Some literary critics such as Röpke consider Austen a "conservative writer"; a traditional woman who upheld traditional values ​​throughout her writings. They believe that Austen's ideas about women's behavior are identical to what is described in 18th and early 19th century conduct books that describe exactly how women should behave and be represented in society, but This is an idea that I do not support. I intend to discuss how Austen questions both her own society and the society in which her characters exist in Pride and Prejudice on their behavior towards women and how she believes women's behavior should differ from that described in the driving books of his time. . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Pride and Prejudice, during Mr. Collin's first visit to the Bennet family home, he reads aloud from Rev. James Fordyce's Sermons to Young Women, a driving book that describes what is expected of women's behavior, for example at the beginning of the book Sermon I informs women about the virtues they are supposed to uphold such as modesty, it states that “women should adorn themselves in modest clothing, with shame and sobriety; not with embroidered hair, nor gold, nor pearls. First, it is hypocritical of Mr. Collin to preach about anyone's behavior in the novel, as his own behavior is often pointed out as indecent throughout the novel. For example, we learn of his pompous nature when he expects the Bennet family to be flattered when he decides to do so. to stay at Longbourn, without even being asked, because his aim was to marry the Bennet sister he wanted, and he said to Mr. Bennet "I remain, dear sir, with respectful compliments to your lady and your daughter." Claudia L. Johnson supports this theory: "It would be unreasonable for Austen to promote these ideas about women through Mr. Collins, because he is ridiculed by Elizabeth throughout the novel and therefore cannot exert moral influence on readers ". By portraying Mr. Collin's character and opinions in a negative light, it is clear that Austen does not agree with his beliefs or anything he is trying to teach. Johnson also states that "Collin's endorsement of such 'serious books' in and of herself signals Austen's disaffection with the rules promulgated there regarding women." Austen clearly separates herself from this type of book and its views throughout her own life, for example women of her time did not receive the same education as men, and it was highly The fact that women published their writing is frowned upon and considered scandalous, but many women like Austen did just that, embracing their intelligence regardless of what society told them to do. She creates the character of Elizabeth who she presents as supportive and almost a role model in her eyes, yet she is a woman who constantly demonstrates behavior opposite to that expected of women in Fordyce's book. Johnson supports this idea, "judging by the standards set in conduct books and conservative fiction, Elizabeth's behavior consistently borders not only on impertinence but also on impropriety." Austen writes Pride and Prejudice as a form of conduct book, but in a different way. Instead of acting as a conduct book that educates the reader about social norms andhow everyone should live their lives, including how to behave and how not to behave, she writes a piece of narrative fiction including her own opinions on these beliefs in society. and leading books by creating characters we tend to favor, like Elizabeth, whose behavior contrasts sharply with what is taught in driving books. Therefore, through her novel, Austen teaches that to succeed in life as a woman, you must act like Elizabeth; untamed and independent and going against what is expected in the world of driving books. This particular conduct book was extremely popular in Austen's time since William St Clair states that "records show extraordinarily long printing runs for reprints", although many critics such as Julian North believed that Austen was not concerned with tackling broader themes such as gender because she wrote on such a small, domestic scale, and her work in Pride and Prejudice specifically made her a "conservative icon of popular culture of the 18th century, signified by its depictions of traditional class and gender hierarchies, sexual propriety, and Christian values.” I disagree because I think Austen's choice to criticize Fordyce's judgment of women in such a popular book was bold, but she does so safely within the restricted world in which Pride and prejudices. Margaret Kirkham also believes that "as a feminist moralist, Jane Austen criticizes sexist pride and prejudice as being embedded in the laws and customs of her time." For example, women in Austen's time were educated through conduct books on how to become the perfect wife and mother, how to have an awkward conversation, how to sew as a hobby, they were taught how to dress, including what to wear, and informed on how to express themselves, for example women are expected to be modest and polite while men are offered more opportunities for intellectual education, and Austen criticizes this through her work and the character of Elizabeth. Austen portrays Elizabeth Bennet as a heroine throughout the novel, especially when she reads Mr. Darcy's letter and states, "Until now I have never known myself", we learn of her intelligence, a typical characteristic of many Austen heroines. The fact that Elizabeth is a woman who can read is important. Austen often alludes to reading throughout her work because women did not receive the same education as men in the 18th century, leading to the belief that men were the more intelligent sex and that so they earned more money. authority. Her reading of Darcy's letter differs from the reading that is required of women in the conduct books, because they indicate that if women are to read, they should read novels as a mere pastime and not to truly understand them or give them meaning. As Elizabeth reads the letter, we recognize her intelligence as she begins to understand Darcy's explanation and revisits each event so far with a different perspective, arriving at a different type of truth and understanding than she had previously argued, for example, now she learns the ugly truth about Wickham. During Elizabeth's realization, we learn the truth about the course of events in the novel; Kirkham states that she is "the central intelligence through which eyes and understanding of events and characters are conveyed to readers." Through this we can also understand the fact that she is more than capable of making her own decisionsmorals, which, at that time, in his society, was typically a trait reserved for men. Elizabeth is portrayed as a confident and ambitious woman who knows what her own desires are and will not live her life simply to fulfill those of others, this becomes clear when she learns of the planned union between Mr. Darcy and Miss De