Pride and Prejudice by Jane

¶ … Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Specifically it will discuss the novel's definitive, unique style that was ahead of its time. "Pride and Prejudice" may be the first popular romantic comedy of its time, and that quality has made it a timeless novel. A literary canon is the basis of judgement or criticism, and/or has shaped western culture and "Pride and Prejudice," with its use of comedy mixed with serious themes certainly sets it apart from other novels of its time. It could be considered the precursor to the modern romance novel, and yet, it has endured through time, remaining popular while thousands of other similar novels have withered away with time. Thus, "Pride and Prejudice" belongs in the literary canon, as it has influenced writers and readers almost continuously since it was written in 1813.

Many readers may simply believe "Pride and Prejudice" is a light comic romance with the required happy ending these books contain. One critic notes, "The ebullience and confident assurance of its comedy, combined with its fairy-tale gratifications, has made 'Pride and Prejudice' the best known, and possibly the best liked, of all Jane Austen's novels" (Armstrong vii). However, a closer read of the novel indicates this is more than just a lighthearted romance novel. Even the title itself indicates that some serious social concerns will be addressed in the novel, namely, the "pride and prejudice" of the English social classes and how they conduct themselves will become a strong theme in this novel. Another literary critic notes, "Jan Fergus has described 'Pride and Prejudice' as a 'didactic comedy of judgment, a comedy which implicates and educates the reader's critical judgment while relentlessly poking fun at it'" (Gilman). Indeed, the criticism is light and not too scathing, but it is there, the reasoning for the actions of many of the characters, who discover, after a time, that their prejudices are wrong, and they should change their opinions. In the introduction to the novel, critic Isobel Armstrong continues, "Jane Austen herself wondered warily and self-critically whether the novel was not 'rather too light and bright and sparkling', and whether its 'playfulness and epigrammatism' required the contrast of 'anything'" (Armstrong viii). While many have centered on the novel's light and romantic character, many more critics turn to its biting social commentary and glimpse into early 19th century English society, filled with rituals, rules, and strictly enforced social classes. The novel clearly indicates that these social classes were strictly enforced throughout all levels of society, and prejudice was not only the problem of the highest classes, it trickled down throughout the social levels to create distrust and misunderstanding at all levels of society. Critic Priscilla Gilman continues, "In the course of the novel, bodies, faces, manners, conversations, musical performances, letters, and characters are all evaluated and judged. No one is immune-almost every character at some point finds himself or herself in the position of both critic and criticized" (Gilman). No one in the novel is more critical that Elizabeth herself, the main character of the romance, and Elizabeth is especially critical of Mr. Darcy. Early in the novel she says of him, "He has a very satirical eye, and if I do not begin by being impertinent myself, I shall soon grow afraid of him'" (Austen 17). Elizabeth makes snap judgments based on chance encounters, and allows them to color her feelings and actions. She, and the other characters in the novel, are unceasingly critical of everyone and everything around them, representing Austen's own critical feelings about the snobbery and rigidity of English society at the time. This is represented by the many social classes present in the novel (and in the society of the time), and how the initial idea of crossing from one social rank to the next is almost abhorrent to many of the characters. Thus, the wit and comedy of the novel is legendary, but it is also an extremely biting criticism of English society and its rigid mores of the time.

This biting criticism continues throughout the novel, and in the Introduction critic Armstrong continues, "The novel's scintillating wit reminds us that the strategy of the joke has come to be seen as a way of displacing aggression, anxiety, or pain" (Armstrong ix). In reality, Austen finds the layers of English society painful, and so she pokes fun at them in the novel by showing how ridiculous and stifling they really are. Other novels of the time, such as "The Swiss Family Robinson" and "The Dairyman's Daughter," were moralistic Christian tales, and novels of fear and terror were also becoming popular, such as "Tales of the Dead" and tales of Dracula-like beings. Thus, Austen was bucking tradition with her novel, combining wit, romance, and satire against the very society that was reading it. Her novel was exceedingly popular at the time, leading the reader to think that at least some contemporary readers saw the reality of her criticism in its pages, and appreciated it. That could be at least part of the reason the book has retained its popularity for so long.

There is another important element of the novel that continues to send a moral message to the reader, and that is the element of pride, also present in the title. Another literary critic notes, "Elizabeth's pride not only inclines her to a prejudice against Darcy, it engenders an arrogant certainty that her reading of events is the only possible one" (Bonaparte). Indeed, Elizabeth is contemptuous of Darcy's seemingly arrogant and prideful nature, and yet, she cannot contemplate that he might be any different from her own assessment of him and his flaws. It takes her nearly half the book to admit she may be wrong, illustrating to the reader that her own pride is just a serious flaw as the prejudice and misunderstandings that crowd the novel.