paper about pride and prejudice.doc

皖西学院2009届毕业本科生毕业论文（设计）Chapter IntroductionJane Austen (1775-1817) was a distinguished British writer, who wrote novels on the life of English Middle Class people of her time. In her lifelong career, she created altogether six complete works, which can be divided into two distinct periods. She wrote her first three works in the period of 1795 to 1798. They are Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey and all her last novels are Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion.In Austens point of view, her main literary concern is about human beings in their relationships. As for her interest in the study of human beings in their relationships with other people in daily life. Jane Austen is particularly preoccupied with the relationship between men and women in love. Especially the novel Pride and Prejudice has been made her to become one of the greatest of all novelists by many critics.Pride and Prejudice, originally drafted as “First Impression” in 1796, is the most delightful of Jane Austens works. The structure of the novel is exquisitely deft, the characterization in the highest degree memorable, while the irony has a radiant shrewdness unmatched elsewhere.The main raw materials came from the daily life, and she wrote it in a tone, which only women possessed, that is acute, delicate, humorous and witty to depict a series of the imagery of women and men characters in a vivid way. Particularly, the successful heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, of the novel Jane Austen created, which embodied her for orientation on marriage issues.In the present-day, Pride and Prejudice has remained a very important role in literature because Jane Austens most remarkable traits were her observation of human character and nature.According to Tian Yuxia, Jane Austen writes Pride and Prejudice to fight against social injustice to women. She wants to set a model woman-independent and unconventional, brave who breaks the conventional fallacy which man is noble and woman is humble. Next chapter is to further probe into the heroine why she is unique.Chapter A General Summary of Womans Status in Pride and Prejudice2. 1 A Brief Introduction to the NovelPride and Prejudice told of the love story between a rich, arrogant young man Darcy and the beautiful and intelligent woman Elizabeth. When they met for the first time at a ball, Darcy refused to dance with Elizabeth because he was in no mood to prefer young ladies slighted by other men. His insult to her and his behavior left a bad impression on the local people, while Mr. Bingley, Darcys friend, was an immediate success in local society and fell in love with Jane, the eldest daughter of Mr. Bennet. And then Elizabeth made acquaintance with a charming officer Wickham, on account of her prejudice against Darcy, Wickham convinced her of what he said, which Darcy was cold-blooded, selfish man who deprived him of his fortune. With her own suspicion that Darcy might be responsible for the separation of Bingley and Jane. Later when Darcy made a honest but proud proposal to her, Elizabeth, annoyed by his separating her sister and Bingley and prejudice by Wickham, rejected him at once. She soon regretted for what had said when she received a letter from Darcy explaining his justified low opinion of the Bennet family and his generous treatment of Wickham who was wicked-minded man. Then Elizabeth went on a tour with her aunt and uncle to Derbyshire and happened to pay a visit to Pemberley, the grand house of Darcy family. Unexpectedly the master of the house returned, much to embarrassment of Elizabeth, what surprised Elizabeth more was that he was polite to her and her relatives and even introduced his younger sister to them. When their relationship got improvement, Elizabeth was suddenly summoned home because her youngest sister has eloped with Wickham. Through the intervention of Darcy that the Bennet family was able to get out of the disgrace. The revelation of Darcys generous help further assured Elizabeth of his feelings towards herself and meanwhile made her realize how truthful his accusation of lowliness of her family was. As Elizabeth was meditating on hopeless situation of her union with Darcy, Lady de Bourgh, aunt of Darcy, came to Longbourn, on hearing some rumor, to force Elizabeth to make a promise that she never consented to marry Darcy. Out of anger and contempt for the arrogant and bad-mannered lady, Elizabeth refused to promise anything. With indignation, the old lady went to her nephew, intending to give him a picture of a disrespectful, ill-mannered Elizabeth, but fortunately this enlightened him the young ladys heart and encouraged him to go to Longbourn and made second proposal, which was finally accepted by Elizabeth.Besides the main story of the happy couple, also told were the minor ones about the union between the rich bachelor Bingley and Jane; about the servile clergyman Collins, cousin of the Bennets and heir to the Bennets property, and Charlotte Lucas, the best friend of Elizabeth; and the thoughtless couple Lydia and Wickham; and the old Bennets were also vividly portrayed.2. 