Bourgh, and in In Reply to Lady Catherine, she exclaims: "If there is no other objection to marrying your nephew, I certainly will not be prevented." Unlike women in the world of conduct books who are constrained and instructed on how to behave, Elizabeth knows what she wants in life and will not sacrifice it so that others can benefit. She is strong-willed and will not live to please society before pleasing herself, thereby aligning herself and her own life priority. By this, Austen refers to feminist progression by emphasizing the importance of independence and choice for women. Like many other women of her time who married who they were told, Elizabeth refused to do so. Helena Kelly points out: “Elizabeth is fundamentally a radical. She knows her own mind; it reserves the right to decide the questions itself.” Essentially, Austen portrays Elizabeth as a superior woman in the novel and supports her actions and beliefs. We learn the extent to which Austen favors her character through her letters to Casandra Austen about Elizabeth in which she details: “I must confess that I also find her charming. a creature unlike anything that has ever appeared in the press, and how I can tolerate those who don't like her, at least I don't know. She is very proud of the character of Elizabeth and everything associated with it when she refers to her as "my" "to admire so much my Elizabeth is particularly welcome for me". In Pride and Prejudice, there is a clear lack of authority and weakness of the characters. who, according to the society of the time, was supposed to assume authority. For example, there is no maternal or paternal authority on the part of Elizabeth's parents; Mrs. Bennet is an overbearing mother who often embarrasses her children. This is a character who should wield power, but doesn't. She is preoccupied with marrying off her children, which Elizabeth defied even then as she wanted her to marry Mr. Collins, whom she despised, which only highlighted what Mr. Collin described as the Elizabeth's "character flaws", creating the possibility that he might "change". his mind and not having it. According to society, Mr. Bennet is supposed to be a strong authority figure as a father and head of the family, but his authority is subverted by his family, particularly Elizabeth who he considers his favorite. Elizabeth is controlling of her father and continually questions his authority, for example her father "heard her carefully" when he allowed Lydia to join Mrs. Forster on a trip to Brighton, while Elizabeth "secretly advised her father not to let her go.” . He is further depicted as a weak authority figure as Elizabeth teaches him how to properly raise his children: "If you, my dear father, do not take the trouble to control his exuberant spirit and teach him that his present activities are If it is not the business of his life, it will soon be beyond the reach of amendment. Austen also highlights how the Bennets' lack of authority over their children in the novel can be dangerous, for example when Lydia runs away with Wickham, if her parents had had authority and been more receptive to the actions of their children, they could have stopped it from the start, and even afterward, Mrs. Bennet refuses to acknowledge her role in it, "blaming everyone except the person with the indulgencemisguided to which the errors of his daughter must be chiefly due.” Elizabeth is not the dutiful daughter who obeys her parents, which was what would have been expected of children at the time and was taught in conduct books. I believe that Austen subverts the authority of Elizabeth's parents over Elizabeth herself who should be subordinate to them through mother-daughter, father-daughter relationships, implying that she goes against the beliefs and established impressions of society in order to emphasize how strong Elizabeth is in her own right. a young woman. Lady Catherine De Bourgh is a character in the novel who asserts her authority, but is also subverted when it comes to Elizabeth. Elizabeth lacks respect for authority figures, which has been much criticized in conduct books, for example Lady Catherine insists that she should not marry Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth is both bold and rude in her reply, to which Lady Catherine said, “Miss Bennet, is she?” do you know who I am? I'm not used to such language. The fact that Elizabeth, a young woman, is able to take power over a figure who is already asserting her dominance helps to emphasize how capable and independent she is, something that would not be expected of women of her time. Throughout this novel, Austen continually highlights the strength of characters who should be less superior, through the subversion of the power of those who are socially expected to have authority. Austen contrasts Elizabeth's personality with that of her sisters throughout Pride and Prejudice in order to highlight Elizabeth as an even more superior and dominant figure. Jane and Elizabeth are described as the most similar sisters. Jane is the most "perfect", she is described as beautiful, thoughtful and thoughtful; everything the ideal woman should be. She was the image of what women learned in driving books. But in Austen's eyes, she is flawed, because she cannot see the world or the people in it as they really are or what they really want. Jane always sees the best in people and we learn that this is her downfall following Austen's many criticisms of her through the character of Elizabeth. For example, Jane defends Caroline Bingley when it is already obvious to Elizabeth that she is not being honest with her, so because Elizabeth has the sense and intelligence to understand this, she is more superior to her. of “perfect” Jane, who may be the image of femininity, but is easily caught off guard. Austen presents Lydia as the more outspoken and lacking in common sense sister in the Bennet family, I believe she does this tactfully, in order to give her decoy character to that of Elizabeth. Elizabeth's unorthodox behavior would have been extremely noticeable in Austen's time and she would have been criticized for presenting such a character in such a positive light. Therefore, because Lydia is clearly more outspoken and inappropriate than Elizabeth, her behavior serves to cover up Elizabeth's improprieties. Claudia Johnson supports this idea: "Lydia is a decoy that attracts the disapproval to which Elizabeth herself might otherwise be subjected, and by deploring Lydia's blatant excesses, Elizabeth is relieved of her less blatant but still "inappropriate" ramblings, of his vanity and impertinence without arousing interest. our discomfort at having incurred our censure.” She further details that "in linking Elizabeth and Lydia, Austen evades rather than reiterates conventional moral codes, and the carefully crafted cross-references of other characters, qualities, and relationships throughout the book function similarly/57445