Stereotypes In Pride And Prejudice
Social Stereotyping in Pride and Prejudice Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. Usually individuals are grouped into classes based on their economic positions and similar political and economic interests within a culture. In Pride and Prejudice, the upper class is distinct and separate from the middle class. Members of either class tend to stereotype the other class based on first impressions and lack of knowledge. Resistance to accept socially a member of another class causes serious problems in love. Elizabeth and Darcy’s stereotype of another class keeps their love from growing while Lydia and Wickham simply ignore other people’s views in order to be together.
…show more content…
Bingley and Jane are innocent victims of social stereotyping. They love each other despite social class until they are forced to be separated. Irrational social bias is a roadblock on the path to true love for most of the relationships in Pride and Prejudice. Social stereotyping in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is evident in the relationships of Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Lydia and Wickham, and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet and their daughters. Social stereotyping is shown the most in Elizabeth. Elizabeth Bennet does not seem to care when other people stereotype her middle class but she continuously stereotypes the upper class. For example, when Elizabeth’s sister, Jane, is sick, Lizzy walks over a mile to visit her at Netherfield. When she arrives, the hem of her dress is covered with mud. Mr. Bingley’s sister is repulsed by the sight but Elizabeth only thinks about the health of her sister (Austen 33). According to McCormack, “Elizabeth Bennet is clever and well-mannered; however, she comes from a poor, unruly, ill-mannered family” (1). Society, the upper class in particular, stereotypes Elizabeth because of the way her family acts, when in truth, Elizabeth is nothing like the rest of her family. Elizabeth’s family and social class are two of the main reasons why Darcy has a hard time admitting his feelings for her. However, Darcy is not the only one that stereotypes. Elizabeth also stereotypes the upper class. A critic states “Elizabeth’s initial prejudice against Darcy is rooted in pride of her own quick perceptions” (Verma 3). Elizabeth thinks the upper class is full of rude and insensible people who only think about their money and land. Elizabeth’s stereotyping keeps her from seeing what Darcy is truly like. Darcy is a highly misunderstood, upper class land owner.
Kneedler believes “Mr. Darcy’s own first movement toward Elizabeth embodies the sexiest view that he is a good catch who has only to choose and be accepted, that no matter how he has insulted any women, she will be happy either to dance with or marry him whenever he can force himself to ask” (3). When Darcy rejects Elizabeth’s offer to dance, she starts to stereotype him as just another snobbish, rich person. Unfortunately, Darcy does nothing to prove her wrong, so her dislike for him grows. Darcy is actually so rude because he is trying to fight his feelings for her. Howard says “Darcy is proud of his social class and is prejudice against the Bennet family’s improper conduct and connections to the working class” (xxvi). Darcy’s admission to himself that he is in love with Elizabeth is almost impossible for him because of her social standing and her …show more content…
family. Throughout the novel, Darcy starts to show his true feelings for Elizabeth and she begins to realize that she may also be in love with him. Porterfield believes “Elizabeth possesses brains, beauty, musical talent, confidence, and rare independence” (5). When Darcy realizes what Elizabeth has to offer he overcomes his disapproval of the middle class and is finally able to tell Elizabeth how he feels. Austen writes, “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feeling will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” (188). Elizabeth is quite shocked by Darcy’s confession but, “she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection” (Austen 188). After many days, Elizabeth is able to realize that she is wrong about Darcy and that her initial impression of him does not show his real personality. The two are able to look past the stereotypes that they had for each other and confess their love and be married. The relationship between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley also shows social stereotyping, but in a different way. Jane and Bingley start to like each other from the second they meet. Bingley shows himself to be an amiable young man and demonstrates his admiration for Jane Bennet by dancing with her twice. Porterfield writes, “Bingley respects social form but also cares more about Jane’s personality then her social class” (7). Jane and Bingley stereotype and judge each other very little. “He doesn’t mind a bit that she doesn’t have a penny, he has more than enough for the two of them” (Austen 15). Bingley, willing to support a woman despite her social class, shows how he really feels about Jane. Jane and Bingley seem like the perfect match for each other until Darcy intervenes. Darcy is the one that separates Jane and Bingley with his stereotyping.