2 The Role of Woman Character in Middle Class“To know what Austen writes Pride and Prejudice for, we should have a clear mind of the social background. There are many social straits in Austens time and people in each class have different destinies. In Austens day, there were no centrally organized systems of state-supported education. There were local charity or church-run day schools, but these were not attended by children of the “genteel” social levels that Austen writes about.” ( Zhu Hong, 1985: 53 ) Instead, “genteel” children might be educated at home by their parents, or by live-in governesses or tutors; or by going off to a private boarding school or to live with a tutor. Some local “grammar” schools did exist but did not admit girls. Of course, women were not allowed to attend the institutionalized rungs on the educational ladder. A great deal of time was devoted to “genteel” boys education, but few women studied.Since women did not usually have careers and were not “citizens” in the sense of being directly involved in politics, there was little generally perceived need for such higher education for them, and most writers on the subject of “female education” preferred that women receive a practical land religious training for politics-nothing but books of piety and cookery. All this proves that, since there was no requirement for academic education for women, and very little opportunity for women to use such knowledge, learning for women is only for “improvement of her mind” therefore, it depended very strongly on what kind of instruction each womans parents offered her in childhood, and on the individual indications of the woman herself (as in the Bennet family). Jane Austen presents that women enjoy a low social status in society and they have no way to get education. Therefore, marriage is a good way for women. 2. 3 Marriage and AlternativesIn Austens day, there was no real method for young women of the “genteel” classes to strike out on their own or be independent. They could not get money except by marrying for it or inheriting it. And unmarried women also had to live with their families, or with family-approved protectors,-it is hardly ever a genteel young and never married female to live by herself. A woman who did not marry could generally only look forward to living her relatives as a dependant, so marriage is the only way of getting out from the parental roof, whats more, much of the advice given to young people in Austens day concentrated on the importance of choosing a husband. Accordingly, some women were willing to marry only because marriage was the sole route to financial security, or to escape an uncongenial family situation.In addition to all the reasons why woman herself wished to be married, there could be also family pressure on her to be married, for example, Charlotte Lucas, if she did not get married, becoming an “old maid” was not considered a desirable fate, so when she, at age of 27, marries Mr. Collins, her brothers will be “relieved” from the pressure.Certainly, the pursuit of a husband is also a precondition. With varied thinking and personalities, in Pride and Prejudice, choosing a marriage partner is also completely distinct. Due to lack of love, Elizabeth rejected Mr. Collins at once. Owing to the pragmatic consideration, Lucas, not beautiful and aged 27, promised Mr. Collinss proposal. Out of sex and appearance, the thoughtless couple, Lydia and Wickham got married. And since the satisfaction between Jane and Bingley, with love and property, they united together. Certainly, with the acquaintance with each other, they fell in love and finally they came to together.Chapter The Imagery of Man Character3. 1 Mr. Darcy Darcy is depicted within the novel as a seemingly cold and aloof man with a large sense of personal pride that frequently expresses itself as arrogance. His apparently distant manner and contempt for those around him earn the disdain of both Elizabeth and many of the other characters over the course of the narrative, particularly in light of the claims of George Wickham, who insists that Darcy has wronged him in the past and who, because of his approachable and charming nature, is naturally winning favor while Darcy gets more doubts.Although Darcy is smart, good-natured, but his arrogance, loving finding faults at others makes his charisma big discount, and compared with a lively, humorous, self-conscious woman Elizabeth, before she, arrogant Darcy appears to be bleak. Elizabeth makes Darcy mocking derision, forcing him to say he “enough problems .” and on many occasions refused to dance at his invitation to challenge his authority, not only caused by these actions of hate Darcy, on the contrary, Darcy was more and more willing to unusual near to the female, and he had a strong love towards her. Darcys arrogance is complete change in Elizabeths suitor, and refused him to punish him, the refusal to Darcy through Elizabeths suitor, Darcy began to calmly consider the values and courage of Elizabeth and understood his own sense of the old aristocracy were how narrow-minded. Combination of the two, at a time, when young people, we have seen a complete conquest of the transformation of Elizabeth and Darcy “Such I was, from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth! What do I not own you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you, I was properly humbled. I came to you without a doubt of my reception. You showed me how insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being pleased.” ( Austen, 2005: 451 )3. 2 Mr. BennetIn the patriarchal society, the father, or parent, is a patriarchal society of command, with the paramount rights. However, in Pride and Prejudice, the image of Austen will be left out in the cold in his fathers right, through the shaping of such a failure, Mrs. Bennets husband, the father of a failed image, the expression of the Austen the authority of his fathers contempt for and challenge patriarchy. Mr. Bennet, although there are some knowledge, however, as the head of the family, his talent is extraordinary cynicism, but he lacks responsibility to his family. As a husband, he allowed his wifes moody and shallow ignorance, he often played jokes on his wife before his daughters mocking her, and looked for some scandals from his daughters as his pleasures.As a father, he was negative and lazy, in his daughters education, he gave up the responsibility to do, and often cynicism of his daughter, as his own pleasure. When home