Society & Marriage

Before two people marry, usually 99% of the time, they would have extreme feelings of love for each other. Marriage isn't just something people do for fun now adays, it's a life changing experience and you are vowing your love to one person for life! (Unless divorce or something). For some families, I think race and other features are viewed critically before marriage due to religious purposes and just the parents and their own background of what they think.

Society and Marriage

Stuff like race is considered a lot these days when two people decide to marry. I believe that to some extent some things should be considered before marriage, like religious belief (mostly), but should not be a huge concern. If there are too many differences in some things that people tend to overlook when they feel like they are in love. Though it should be considered, it should not make or brake a relationship, compromises can be made.

Theme - Society and Marriage

In Pride and Prejudice a family's "connections," property, wealth, and social standing are considered before and consideration of marriage is made.

What considerations are made today when two people decide to marry? Do you think family background, religious faith, wealth, or education should or should not be considerations before marriage?

Defend your response.

Irony-Wickham/Elizabeth

I agree with Hannah's post about Wickham's conversation with Elizabeth. Wickham wanted to seem strong the 'bigger man' to Elizabeth but really he felt just as awkward and uspet about the situation as Mr. Darcy had. It makes me wonder if the conflict between Wickham and Darcy is true according to Wickham's side??

Elizabeth's Wit

Elizabeth's wit allows her to be able to insult someone without it seeming down right insulting, "'Both,' replied Elizabeth archly; 'for I have always seen a great similarity in the turn of our minds. -We are each of an unsocial, taciturn disposition, unwilling to speak, unless we expect to say something that will amaze the whole room, and be handed down to prosperitywith all the eclat of a proverb.'" But is it really an insult if it is truth?

Mr. Collins

Mr. Collins is one of the stupidest men in this book. He focuses his life solely on being recognized in the world and would do anything to seem better than he really is. This is shown through his attempts to mingle with higher classes at the Netherfeild Ball when his introduses himself to Mr. Darcy despite the fact that it was socially wrong. Mr. Collins justifies his action by saying, "that there must be a wide difference between the established forms of cerimony amoungst the laity, and those which regualte the clergy;for give me leave to observe that I consider the clerical office as equal in point and dignity with the highest rank in the kingdom." (84) Mr. Collins has placed himself above society because he beleives it is his right as a clergyman.

Wit and Irony - Wickham

When Elizabeth is talking to Wickham, he says "Oh! no-it is not for me to be driven away by Mr. Darcy. If he wishes to avoid seeing me, he must go.... I have no reason for avoiding him ." pg.67. However, when the Netherfield ball is held, Wickham decides to leave to avoid Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Bennet

Mr. Bennet mocks his wife's silliness and is shown to be sarcastic, and cynical with comments as “…you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you"

Wit and Irony

Find an example of a character's sarcasm, wit, or use of irony. To guide you, refer back to conversations and quote moments when one character said the opposite of what he or she really felt, when a character says something so ridiculous that it shows his or her true nature (think Mrs. Bennet) or when someone subtlely insults another person through understatement or exaggeration.

Please post your example found. Keep quotations for the same character under the same post by using the comment option, but everyone must find an original example.

7-10

I think that Mrs. Bennet might be so obsessed with marrying her daughters off in order to make sure she has a future. After her husbands death she will have no claim on the land or house she presently lives on because the entail will fall to Mr. Collins and she wil be sent off the land. She could however live with one of her married daughters if she can marry one of them off. Mrs. Bennet's obsession with marrage for her daughters is probably more excusable than you would expexct.

Chapters 7-10
I think that its kind of funny that Bingleys sister, who is rich and has everything she's ever wanted is jealous of Elizabeth

Pride & Prejudice Ch 11-16

"Mr. Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth- and it was soon done- done while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire." (Pg. 60) It's sad how little insignificance these people believe marriage to be. They take so little time deciding the person they're going to spend the rest of their lives with. When Mr. Collins learns of Jane's soon-to-be engagement, he simply switches to Lizzy. The comparison to "stirring the fire" is used, I believe, to emphasize the swiftness of action in this situation which should take much more thought than, "Elizabeth, equally next to Jane in birth and beauty, succeeded [Jane] of course."

"You must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman." Women were as good as their talents, and had to learn different skills to impress men. I think this is interesting because Jane Austen never got married. Maybe she couldn't find a good husband because she couldn't play the piano or something. Haha.

