【英语论文-范本】关于《傲慢与偏见》中真爱的探讨-true-love-revealed-in-pride-and-prejudice.doc

关于<Pride and P reduce>之真爱的探讨

Austen's apparent reticence in matters of contemporary politics has often provoked comment from critics. For most of her adult life, Britain was at war with France and experiencing casualties on an unprecedented scale. Her brothers, Frank and Charles, served in the Royal Navy, in careers that brought not only wealth and honour, but also constant danger. It is evident from comments in Austen's surviving letters that she was far from ignorant of the international conflict; many readers have therefore pondered over the relative absence of reference to current affairs in her fiction. The question is particularly acute in Pride and Prejudice, at once the most military and the most witty and effervescent of all the novels. Here the militia are embodied in force, and yet the regiment billeted at meryton seems designed to provide dancing partners for the local community, rather than protection against a foreign foe. It is hard to imagine Mr Wickham, Chamberlayne or Denny engaged in action other than in the ballroom or at the card table.

When seen in the light of contemporary history, however, the anxiety generated by the militia takes on further dimensions. By 1813, when Pride and Prejudice was published, the British army was twenty times larger than it had been at the outbreak of the war. When the character of Mrs Bennet had been sketched out in the 1790s, her ambition of getting her daughters married off had probably seemed a relatively straightforward device to a young writer nurtured on eighteenth-century drama and comic novels. 15 years later, British women had endured the deep distresses brought on by prolonged hostilities- fear of food shortages, terror at the thought of military invasion, and, worst of all, the experience of losing sons, husbands, fathers, brothers, and friends in the conflict. The sensitivity of Mrs Bennet's nerves begings to seem more comprehensible when the collective anxiety to which she has been subjected for so many years is taken into account, while her matrimonial obsessions acquire an altogether darker tone. As the death toll rose in successive campaigns against France, the numbers of eligible Englishmen were inevitably declining. If the political economist, the Revd Thomas Malthus, articulated widespread anxieties about the British population exceeding the nation's agricultural output, Mrs Bennet expresses a peculiarly feminie nightmare relating to the increasingly inadequate supply of husbands.

Jane Austen was a major English novelist, whose brilliantly witty, elegantly structured satirical fiction marks the transition in English literature from 18th century neo-classicism to 19th century romanticism.

Jane Austen was born on 16 December, 1775, at the rectory in the village of Steventon, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire. The seventh of eight children of the Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, she was educated mainly at home and never lived apart from her family. She had a happy childhood amongst all her brothers and the other boys who lodged with the family and whom Mr Austen tutored. From her older sister, Cassandra, she was inseparable. To amuse themselves, the children wrote and performed plays and charades, and even as a little girl Jane was encouraged to write. The reading that she did of the books in her father's extensive library provided material for the short satirical sketches she wrote as a girl.

At the age of 14 she wrote her first novel, Love and Freindship (sic) and then A History of England by a partial, prejudiced and ignorant Historian, together with other very amusing juvenilia. In her early twenties Jane Austen wrote the novels that were later to be re-worked and published as Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. She also began a novel called The Watsons which was never completed.

As a young woman Jane enjoyed dancing (an activity which features frequently in her novels) and she attended balls in many of the great houses of the neighbourhood. She loved the country, enjoyed long country walks, and had many Hampshire friends. It therefore came as a considerable shock when her parents suddenly announced in 1801 that the family would be moving away to Bath. Mr Austen gave the Steventon living to his son James and retired to Bath with his wife and two daughters. The next four years were difficult ones for Jane Austen. She disliked the confines of a busy town and missed her Steventon life. After her father's death in 1805, his widow and daughters also suffered financial difficulties and were forced to rely on the charity of the Austen sons. It was also at this time that, while on holiday in the West country, Jane fell in love, and when the young man died, she was deeply upset. Later she accepted a proposal of marriage from Harris Bigg-Wither, a wealthy landowner and brother to some of her closest friends, but she changed her mind the next morning and was greatly upset by the whole episode.