Howard states that “while the Bennet’s can socialize with Bingley and Darcy, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such” (xxxii). Darcy does not approve of the social class that Jane belongs to so he convinces his friend Bingley to leave town. The same problem that keeps Darcy from telling Elizabeth how he feels is also keeping his friend from true love and happiness. Jane is heartbroken by the news but she does not show her feelings. Austen writes, “Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could giver her any comfort” (133). Jane’s lack of care for social class shows her love for Bingley. She ignores the stereotype placed on the upper class and only cares about being in a happy marriage. Bingley, on the other hand, is easily convinced by Darcy that marrying someone in a lower class would be social
suicide. After Darcy realizes that social class is not the most important aspect of a relationship, Darcy and Bingley travel back to Netherfield. Bingley is able to apologize for leaving town without saying goodbye and he ends his apology with a proposal of marriage to Jane. “There was nothing of presumption or folly in Bingley that could provoke his ridicule, or disgust him into silence; and he was more communicative, and less eccentric, than the other had ever seen him” (Austen 335). Jane and Bingley are finally able to be together. Porterfield believes “the class system imposes unwritten rules on who may marry or socialize with whom” (2). However, Jane and Bingley can overcome class stereotypes and look at the person and not the person class. The marriage of Lydia and Wickham is another example of class stereotyping. Verma states “when Lydia elopes with Wickham, it is scandal to the whole society and an injury to the entire Bennet family” (5). Wickham is a man of little money and middle class so when Lydia marries him the family gets a bad name. The fact that Lydia married a man who does not have much to offer makes society stereotype the Bennet family as lower class. Wickham is not high in society for many reasons but Lydia decides to ignore those reasons. Burke writes that “if one family member demonstrates societal deviance, the whole family is perceived to hold the same negative reputation” (4). In this case, the whole family received a negative reputation because of what Lydia did. Burke proclaims “the high class society maintains a very proper and restricted way of life, while the middle class is viewed clearly was inferior” (3). Lydia does not seem to care how the society views her and her family as long as she is happy. Wickham has no money because he went bankrupt after loosing all of his cash gambling. He lies to Lydia about what really happened in order to get her to marry him. Howards says “Wickham will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station” (xvii). Wickham hopes that marrying Lydia will get him more money and raise his social status. Also, he only marries Lydia after his plan to marry a rich northern woman fails. Chan says that, “Lydia’s lack of common sense and responsibility is revealed when she takes pride in being the first Bennet girl to be married. Lydia does not take into consideration the circumstances of her marriage, the personality of her husband, or the prospects of their marriage for the future” (1).
Lydia and Wickham have a marriage that is doomed to fail which will only cause the Bennet family more grief. Lydia causes her family to become social outcasts. Mrs. Bennet is also a victim of class stereotyping. The business of her life is to get her daughters married. Porterfield shows that “Lydia’s shallowness points to her parents deficiencies” (4). If Mrs. Bennet had been more interested in her daughter’s lives and not who they are going to marry, maybe Lydia would not have run away with Wickham and caused the family anguish. Mrs. Bennet is speaking to her husband when she says, “But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them to marry the rich Mr. Bingley” (Austen 6). She spends most of her time planning and worrying about her daughters and their future husbands. She wants her daughters to marry into a rich family, even if they are not in love. Mrs. Bennet’s opinion about marriage is clear when she tells Elizabeth that she will never speak to her again unless she marries Mr. Collins (Austen 111). Her disappointment in Elizabeth shows how much she cares about social class and the stereotype that her daughters will receive after being married. At the end of the novel, Mrs. Bennet is overwhelmingly happy about the news of two of her girls, Jane and Elizabeth, marrying into the upper class. A critic states “to the absolute delight of Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley soon announce their plans to marry” (Moss 2). Mrs. Bennet is a foolish woman who lacks all sense of modesty and virtue and has no concern for the moral or intellectual education of her daughters; she only cares about their social status. Myretta thinks that “it is rather foolhardy to marry without having a more-or-less guaranteed income in advance” (7) and Verma believes that “man is a social being, and apart from society, there is not even the individual” (2). Mrs. Bennet would agree that the main reason to get married is to secure a place in society. Mr. Bennet, on the other hand, does not care as much about social class as his wife. He thinks about the well being of his children and if they are really happy and in love. When Elizabeth tells her father that she wants to marry Darcy, Mr. Bennet is very surprised because he thought that Elizabeth would never be happy with him. Mr. Bennet says to Lizzy, “I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse any thing, which he condescended to ask. I now give it to you, if you are resolved on having him” (Austen 364). The fact that Mr. Darcy is a very rich man does not matter to Mr. Bennet because he cares only about his daughter’s happiness. Mr. Bennet also shows his opposing views from his wife when Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet reacts by insisting that Elizabeth accept the proposal in order to keep the house in the family while Mr. Bennet insists that she does not accept the proposal because she is not in love with Mr. Collins. Mr. Bennet says to his daughter, “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do” (Austen 111). Elizabeth’s parents obviously have different views on what makes a successful marriage. The relationships of Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Lydia and Wickham, and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet and their daughters are prime examples of social stereotyping in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Darcy has such a hard time admitting his feelings for Elizabeth because of the lower social class that she belongs to. Elizabeth tries to deny her feeling for Darcy because of the snobbish stereotype put on him because of his upper social class. Bingley and Jane are able to have a loving relationship without social stereotyping until Darcy convinces Bingley that Jane is not in the proper place in society. The marriage of Lydia and Wickham nearly destroys the Bennet family because of the lower class that Wickham belongs to. Mrs. Bennet only cares about the society ranking of her children so the fact that Lydia did not marry into a higher class causes her grief. Mr. Bennet has opposite views of his wife and cares more about his children being happy then being socially accepted. Social stereotyping in Pride and Prejudice causes many relationships to be questioned and challenged. Austen shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. George Stade. New York: Fine Creative Media, 2003.