Pride & Prejudice Ch 7-10

"I do not like to boast of my own child, but to be sure, Jane- one does not often see anybody better looking. It is what everybody says." I'm amazed at Mrs. Bennett's vanity when it comes to her daughters. Considering their social standing, she is in no position to be bragging as much as she does. I especially feel bad for Jane, who doesn't even know that her mother is perhaps ruining her chances at a marriage to Bingley.

Its interesting how the mother sees Darcy as superior and a good match, but Elizabeth disagrees and dislikes his pride. "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me...... You are wasting your time with me." When Darcy is rude, he creates a reputation of pride and bad manners that make a negative impression on Elizabeth.

Chapter 7-10

I like the quote "Oh! I'm not at all afriad of her dying..." I think this shows her priorities. She is welling to risk the well being of them in order to get what she wants. It's so ironic, if shes dead she really won't need a man. So now their welling to to risk themselves for others, thats extreme.

Being silly

At the beginning of Chapter 7 Mr. Bennet remarks "If my children are silly I must hope to always be sensible of it." This is a wise thing to say. If a parent knows that their children are "silly" in their thinking, then the parents can intervene and try to make them think rationally and clearly, if the parents are compassionate about their children. Mr. Bennet obviously cares about his daughters' well-beings.

Chapters 7-10

I think it is interesting how the sisters contrast each other. Some of the sisters seem to have no grasp of reality and just whimsically chase boys around, such as Lydia. Lizzy on the other hand is very rational and caring. Lizzy puts Jane above herself as depicted when she walks three miles to see her. Lydia on the other hand has different intentions as she says, "We will go as far as Meryton with you. If we make haste, perhaps we may see something of Captain Carter before he goes.

Chapters 7-10

I think that Mrs. Bennet has un unhealthy obsession with getting her daughters married. The fact that she sends Jane on a horse in order to force her to stay the night is despicable. I think that she is one of the reasons that her children arem't married. She puts their marrige ahead of their safety. "She had no wish of her recovering immediately, as her restoration to health would probably remove her from Netherfield." She doesn't care what happens, as long as Jane might have a shot at marrying.

Chapters 7-10

I agree with Javier that it was wrong Mrs. Bennet was pushing Jane on Bingley. She didn't just want Jane to see Bingley when they meet for dinner but purposefully get her sick so she must stay at his house. I think that in this era many mother's advised that of their daughters but I think it is taking it a little too far.

Don't Miss the Joke

Many of the comments posted have rightly argued that this book is fool of gossip. But does that lesson the book's merit? Austen's portrayal of the characters is ironic and satirical. I view the story as very funny. Jane Austen is hilarious in the way she depicts the characters. I laughed out loud when Mrs. Bennet was pleased to hear that Jane was ill because that meant she would stay under the same roof as Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bennet sarcastically points out his wife's idiocy when he says, "...if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in a pursuit of Mr. Bingley."

In regards to Cinthia's 1st Post

-I am quite sick of all the gossip. Personally I feel like I'. reading a reality T.V. show. Girls can relate to the gossip but not to the extent the book takes it. It's just silly the extent people were willing to go to get their daughters married.
-As for the pride vs. vanity i feel vanity can't stand without pride but pride can be without vanity. Pride is having a high opinion of one's importance were vanity is taking a "high opinion" in one's appearance.

Match Maker Mom

I personally find Mrs. Bennet, for lack of a better word, a crazy mom. She is very mischievous, slightly corrupt, and intent about marriage. Mrs. Bennet like the step mom in Ever After (a spin off of Cinderella) is willing to do anything to get her daughters that much closer to marriage. She actually plans on the rain to come down so Jane has to stay at Mr. Bingley's house. Even after learning of her daughters sickness she has no feelings of worry but is ecstatic that Jane gets to spend more time in the house.
"and her mother attended her to the door with many cheerful prognostics of a bad day. Her hopes were answered; Jane had not been gone long before it rained hard. Her sisters were uneasy for her, but her mother was delighted."
Excuse me if this doesn't sound like a deranged mom but I feel Mrs. Bennet is to set on marriage. She is willing to put her daughter in harms way in order to find a "suitable match". I'm just glad that I can live my life knowing my mom won't through me into a rain storm because a rich batchelor just moved in down the road and she wants me to be marooned at his house. : )

Why be in such a rush?