After the death of Mr Austen, the Austen ladies moved to Southampton to share the home of Jane's naval brother Frank and his wife Mary. There were occasional visits to London, where Jane stayed with her favourite brother Henry, at that time a prosperous banker, and where she enjoyed visits to the theatre and art exhibitions. However, she wrote little in Bath and nothing at all in Southampton.

Then, in July, 1809, on her brother Edward offering his mother and sisters a permanent home on his Chawton estate, the Austen ladies moved back to their beloved Hampshire countryside. It was a small but comfortable house, with a pretty garden, and most importantly it provided the settled home which Jane Austen needed in order to write. In the seven and a half years that she lived in this house, she revised Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and published them ( in 1811 and 1813) and then embarked on a period of intense productivity. Mansfield Park came out in 1814, followed by Emma in 1816 and she completed Persuasion (which was published together with Northanger Abbey in 1818, the year after her death). None of the books published in her life-time had her name on them — they were described as being written "By a Lady". In the winter of 1816 she started Sanditon, but illness prevented its completion.

Jane Austen had contracted Addisons Disease, a tubercular disease of the kidneys (see Jane Austen's Illness by Sir Zachary Cope, British Medical Journal, 18 July 1964 and Australian Addisons Disease Assoc.). No longer able to walk far, she used to drive out in a little donkey carriage which can still be seen at the Jane Austen Museum at Chawton. By May 1817 she was so ill that she and Cassandra, to be near Jane's physician, rented rooms in Winchester. Tragically, there was then no cure and Jane Austen died in her sister's arms in the early hours of 18 July, 1817. She was 41 years old. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and prejudice are displayed in every character pertaining to the novel in some form or another. It is pride of those of a higher economic status which genuinely withholds prominent relationships of those who are of lower economic status. Darcy's pride causes him to look down on those who are in a lower social class, due to his mentality that he supersedes those who are not within his social circle. Given that Elizabeth Bennet is of a lower class than Darcy, this places immediate restrictions to their relationship. Elizabeth also displays significant pride. Though not influenced by economic status, Elizabeth is most proud of her ability of perception: although it is her ill perception which causes her to misjudge Darcy and also Wickham. When Elizabeth hears of Wickham's accusations of Darcy, she trusts the negative perception of him, and mistakenly views Darcy's confidence as conceit.

Prejudice also corresponds with character pride. Prejudiced judgments are woven within society in the novel, especially pertaining to reputation, economic status, and women's inferiority to men. Immediate prejudiced judgments are consistently being developed for all characters; the wealthy are snobbish, the not-so-wealthy are impolite, the eldest daughter will be the first to marry, and unmarried women-over-thirty will never marry. However these judgments are not always negative. If one family member is seen to have good standing with wealthy society, the rest of the family also acquires this image. Unfortunately on the contrary, if one family member demonstrates societal deviance, as Lydia Bennet did with Wickham, the whole family is perceived to hold the same negative reputation. Many prejudiced judgments are due to a character's pride, or their pride causes social prejudice.

Critic A. Walton Litz describes the relation of pride and prejudice for the characters of Elizabeth and Darcy, stating "in Pride and Prejudice one cannot equate Darcy with Pride, and Elizabeth with Prejudice; Darcy's pride of place if founded on social prejudice, while Elizabeth's initial prejudice against him is rooted in pride of her own quick perceptions."
Quote found online and taken from

Class

Associated with pride and prejudice is class. The high-class society maintains a very proper and restricted way of life, while the middle-class is viewed clearly as inferior. Since the Bingleys and Darcys are wealthy, they are assumed to be snobbish, and withhold the highest expectations, as these are the prejudice judgments of the high class. However, since the Bennet family is more middle-class, the higher class views some of Mrs. Bennet's behaviors as uncivilized and rude. Luckily, both Elizabeth and Darcy are able to oversee personal pride of these judgments to develop a loving relationship.

