Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen illustrates how money shapes the attitude and the behavior of people. The main idea that Jane Austen presents is the Marxist Theory. This theory states that the underlying reason for . Elizabeth Bennet, the protagonist of the story, faces many characters who believe that money is the underlying factor to which someone should marry. A main example of this is Elizabeth’s mother Mrs. Bennet, who in fact believes that all of her daughters should get married, however marriage is not entirely about true love; Mrs.
Bennet’s view on marriage is that her daughters should chase after a man who have great wealth. Throughout the book, Jane Austen consistently shows the upper class looking down toward the middle class, which is fairly ironic for the fact that they are not that poor if they are considered to be middle class. To continue, Jane Austen’s portrayal of, not all but quite a few, wealthy characters summarize the main theme of the novel, which is the power of societal reputation and money.
In Pride and Prejudice nothing was further stressed than having economic power, money, and marriage. The first quote, “It is truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. ” (Austen 1) establishes what type of book this is going to be. Right out of the gate this quotation introduces the importance of economic power; this also shows the reader(s) that this is the standard at which society, at this time, holds you to if you are a prosperous male. Many times throughout the novel Jane Austen stresses the cultural divide.
At the beginning of the book it is established that Elizabeth and Darcy, the second protagonist of the story, are from two different worlds; this foreshadows the upcoming events that are mentioned throughout the book; because of the economic division this causes constant conflict throughout the novel. The constant conflict shows the reader how impactful economic prosperity has over people. It is safe to say, that if it was not for their economical discrepancy, the book would boring but, they would not have gone through as much hardship as they did.
To simply put it, “In Pride and Prejudice, one of the main issues is Elizabeth Bennet’s lack of money in relation to Mr. Darcy’s fortune. ” (Andersson 13). On the other hand, you have the wealthy repetitively being oppressive towards the lower class, by continually being condescending and self-absorbed. A key example of this is when Mrs. Bennet basks in the glory of Lady Catherine when she comes over to visit. However, every time Mrs. Bennet speaks something, Lady Catherine replies with a snide and snobbish comment. “Yes, madam,’ said Mrs. Bennet, delighted to speak to a Lady Catherine.
‘She is my youngest girl but one. My youngest of all is lately married… ‘You have a very small park here,’ returned Lady Catherine after a short silence. ‘It is nothing in comparison of Rosings, my lady, I dare say… ‘This must be a most inconvenient sitting room for the evening, in summer; the windows are full west. ” (Austen 318). Lady Catherine’s conceited tone, and constant degrading of the Bennet’s home, furthers the division between the two classes. Lady Catherine demonstrates how your economic position can affect the way you perceive things.
Jane Austen presents this idea of economical division to cause the reader to fester about the absurdity of this proposition. The Marxist theory is clearly implemented and implied by Jane Austen throughout the novel of Pride and Prejudice. From the self-explanatory title explaining the traits of many characters, to the somewhat irrational thinking, and behavior of many characters in the novel; the reader(s) can see that Jane Austen is clearly alluding to the power of social classes, and money; in addition to how it can affect the perception of people.
Jane Austen wanted the reader to immediately see the irrationality of societal views when she first states her quote of a prosperous man need for seeking a woman. Many times throughout the novel the characters epitomize the role of being snobbish and condescending; for example, Miss Catherine consistently degrades the Bennets, and many others for either not having much wealth or not presenting themselves in a high fashionable manner. Mr. Collins also exemplifies this persona presented in the book, because he frequently felt as if being married to him was warranted, for the reason that he was quite wealthy and had much land.
Mrs. Bennet also contributed a great amount of how the readers perceived the importance of money as well; she was one out of the many main contributors to stress the fact that not only being a married woman is a supposedly essential part of life, but being married to a successful man is mandatory to living a prosperous life. Pride and Prejudice is a novel in which the reader(s) truly understand the power of money, economical status, and peer pressure in society.