I think it's weird that Mrs. Bennet is so determined to get her daughters married that she would be willing to allow her daughter to get sick to find a mate. She sends Jane to go to Mr. Bingley's house on horseback in the rain, and doesn't seem to care when her daughter becomes ill from it. She even says, "'Oh! I'm not at all afraid of her dying...As long as she stays there, it is all very well,"' (26).
So far, Elizabeth is my favorite character because she doesn't seem to throw herself at men just to please her mother like her sisters seem to do...Lydia is the worst as far as that goes. If you ask me, I see no point in trying to hurry to get married.

Pride and Prejudice 7-10

I feel the same way about the book as Mariha. The sisters begin to seem nice to Elizabeth, "Elizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much affection and solicitude they showed for Jane." pg.27 but then they go behind her back and spread rumors about her. There statement about Jane also showed how completely materialistic they are. "she (Jane) is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with sucha father and mother, and such low connictions, I am afraid there is no chance of it." pg. 30 and the statement about the daughter's chances of marrying shows this also, "it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world." pg.30. I do like how Bingley is portrayed very nice and contradicting to his sisters by sticking up for Elizabeth even when she is not there. "It shows an affection for her sister that is very pleasing." pg.29. And Mr. Darcy is seen in a different light as well. Jane Austen allowed you to see a sweeter side to him in his affiction for Elizabeth.

Chapter 7 - 10

I was kind of disappointed with Mrs. Bennet for trying to throw Jane at Bingley. I mean purposefully sending her out on horseback hoping the weather will be bad to force her to stay over the night is just despicable. In my opinion Mrs. Bennet is trying to live vicariously through her daughters, maybe achieve what she couldn't on her own through them. The last thing that really bothered me about Mrs. Bennnet was her stupidity or better said ignorance, in her attempt to impress her hosts she humiliated herself by going on about things that she didn't know about. As the plot keeps unfolding Mrs. Bennet's self-interest in her daughter's relations.

While reading chapters 7 thru 10 of pride and prejudice I became angered with the way that Mrs. Hurst and Miss. Bingley talk about Elizabeth as soon as she leaves the room but are completely nice to her when she is in the room. An example would be on page 29 "When dinner was over, she (elizabeth) returned directly to Jane, and Miss Bingley began abusing here as soon as she was out of the room. Her manners were pronuced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no taste, no beauty. " This annoyed me because it adds to the thought that women had nothing better to do then gossip and create drama. I am withholding my judgement of the book as a whole until I am through but the book so far is very rude, gossip centered and I personally do not like it. I like Elizabeth's character and how Jane Austen described her as compassionate for her sister "Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty socks, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise." I also disliked how Mr. BIngley would speak to Miss. Bingley and Mrs. Hurst but they would not speak to him, instead they would speak to Mr. Darcy and ignore their brother completely. I personally am tomboyish and am often covered in dirt so I would be a topic of discussion on how unruly I was.

Chapter 1 - 6

As soon as I opened the the book and began reading, the irony of the first two paragraphs really stood out to me. Where it says that all rich, single men want a wife it struck me as odd because it was the women who wanted a rich man to marry in order to save themselves from poverty and despair. In the second paragraph it talks about how the men were considered the woman's property when it was women who were usually objectified like that.

Pride & Prejudice Ch. 1-6

"But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes." (Pg. 2) I find it funny that Mrs. Bennett and the characters in general expect to fall in love when it's clear that they aren't looking for a loving marriage, but a wealthy one. Obviously marriage isn't about love, the only thing that matters to Mrs. Bennett is money. Her and her husband definitely aren't in love... It reminds me of times when Kings and Queens had prearranged marriages. They're all about convenience and social standings, not about spending your life with someone you care about.

So, its quite obvious that the group of young characters Jane Austin includes in "Pride and Prejudice" are on a mission to gain wealth and assurance through marriage, the ultimate safety net for young women. Money is a very important addition to daily life, but what's the excuse today? In their time, woman married into money so that they will have a stable outcome in life and not be tossed out of their homes, while men wanted to attain wealth to be on the bachelor list. Like Jane Austin said, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" (1). The man must want a wife, the woman must have a husband. The only excuse today? It seems to be competitive entrepreneurs who are only interested in getting ahead of the next person.