The status of class is deeply shown through the characters of Mr. Collins, whose exaggerated yet sycophantic behavior towards Lady Catherine could easily and quickly annoy the reader. Mr. Collins is definitely the character with the most extreme case of classism. Although the characters of Miss Bingly and Miss Hurst also portray hierarchical social prejudice attitudes, since neither woman wishes to associate with any person considered to be a lower stature. Along the same beliefs, Mr. Darcy believes in the hierarchy of class as well; however, he luckily is able to overcome these beliefs, at least to an extent, once he meets Elizabeth.

The middle and high classes within society are portrayed with an extreme, clear-cut view in the novel. From the beginning of the novel, it is evident that class will play a significant role, blatantly through character economic status as well as through symbolism. For example, the novel opens with the gossip of a new, single, wealthy young man who has recently moved into Netherfield Park, an estate known amongst the town from the previous wealthy families who have lived there before. Extending this example, Mrs. Bennet wishes one of her daughters to marry this young man, not because she has met the man before, but because she wishes her daughters to marry into wealth. Using the relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth, Austen makes the point that love, strength, and happiness are more powerful than differences among individual lifestyles.

Family

Austen demonstrates the significant impact a family has on an individual’s life mainly through the example of the Bennet family. Since family is responsible for educating and teaching morals to the children in the family, the five daughters in the Bennet family face a very difficult upbringing, especially given the ignorance and idiocy of Mrs. Bennet, and adding the sarcasm and immediate feelings of irritation with Mr. Bennet, who seems to find great satisfaction in belittling his wife. Considering their parents have not provided the girls with much education and morals, it is lucky for Jane and Elizabeth that Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner take a toll in providing the two girls with education and guidance. Had the Gardiners not provided them with studies and personal values, the girls would have faced more difficulty in the future.

For example, Lydia, who has not been as fortunate in receiving extra guidance, makes a decision which greatly affects her social status and the status of the family, as well as the family’s overall reputation within the town. Attempting to help, Elizabeth advises to her father to prohibit Lydia from going to Brighton, however her father did not follow her advise and allowed Lydia to go, since it would be easier than having to listen to Lydia complain. Unfortunately, this led to Lydia’s elopement with Wickham, and the whole family would have to pay the price.

Gender

Gender plays a contributing factor to the novel on various levels, the most obvious being the differences in privileges and expectations between men and women. Austen set the time of the novel to take place during the 19c, when the men had greater power and contribution to society as a whole, and the women were viewed more as reserved, gossipy, and highly held by reputation. Given that there were very few schools during this time, and only the wealthy could afford to attend school, the few schools there were did not permit women to attend; therefore women were expected appear and behave with a certain manner, and easily became a social outcast if any societal deviance was displayed: just as Lydia displayed deviance during her elopement with Wickham, and Elizabeth displayed with her consistent bold, quick-wit.

The novel clearly brings in the aspect of the gender differences in both bold and subtle aspects. On the bold side, during Austen’s time, a man’s primary role is to be the provider: work, propose an engagement for a wife, earn the family’s only income, make final decisions, physically and fiscally support and protect the family, and provide a home, food, and clothing. On the other hand, women were to tend to the children, cook the meals, do the shopping and sewing, and uphold the daily routines for the family, primarily tending to the husband’s needs. However, it is Austen’s clever use of subtle gender differences which tend to go unnoticed. For example, the novel mentions a few cases when characters are traveling. During this time period, it was unacceptable for women, or a woman, to travel alone. It is very subtle instances such as this which help the time period of Austen’s work come alive.

Marriage
Marriage is apparent from the first sentence in the novel when Austen writes, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Generated from societal tradition, women of these times did not work. They were to marry at a young age, spend time to plan the wedding, and then move from their parents' home to their husbands, so that they could run a household and rais