Burke, Julie. “Themes and Symbols.” Pride and Prejudice. 7 January 2007. 17 September 2008
.
Chan, Chrissy. “Pride and Prejudice: An Analysis and Reflection.” The Jane Austen
Homepage. 27 March 2003. 13 November 2008 .
Howard, Carol. “Introduction.” Pride and Prejudice. New York: Fine Creative Media, 2003.
Kneedler, Susan. "The New Romance in Pride and Prejudice." Approaches to Teaching Austens 's ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Ed. Marcia McClintock. Chicago: Folsom Modern Language Association of America, 1993.
McCormack, Tara. “Pride and Prejudice.” Culture Wars. 18 October 2005. 16 September 2008
.
Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. "Overview: Pride and Prejudice." Literature and Its Times.
Vol. 2: Civil Wars to Frontier Societies (1800-1880s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature
Resource Center. Gale. Williamsburg Library, Williamsburg, VA. 14 Nov. 2008 .
Myretta, Barbara. “Pride and Prejudice.” The Public Pemberley. 2008. 4 October 2008 .
Porterfield, Daniel. “Pride and Prejudice.” MSN Encarta. 2008. 16 September 2008 .
Verma, Olivia, and Nick Smith. “Major Themes.” GradeSaver. 1999. 17 September 2008 .
Bingley and Jane are innocent victims of social stereotyping. They love each other despite social class until they are forced to be separated. Irrational social bias is a roadblock on the path to true love for most of the relationships in Pride and Prejudice. Social stereotyping in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is evident in the relationships of Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Lydia and Wickham, and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet and their daughters. Social stereotyping is shown the most in Elizabeth. Elizabeth Bennet does not seem to care when other people stereotype her middle class but she continuously stereotypes the upper class. For example, when Elizabeth’s sister, Jane, is sick, Lizzy walks over a mile to visit her at Netherfield. When she arrives, the hem of her dress is covered with mud. Mr. Bingley’s sister is repulsed by the sight but Elizabeth only thinks about the health of her sister (Austen 33). According to McCormack, “Elizabeth Bennet is clever and well-mannered; however, she comes from a poor, unruly, ill-mannered family” (1). Society, the upper class in particular, stereotypes Elizabeth because of the way her family acts, when in truth, Elizabeth is nothing like the rest of her family. Elizabeth’s family and social class are two of the main reasons why Darcy has a hard time admitting his feelings for her. However, Darcy is not the only one that stereotypes. Elizabeth also stereotypes the upper class. A critic states “Elizabeth’s initial prejudice against Darcy is rooted in pride of her own quick perceptions” (Verma 3). Elizabeth thinks the upper class is full of rude and insensible people who only think about their money and land. Elizabeth’s stereotyping keeps her from seeing what Darcy is truly like. Darcy is a highly misunderstood, upper class land owner.
