Friday, May 28, 2010
DISCUSSION QUESTION #3
Pride and Prejudice is probably Austen's most famous, most beloved book. One element, the initial mutual dislike of two people destined to love each other, has become a cliché of the Hollywood romance. I'm sure you can think of numerous examples.This book has been described by scholars as a very conservative text. Did you find it so? What sort of position do you see it taking on the class system?It has also been described as Austen's most idealistic book. What do you suppose is meant by that?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I do find this book very conservative because it favors traditional views and values that tend to oppose change. The book would be frowned upon by a society that is based on a class system because for example, both Jane and Liz marry hiring then there original position. I would think that the book would be her most idealistic because when she wrote this book women and men married for money, wealth and not for love. This book being based on the romance of Darcy and Elizabeth it is idealistic that in that period of time that they would marry.
ReplyDeleteAgain, you are off to a good start. You do, however fail to offer the necessary support with quotes from the book to offer credibility to your claims.
ReplyDeleteI view the novel as conservative because of hoe well it expresses the views and values that have been upheld by society all while resisting change. The fact that Elizabeth and Darcy seem so disagreeable to each other in the beginning of the novel yet still manage to fall in love in the end shows just how opposed to changed in tradition the novel is. Elizabeth was given the chance and tempted to change her future with people such as Mr. Collins and Wickham yet resisted. From the beginning she was destined to be with Darcy even if she couldn't see it herself. Jane also adds to the conservatism because of her unconditional love for Mr. Bingley. After several attempts to sabotage the relationship between the two who fell in love at first sight, they still managed to get married and live happily ever after. Although class and wealth seem to be a major focus in the novel, it seems to go against the idea. Both Mr. Bingley and Darcy were given the chance to marry women of a higher status than they do, yet both allowed themselves to choose love over class. This novel has been described as Austen's most idealistic book because of how opposed to change in tradition it is as well as how it focuses on the importance of love in a marriage.
ReplyDeleteYes, in a way I did find it conservative. The way the women and men of that time period acted is way more conservative than people in this age might be used to. The book shows traditional values of marriage, class, and the way proper women should “act” during that time. No matter how conservative or ahead of its time Pride and Prejudice might actually be, it will always seem conservative to us now because the world has changed a lot since then. The book represents rejection and disregard for the class system. Both couples- Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley- found love outside of their own classes. They ignored the conservative values of marriage and class during that time period and took a step towards the future- away from prejudice. The fact that the book ended so well, with three Bennet sisters marrying, may lead Pride and Prejudice to be described as idealistic. Most people did not marry outside of class and usually found it appalling to do so. Some readers may find the idea of Mr. Darcy ignoring Elizabeth’s relations and wealth for love as just a romantic fantasy or an unrealistic story. This rejection of marrying for love showed in Lady Catherine’s efforts to break up Elizabeth and Darcy.
ReplyDeleteThis book is conservative to me in the customs it held while avoiding change. It kept tradition in marriage, the way women behaved, and the class system. This book however, disagrees with the class system as well in the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy. This book says that class shouldn't matter if you love someone. It shows that when you do marry someone you don't love, when you marry just based on class, you are unhappy and you don't get to enjoy marriage-Charlotte and Mr. Collins. This book is very idealistic the closer it gets to the ending. In the very beginning it is very conservative, and then as the couples start getting married it becomes more idealistic through Darcy and Elizabeth and Jane and Bingley's marriage.
ReplyDeleteYes, I do find aspects of this book conservative. The way the people acted was the main conservative aspect that stuck out to me. The people use a great deal of effort focusing on the traditional ideas of marriage, the way individuals were supposed to act, and the way society was to be divided. People like Lady Catherine were strictly opposed to any change in society's values and were a prime example of conservatism. These people were the ones that believed in avoiding marrying someone from a lower class. This belief is what makes the book somewhat idealistic. Although there are many conservative aspects in Pride and Prejudice, the book does not always encourage marrying someone of the same class. Both Darcy and Elizabeth and Jane and Mr.Bingley were from different classes. The book showed love prevailing and triumphing over the conservative ideas of marriage and presents and idealistic ending for the couples.