was in trouble with crisis, Mr. Bennet let his fathers rights drop and did not do something for his family. When Elizabeth persuades her father not to let Lydia go to Brighton, a place full of temptation so as not to let Lydia do something folly, her father just smiled, Mr. Bennet said: “Lydia will never be easy till she has exposed herself in some public place or other, and we can never expect her to do it with so little expense or inconvenience to her family as under the present circumstances.” ( Austen, 2005: 282 )At this crucial moment Mr. Bennet gave up a fathers duty, eventually it led to a home disaster: Lydia and Wickhams elopement. To deal with this difficult problem Mr. Bennet was powerless, while his daughters Elizabeth and Jane at the moment replaced his father and assumed responsibility, they comforted Mr. Bennet and helped him on this issue make a reasonable decision. Even if the home had experienced such a crisis, Mr. Bennet did not try to change themselves. After such things, he returned to the kind of laze, the state of apathy and cynicism.3. 3 Mr. CollinsMr. Collins is a figure in Austens novel, who is a shape of the great irony of the cartoon character color. He is a combination of arrogance, sycophancy, power, which is the concentration of the Achilles heel of men, especially through the portrait of him before the clever Elizabeth, the heroine of humor, was flatly rejected suitor of the dramatic scenes, the use of irony Austen strongly expressed the transactions marriage male supremacists, and broke the Male-dominated marriage markets absolute myth. Austen through Collins wrote Mrs. Bennet a letter which will be presented to readers, readers not seeing the person, first heard the voice: a snobbish, conceited, affected, the fully ignorant in front of readers before the image appeared. When he came to the Bennet family for the first time and had not been long seated before he complimented Mrs. Bennet on having so fine a family of daughters. And then glancing at the proper time, he proposed to Elizabeth, his shallow ignorance, exposed his face of self-righteous.He solemnly declared that the reason why he proposed to Elizabeth was that made up for the succession of property due to its harm to her family. And when he was flatly rejected by Elizabeth, hewas also stubborn to think that that is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favor; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time.” ( Austen, 2005: 134-135 ) Collins blind confidence, picked the wrong target is still opinionated, ridiculed by people are unaware. Through the shaping of such a foolish, hypocritical, full of illusions and self-contradictory image of the slaves, Austens superior authority of the men was subverted.3. 4 Mr. Bingley “Mr. Bingley had soon made himself acquainted with all the principal people in the room; he was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves.” ( Austen, 2005: 11 ) Of course these personal strength won Janes admiration. She thought that he was just what a young man ought to be. In her eyes, Mr. Bingley was a sensible, good-humored, lively young man. And she had never seen anyone who had so many advantages with perfect good breeding! He was just her Mr. Right! As a pleasant and modest person, Mr. Bingley was far from the man who was strong and determined. This is his merit but also his demerit. His cordial and simple characters lead to his quiet romance with Jane. But his weak and easily-led characters lead to his parting with Jane. So when their romance went smoothly, he suddenly departed from Jane, which nearly ended his happy love and marriage. Generally speaking, his departure from Jane was caused by the relationship between him and Darcy. They were good friends although they were different in character. Between them there was a very steady and constant friendship. Bingley was endeared to Darcy by the easiness, openness and ductility of his temper. It is no doubt for Darcy that Bingley had the firmest reliance. For Darcy, he wanted to help his friend. In his opinion, it is impossible for Jane to love Bingley. So he persuaded Bingley not to take Jane in marriage. For Bingley, he had an easily-led temper. He was so modest and pliable that he had no opinion about his own marriage. No matter how obvious his attachment to Jane was, he believed Darcys representation of Janes indifference was true. Because Mr. Bingleys two sisters didnt like Jane, they thought Mr. Bingley should choose Georgiana ( Darcys little sister ) as his wife, they also disagreed with Bingley about his marriage with Jane. Under the influences of his sisters and Mr. Darcy, Bingley began to doubt Janes affection to him. Finally, he thought Jane didnt love him, so he left her without saying good-bye. Later, when all the misunderstandings clarified, he came back to Jane at Darcys assistance. Bingleys indecisive character determined his happiness and results that his life was controlled by others.3. 5 Mr. WickhamHis hypocrisy, bad faith, moral hazard, is a perfect villain. A absolute villain, any person who did not deserve to go to marry him. When Elizabeth thought highly of him due to his hypocritical looks, he used to slander Darcy rhetoric to enhance their status, and personality could be improved. Even within a short time Elizabeth, who lost the reason, she believed him and thus learnt to understand him with a girl, who is bereft relatives, was not for money but love, trusted him, and accommodated him. Is he deserved to trust? Not soon before, and her sister, mixed together. Without money but living in together. How important a girls reputation at the time! Does really he not know? No money and they only play with her, he is considered a person to the people brought about by concerns? Only for their own, it is just for the sake of pleasure. Such a perso