, “A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved." These ‘accomplishments’ are purely decorative and serve women only one purpose: to attract a husband. Mr. Darcy goes on to agree with this, stating “All this she must possess, and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading." He agrees with the superficial accomplishments that women should have, but his standards are even higher: she should also "improve" her mind through "extensive reading." But not, so she can actually have ideas of her own—just so she can actually know what she's agreeing with, when she agrees with all of Mr. Darcy's opinions. The cultural context of Austen’s time voices how women are subjected to working their entire lives to become ‘decorations’ for their husbands. Comparably, gender divide between men and women is existent in Weldon’s social environment, however with the emergence of feminist ideals and movements, the patriarchy holds less power. Weldon expresses to Alice that Austen “lived in a society which assumed – as ours does – that its values were right.” Weldon also plays on Alice’s and the responder’s understanding of the role of women within the modern context to reinforce the difficulties women faced in Austen’s patriarchal society where she asserts “Alice, by your standards, it was a horrible time to be alive.” The combined effect of these assertions by Weldon is the facilitation of a more holistic understanding of the plight of women within Austen’s time by the responder. Weldon forces Alice and the readers to appreciate the social standing of women in modern society after being confronted by the complications of life as a woman in Austen’s time. Thus, the oppressive nature of the patriarchy brings about different levels of complication, depending on the historical context. It has influenced both Austen and Weldon in the composing of their texts and it forces the readers to change their perspective on societal challenges based on historical context.

Through contextualization and discussion of significant issues regarding the role of women, both Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and Weldon’s ‘Letters to Alice’ serve to enhance and colour the responder’s understanding of the challenges and expectations of women within their society. The exploration of the challenges presented by marriage, feminism and patriarchy depicts how different context can change how women are affected by these issues. Weldon’s didactic achievement lies in the responder’s transformed perceptions of the role of women within their society and their responses to the confrontation of their societal challenges. By overcoming these complications, the female characters in both texts gain self-actualization and renewed understandings of their world and where they choose to place themselves in it.