ReplyDeletePride and Prejudice is filled with conservative aspects. The women's expected behavior, the class system, the family structure, and the ideas of dowry, primogenture, and marriage are all very conservative. Also, the love story between the high class man and lower class woman, who shouldn't be together, but end up inlove is a classic. Lady Catherine is a huge symbol of coservatism in the novel. She expects ladies to be educated in all of the arts, dressed extravagantly, and she wants her daughter to be married to Darcy for reasons of wealth and pride instead of love. The novel takes a turn for idealism when Elizabeth and Darcy begin to fall inlove. Opposites attracting, they fall for one another knowing that it doesn't follow the rules. Darcy is an extremely wealthy man with a cold composure, while Lizzy is sensible, warm and in the middle class. Love wasn't a main concern in the early 1800s. But this book shows how love can overcome the conservative ways of life.
ReplyDeleteThe book Pride and Prejudice is most definitely a conservative book. The most prominent conservative idea is the wealth and social class. In the time period, families married their daughters into wealthy families so that they will be well off. The book is also anti-conservative because it shows that marriage can work outside of social classes. Both of the men in the book have the opportunity to marry outside women of great status, but they decide to marry women who they actually love. It also showed that women could be smart and think for themselves, take Elizabeth Bennett for example.
ReplyDeleteThe book takes the class system how it is. Only rich families tend to get together, and the families with daughters are always looking for a richer man to marry them off to. The family does not want to marry their daughter off to a lower class or more poor man because they feel they are better than them due to class. Darcy feels he is better than the others because he is much richer. Mr. Bingley gets along with the Bennet's just fine because they are in the same class range.
ReplyDeleteIt can be viewed as idealistic because it has two people who are apart in many respects that come together with a long chain of catastrophes and problems that arise yet things work out, for the most part, for the best.
I did think Pride and Prejudice is conservative. Compared to how people act these days, women and men then acted much more conservative along with the class systems and marriage. The characters in the book seem to not care about the class system. Both couples, Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley married outside of their classes, which is more accepted these days. Most people in that time would never marry outside of their class, but as for both couples, it ended well.
ReplyDeleteThe novel Pride and Prejudice is a classic love story that appears in many Hollywood romances- like more recent movies such as Clueless and The Proposal. I think that Pride and Prejudice has been correctly described as conservative. While the novel has numerous plot twists and exciting moments, it never crosses the line over to vulgarity. The traditions and customs present in the novel are considered conservative for the time and for today’s society. Marriage and wealth are at high priorities and remain constant subjects in the novel. The only thing that is not conservative about the novel is its unconventional take on the class system through Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s characters. These two characters fell in love with each other, despite their differing class systems. This aspect of the novel contradicts the traditions of the time and almost bashes the idea of a class system. The author suggests that marriage should be based on love rather than purely on materialistic matters. The novel is considered “idealistic” because the outcome is very positive; it had an “idealistic” ending. Elizabeth Bennet, the daughter that seemed too stubborn to ever find a man, marries her true love and the other characters become successful in their own ways.
ReplyDeleteThis books strikes me as conservative, the tradition was back of the way mean and women behaved, and the ways of marriage were so different from todays. They believed being wed into someone of their own clas, but in the end Darcy and Elizabeth as well as Jane and Mr.Bingley were all from different class, Overcoming the ideal marriage of their time.
ReplyDeleteI find Pride and Prejudice to be idealistic. The novel believes in moderinizing the class system. The book shows that different classes can be joined together. If the novel were conservative,relationships such as Bingley and Jane’s would have never existed. In as much, Darcy would have never gone back and proposed to Elizabeth for the second time, knowing that their relationship was socially forbidden. Even though Austin distinguishes the different powers in society between men and women, she bridges the class system by marrying Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet, along with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, Pride and Prejudice is definatley a conservative nove because of the riches and the social classes. More families were more wealthy and usually married in their class of society and the same applied for the less wealthy families. But when i say usually i mean in the case of Elithebeth Bennet and darcy and Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley. Both Bennet sisters were of way lower social class than the wealthy friends Bingley and Darcy but the respectiful men married for love not for social aspects. Thats were the bounderies of conservation gets broken because those actions were not heard of that often in the 1800's.The actions that Elizebeth and Jane did in marrying men of higher, more superior clas is well heard of today, those actions today can even be deemed "normal".
ReplyDeleteI do find Pride & Prejudice to be conservative novel. It's conservative because of the values placed in the book. There isn't a vulgar, inappropriate part in the book. The language even strikes me as conservative because it's very classical. The storyline is ver idealistic because of the happy-ending love stories. Darcy and Elizabeth, who stat off hating each other, end up falling madly in love and marrying. In a more realistic sense, this would have never happened. Normaly to people who dislike each other so much would never marry.
ReplyDelete