Chapters 1-6

I think it is wierd how the views and goals of women in that time period were so different from today. Mrs. Bennet said, "If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield and all the others equally well married, I shall have nothing to wish for." That statement shows that their goals were to marry wealthy, not to succeed on their own as is the goal of most women today....................I think.

Pride and Prejudice 1-6

The characters in pride and prejudice are very jugmental and hypocritical. At the ball, Mr. Darcy "was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening." pg. 7, but later he was said to be the "most disagreeable man in the world" pg. 8. The gossip between the ladies allows them to make wild accutions and stories that either greatly degrades or boosts the victim's social status. The gossip also twists the people's ideas of other people. They are also very materialistic: "Mr. Darcy... having ten thousand a year. The ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley." I find that fact that they marry for money and social class very sad.

Money vs. Love

"Oh! single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!" (page 1) ... I believe marrying for money is absolutely terrible. Material items shouldn't be what makes a person happy, it should be the people surrounding an individual that make a person happy. You can't put a price on love. I would much rather spend my life with someone I love than spend my life with a rich man whom I married for his money and material belongings.

Chapters 1-6

I feel as the Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are good parents to their 5 daughters. It is made very obvious how greatly this couple cares about the girls lives and futures. Although Mr. Bennet does display some favoritism, he is balanced out through the equality shown by his wife as she notes that "Lizzy is not a bit better than the others." (pg 2) Mrs. Bennet consistently attempts to "consider (their) daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them." (pg 2)

Chapter 1-6

I found it interesting how important it was to Mrs. Bennet that her girls marry a wealthy man, "But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them.." (pg 2). Women were looked at just based on their looks and not their 'smarts' but I liked how Mary Bennet was known as the smart daughter, even by her father, "What you say mart? for you are a young lady of deep relfection, I know, and read great books, and make extracts...Mary wished to say something very sensible..." (pg 4-5).

Christian Cotton Cortez Garberg Brown

I think it is wrong the way that the girls are "husband hunting." If they are going to get married it should be for love, not in order to get a man's wealth. However, this justifies the way the men treat the women. Darcy says,: She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and i am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men." Even though he is saying that he doesn't want to dance with Lizzie because she is ugly, it is justified. If he wasn't wealthyhe would be considered undesirable.

Its ironic that Mr Darcy likes Lizzie now when before he thought of her as "tolerable". " I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair if fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow."

I don't think that they judged Mr. Darcy harshly, according to the dictates of society at the time he was very rude...however, the expectation that "a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife"(1), led the family to believe that his attitude was based on a dislike of themselves. This led them to keep a form a long lasting grudge against Mr. Darcy.

Chapter 1-6

"It is a truth univerally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." I thought this was interesting in discribing the way people viewed woman as a whole and social class.

I agree it was completely uncalled for the way they treated him. I also agree with maris each one of the children represents a different persona.

I thought it was rude of the Bennet's to judge Mr. Darcy so harshly and saying that he is rude. I think he just believes that he deserves something better then what is being offered, although how they describe Mr. Bingley is very accurate his nature seemed light and humored like he was at the same level as all the other party goers. I got confused alot when they started talking about miss. Bennet is that Elizabeth or Jane?

hmmmmmm.....

-There is a specific quote is chapter 5 that i do not agree with. Mary states, "Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain."
I think that if one has pride, one is vain because when someone is prideful they set themselves above others...and is that not being vain?? Also, the definition of vanity is "excessive *pride* in ones appearence, qualities, abilities, acheivements etc......." Although i agree that both pride and vanity are seperate things i think that there can't be one without the other ( in most cases)
-Also i noted that this whole book seems to be gossip =) something that most people today can relate to (espacially girls).

It's funny how different each of the Bennett sisters are. They all seem to represent different personas.

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Welcome to our blog! After each reading assignment, respond to the text with a statement, question, observation, connection, or response to a previous post. Be sure to write in complete sentences and incorporate quotations from the novel to support your claims. Be sure not to tell what happened, but interpret and comment on what happened.

1/6 - chapters 1 - 6
1/7 - chapters 7 - 10
1/8 - chapters 11 - 16
1/11 - chapters 17 - 20
1/12 - chapters 21 - 25
1/13 - chapters 26 - 31
1/14 - chapters 32 - 35
1/15 - chapters 36 - 41
1/18 - chapters 42 - 44
1/19 - chapters 45 - 48
1/20 - chapters 49 - 52
1/21 - chapters 53 - 55
1/22 - chapters 56 - End