Kneedler believes “Mr. Darcy’s own first movement toward Elizabeth embodies the sexiest view that he is a good catch who has only to choose and be accepted, that no matter how he has insulted any women, she will be happy either to dance with or marry him whenever he can force himself to ask” (3). When Darcy rejects Elizabeth’s offer to dance, she starts to stereotype him as just another snobbish, rich person. Unfortunately, Darcy does nothing to prove her wrong, so her dislike for him grows. Darcy is actually so rude because he is trying to fight his feelings for her. Howard says “Darcy is proud of his social class and is prejudice against the Bennet family’s improper conduct and connections to the working class” (xxvi). Darcy’s admission to himself that he is in love with Elizabeth is almost impossible for him because of her social standing and her …show more content…
family. Throughout the novel, Darcy starts to show his true feelings for Elizabeth and she begins to realize that she may also be in love with him. Porterfield believes “Elizabeth possesses brains, beauty, musical talent, confidence, and rare independence” (5). When Darcy realizes what Elizabeth has to offer he overcomes his disapproval of the middle class and is finally able to tell Elizabeth how he feels. Austen writes, “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feeling will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you” (188). Elizabeth is quite shocked by Darcy’s confession but, “she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection” (Austen 188). After many days, Elizabeth is able to realize that she is wrong about Darcy and that her initial impression of him does not show his real personality. The two are able to look past the stereotypes that they had for each other and confess their love and be married. The relationship between Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley also shows social stereotyping, but in a different way. Jane and Bingley start to like each other from the second they meet. Bingley shows himself to be an amiable young man and demonstrates his admiration for Jane Bennet by dancing with her twice. Porterfield writes, “Bingley respects social form but also cares more about Jane’s personality then her social class” (7). Jane and Bingley stereotype and judge each other very little. “He doesn’t mind a bit that she doesn’t have a penny, he has more than enough for the two of them” (Austen 15). Bingley, willing to support a woman despite her social class, shows how he really feels about Jane. Jane and Bingley seem like the perfect match for each other until Darcy intervenes. Darcy is the one that separates Jane and Bingley with his stereotyping.
Howard states that “while the Bennet’s can socialize with Bingley and Darcy, they are clearly their social inferiors and are treated as such” (xxxii). Darcy does not approve of the social class that Jane belongs to so he convinces his friend Bingley to leave town. The same problem that keeps Darcy from telling Elizabeth how he feels is also keeping his friend from true love and happiness. Jane is heartbroken by the news but she does not show her feelings. Austen writes, “Hope was over, entirely over; and when Jane could attend to the rest of the letter, she found little, except the professed affection of the writer, that could giver her any comfort” (133). Jane’s lack of care for social class shows her love for Bingley. She ignores the stereotype placed on the upper class and only cares about being in a happy marriage. Bingley, on the other hand, is easily convinced by Darcy that marrying someone in a lower class would be social
suicide. After Darcy realizes that social class is not the most important aspect of a relationship, Darcy and Bingley travel back to Netherfield. Bingley is able to apologize for leaving town without saying goodbye and he ends his apology with a proposal of marriage to Jane. “There was nothing of presumption or folly in Bingley that could provoke his ridicule, or disgust him into silence; and he was more communicative, and less eccentric, than the other had ever seen him” (Austen 335). Jane and Bingley are finally able to be together. Porterfield believes “the class system imposes unwritten rules on who may marry or socialize with whom” (2). However, Jane and Bingley can overcome class stereotypes and look at the person and not the person class. The marriage of Lydia and Wickham is another example of class stereotyping. Verma states “when Lydia elopes with Wickham, it is scandal to the whole society and an injury to the entire Bennet family” (5). Wickham is a man of little money and middle class so when Lydia marries him the family gets a bad name. The fact that Lydia married a man who does not have much to offer makes society stereotype the Bennet family as lower class. Wickham is not high in society for many reasons but Lydia decides to ignore those reasons. Burke writes that “if one family member demonstrates societal deviance, the whole family is perceived to hold the same negative reputation” (4). In this case, the whole family received a negative reputation because of what Lydia did. Burke proclaims “the high class society maintains a very proper and restricted way of life, while the middle class is viewed clearly was inferior” (3). Lydia does not seem to care how the society views her and her family as long as she is happy. Wickham has no money because he went bankrupt after loosing all of his cash gambling. He lies to Lydia about what really happened in order to get her to marry him. Howards says “Wickham will do anything he can to get enough money to raise himself into a higher station” (xvii). Wickham hopes that marrying Lydia will get him more money and raise his social status. Also, he only marries Lydia after his plan to marry a rich northern woman fails. Chan says that, “Lydia’s lack of common sense and responsibility is revealed when she takes pride in being the first Bennet girl to be married. Lydia does not take into consideration the circumstances of her marriage, the personality of her husband, or the prospects of their marriage for the future” (1).
