Pride and Prejudice Reinforce or Erode Sexist

¶ … Pride and Prejudice reinforce or erode sexist stereotypes of women (Research essay)

Jane Austen lived in a society where sexist values were believed to be perfectly natural and it was surely difficult for her to refrain from supporting some of these attitudes in spite of her feminist character. The individuals in "Pride and Prejudice" are each provided with a specific role that either reinforces or erodes sexist stereotypes in an attempt to paint a more complex picture regarding conditions in the early nineteenth century's England. While particular characters such as Mr. Collins put across discriminating behavior toward women, it is gradually revealed that Austen uses this strategy with the purpose of emphasizing the wrongness related to such attitudes. In contrast, the novel's protagonist, Elizabeth Bennett, has a series of attributes that women absolutely needed during the period in order to be able to receive appreciation from society in general and makes it possible for the novel to erode sexist stereotypes.

One can virtually consider that Austen's novel stands as a reference book that was purposed to change opinions in people during the early nineteenth century. The writer obviously acknowledged the opportunity to raise public awareness concerning the important role women played in society and focused on having the masses gain a better understanding of why it was important for them to change the way that they thought. According to Kirkham (158), "Jane Austen was equipped to withstand the Victorian form of Rousseauist restriction of women."

Mr. Collins is certainly one of the most irritating characters when regarding matters from the perspective of a feminist. It is virtually as if he is reluctant to accept that Elizabeth can think correctly and ignores all of her ideas as he tries to emphasize her child-like thinking. "You must give me leave to flatter myself, my dear cousin, that your refusal of my addresses are merely words of course" (Austen 96). This makes it possible for readers to understand the ignorance present in Collins' thinking and actually influences them to accept that sexism is especially wrong.

Collins is the archetypal man in the eighteenth century and is appears that Austen wants to highlight that society has experienced much change as some people simply remained the same. Elizabeth is obviously more intelligent than Collins, but in spite of the fact that she tries to opens his eyes with regard to the negative effects that outdated thinking can have on himself, he continues to believe that it is in his best interest to continue to think that needs to employ a hostile attitude toward women who contradict men. One can actually be inclined to believe that Collins' character is meant to emphasize the fact that society unjustly promotes a patriarchal system in spite of the fact that many presumably interesting men are not even able to put across rational thought when speaking with a woman (Kirkham xxvi).

Not only does Collins express interest in Elizabeth's hand, as he also wants her to understand that he is providing her with a way out of a catastrophic lifestyle by asking her to marry him. "You should take into further consideration that, in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made you" (Austen 97). Collins virtually embodies all the characteristics that readers come to despise and it becomes clear that Austen is using him in an attempt to condemn prejudiced thinking.

It is not necessarily that Collins wants to discriminate women, but his teachings and society as a whole provided him with the impression that his attitude is perfectly normal. Even though he intends to compliment Lady Katherine, he ends up objectifying her involuntarily. "Her indifferent state of health unhappily prevents her from being in town; and by that means, as I told Lady Katherine myself one day, has deprived the British court of its brightest ornament" (Austen 59). Such thinking could actually be taken as a compliment during the early nineteenth century as many individuals were unable to realize that women were able to put across complex thought and that it would have been dehumanizing to attempt to treat them as objects.

Elizabeth most probably was a role model for all women reading "Pride and Prejudice" in the nineteenth century. Her thinking was uncharacteristic for the time period and it was interesting to see how she directly outwitted men with whom she interacted. The generation gap between her and her mother becomes more and more obvious as she demonstrates that she is able to act against her word and actually experiences success by doing so. This stands as proof with regard to how her mother was unable to understand that women could take on more independent roles because she was raised in an environment that did not support women as equals (Todd 426).