Lydia and Wickham have a marriage that is doomed to fail which will only cause the Bennet family more grief. Lydia causes her family to become social outcasts. Mrs. Bennet is also a victim of class stereotyping. The business of her life is to get her daughters married. Porterfield shows that “Lydia’s shallowness points to her parents deficiencies” (4). If Mrs. Bennet had been more interested in her daughter’s lives and not who they are going to marry, maybe Lydia would not have run away with Wickham and caused the family anguish. Mrs. Bennet is speaking to her husband when she says, “But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them to marry the rich Mr. Bingley” (Austen 6). She spends most of her time planning and worrying about her daughters and their future husbands. She wants her daughters to marry into a rich family, even if they are not in love. Mrs. Bennet’s opinion about marriage is clear when she tells Elizabeth that she will never speak to her again unless she marries Mr. Collins (Austen 111). Her disappointment in Elizabeth shows how much she cares about social class and the stereotype that her daughters will receive after being married. At the end of the novel, Mrs. Bennet is overwhelmingly happy about the news of two of her girls, Jane and Elizabeth, marrying into the upper class. A critic states “to the absolute delight of Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley soon announce their plans to marry” (Moss 2). Mrs. Bennet is a foolish woman who lacks all sense of modesty and virtue and has no concern for the moral or intellectual education of her daughters; she only cares about their social status. Myretta thinks that “it is rather foolhardy to marry without having a more-or-less guaranteed income in advance” (7) and Verma believes that “man is a social being, and apart from society, there is not even the individual” (2). Mrs. Bennet would agree that the main reason to get married is to secure a place in society. Mr. Bennet, on the other hand, does not care as much about social class as his wife. He thinks about the well being of his children and if they are really happy and in love. When Elizabeth tells her father that she wants to marry Darcy, Mr. Bennet is very surprised because he thought that Elizabeth would never be happy with him. Mr. Bennet says to Lizzy, “I have given him my consent. He is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse any thing, which he condescended to ask. I now give it to you, if you are resolved on having him” (Austen 364). The fact that Mr. Darcy is a very rich man does not matter to Mr. Bennet because he cares only about his daughter’s happiness. Mr. Bennet also shows his opposing views from his wife when Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth. Mrs. Bennet reacts by insisting that Elizabeth accept the proposal in order to keep the house in the family while Mr. Bennet insists that she does not accept the proposal because she is not in love with Mr. Collins. Mr. Bennet says to his daughter, “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do” (Austen 111). Elizabeth’s parents obviously have different views on what makes a successful marriage. The relationships of Darcy and Elizabeth, Bingley and Jane, Lydia and Wickham, and Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet and their daughters are prime examples of social stereotyping in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Darcy has such a hard time admitting his feelings for Elizabeth because of the lower social class that she belongs to. Elizabeth tries to deny her feeling for Darcy because of the snobbish stereotype put on him because of his upper social class. Bingley and Jane are able to have a loving relationship without social stereotyping until Darcy convinces Bingley that Jane is not in the proper place in society. The marriage of Lydia and Wickham nearly destroys the Bennet family because of the lower class that Wickham belongs to. Mrs. Bennet only cares about the society ranking of her children so the fact that Lydia did not marry into a higher class causes her grief. Mr. Bennet has opposite views of his wife and cares more about his children being happy then being socially accepted. Social stereotyping in Pride and Prejudice causes many relationships to be questioned and challenged. Austen shows the power of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. George Stade. New York: Fine Creative Media, 2003.
Burke, Julie. “Themes and Symbols.” Pride and Prejudice. 7 January 2007. 17 September 2008
.
Chan, Chrissy. “Pride and Prejudice: An Analysis and Reflection.” The Jane Austen
Homepage. 27 March 2003. 13 November 2008 .
Howard, Carol. “Introduction.” Pride and Prejudice. New York: Fine Creative Media, 2003.
Kneedler, Susan. "The New Romance in Pride and Prejudice." Approaches to Teaching Austens 's ‘Pride and Prejudice’. Ed. Marcia McClintock. Chicago: Folsom Modern Language Association of America, 1993.
McCormack, Tara. “Pride and Prejudice.” Culture Wars. 18 October 2005. 16 September 2008
.
Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. "Overview: Pride and Prejudice." Literature and Its Times.
Vol. 2: Civil Wars to Frontier Societies (1800-1880s). Detroit: Gale, 1997. Literature
Resource Center. Gale. Williamsburg Library, Williamsburg, VA. 14 Nov. 2008 .
Myretta, Barbara. “Pride and Prejudice.” The Public Pemberley. 2008. 4 October 2008 .
Porterfield, Daniel. “Pride and Prejudice.” MSN Encarta. 2008. 16 September 2008 .
Verma, Olivia, and Nick Smith. “Major Themes.” GradeSaver. 1999. 17 September 2008 .