Complex Analysis of Pride And Prejudice in Questions
lntricate characters according to Elizabeth Bennet are the most amusing. How far is she successful in understanding the intricate characters of Pride and Prejudice?
Or 'Ironically the comedy of errors in Pride and Prejudice arises from Elizabeth's weakness and fallibility in reading the characters and motives of other people'. Discuss.
Ans. Elizabeth — A Studier of Character
Elizabeth Bennet, shares with her creator Jane Austen a humorous interest in the people around her. Despite her youth and the limitations of a rural society, Elizabeth is a busy 'studier of character' and she tells Bingley that 'intricate characters are the most amusing'. Ironically, the comedy of errors arises our of the fact that though Elizabeth is confident of her ability to read character, she fails in understanding the characters and motives of intricate people.'
As far as the simple characters are concerned Elizabeth has good reason to credit herself with the ability to discern people and situations extraordinarily well. The simple characters have no surprises for Elizabeth, and consequently none for us.
She understands her family perfectly. She is aware and embarrassed by the vulgarity of her mother, the listless pedantry of Mary, the frivolity and empty-headedness of Kitty and the dangers of Lydia's flirtations. She becomes conscious even of the cynical irresponsibility of her father. She comprehends the conceit and pretentiousness of the Bingley sisters beneath their mask of affability. She knows Mr. Collins to be an affected fool from the first letter he writes to them and is not cowed down by the formidable Lady Catherine. She is aware, too of the pleasant ingenuity of Jane.
Her Failure in Understanding Intricate Characters
Indeed, her failures are with the intricate people who stand in a relationship of great intimacy to her: Charlotte Lucas, George Wickham, Darcy. Elizabeth makes these errors because 'intimacy blurs perception, intelligence fails if there is insufficient distance between mind and object'.
Elizabeth fails in understanding Charlotte because she is her intimate friend even though Charlotte has given enough indications of her opinions on marriage. Discussing the Jane-Bingley attachment Charlotte says, 'Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance' and dismisses totally the need to know or even like the person one is to marry. But Elizabeth does not believe this statement and even tells her, 'you would never act in this way yourself' and hence is shocked when Charlotte accepts Collins's proposal. Now for the first time she begins to see Charlotte as she really is : 'and felt persuaded that no real confidence could ever subsist between them again' and confides in Jane her firm belief of the 'inconsistency of all human characters'. Elizabeth fails in understanding the intricate Charlotte, who is sensible and intelligent and yet ready to overlook love and settle for economic security in marriage. Elizabeth's affection for Charlotte obscures her usual clarity and depth of understanding and blinds her to the demerits of her friend.
With Darcy of course, Elizabeth fails completely. She does not give herself a chance to know bow she really feels about him. Their first encounter is comically disastrous. Darcy refuses to dance with her commenting that she is 'not handsome enough to tempt me'. Despite her apparently light hearted dismissal of the incident, Darcy's slight has hurt Elizabeth's vanity and initiated the prejudice she will nourish against him. Thus, at Netherfield Park, when she finds Darcy staring at her with apparent fascination, she misinterprets it totally, imagining that she drew his notice because there was something wrong and reprehensible about her.
It is her prejudice against Darcy infact which leads her to be taken in by another intricate character — George Wickham. With his pleasing manners and charm, Wickham fools Elizabeth totally. She fails to see him as the rouge that he is and given her prejudice, she is only too ready to believe Wickham's tale of being wronged by Darcy. The reader, if he is careful enough can see that Wickham cautiously tries out the ground before he slanders Darcy's character. He asks Elizabeth whether she is acquainted with Darcy and she in her blind prejudice indiscreetly reveals, ' I think him very disagreeable' and this is what prompts Wickham to tell her of Darcy's cruelty to him. Yet Elizabeth is not aware of his deception and totally deceives herself, allowing herself to be charmed by his smooth social facade. The incongruities inherent. in Wickham's account of the injustice he has suffered at Darcy's hands and the gross impropriety of his revelation are quite obvious and had the episode involved any two persons except Darcy and Wickham, she would have noticed them. Being intimately involved as she is, she errs and errs fatally.
It is only on receiving Darcy's letter that she realizes she has been 'blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd' and this dramatic moment of self-revelation gradually brings about a total awareness of reality. She comes to know Wickham for what he is— a charming, dissembling, unprincipled flirt. And she begins to comprehend Darcy as exactly. 'the man, who, in disposition and talents, would 'most suit her.'
Conclusion
Elizabeth, corning from a background which has little moral standards — her mother is stupid and her father has ironically withdrawn from his natural responsibility for his family's moral welfare — has to rely on her own taste and commonsense and decision, and she is too sure of herself. Generally, her opinions of people are proved right in the case of simple characters but she fails in understanding the intricate characters and it is from this that the comedy of errors arises.
Q.8. 'Her characters are at their best when advised by their hearts and most of their errors come from their heads.' Discuss with reference to Pride and Prejudice. Or
'Despite the fact that there is a warm feeling pervading throughout her works, the situation becomes difficult somewhat when prudence plays a stronger part than emotion'. Do you agree with this view? Discuss with reference to Pride and Prejudice.
Ans. Jane Austen's Spirit of Classicism
Jane Austen wrote in the tradition of the eighteenth century novelists. Like Johnson and other classicists before her she prized sense more than sensibility. Classicist in spirit she strove to portray her major characters as being prudent and wise, free from the errors and misjudgements arising out of too much emotion. Passion is there, by implication in her novels but what is most important in Jane Austen is that passion must. be guided correctly by prudence. Even in the expression of deep and true feeling one must be wise. In Pride and Prejudice, Lydia is foolish and Wickham is villainous. The two are lovers no doubt but their love is not under prudent control and hence they do not have the approbation of the author. Elizabeth herself, tells Jane that she regards Darcy, with an interest, if not quite so tender, at least as reasonable as what lane felt for Bingley. Tenderness is subordinated to reason and passion to principle in Jane Austen.
Prudence Vs Emotion
Yet, in spite of Jane Austen's predilection to support prudence—the head over emotion—the heart, in Pride and Prejudice we see that at least a few of her characters are at their best when advised by their hearts and are prone to error when they let their heador prudence over come their feelings. This is most obvious in the character of Darcy.
Darcy's Errors
Darcy's faults arise from a mistaken idea of his own consequence. He thinks himself superior to everyone at Meryton and looks down upon all those who arc socially his inferior. Ills pride blinds him to the merit of Elizabeth and he can cruelly and snobbishly refuse to dance with her for she is not beautiful enough to tempt him. When he does begin to feel the attraction, the power of her beautiful eyes and personality, his prudence intervenes. He cannot allow himself to be attracted to her, because he thinks it would not be prudent to associate himself with her low, vulgar family. It is this same prudence, this advise from the head, which leads him also to separate Bingley from Jane Bennet. When he does fall in love with Elizabeth inspite of his head advising. against it, he proposes to her at Hunsford parsonage. But even while proposing he dwells more on the low circumstances of her family, rather than his feelings for her. Thus, when advised by his head, when guided by prudence, he errs badly. It is when he is guided by his heart, that he is at best. He may think of Elizabeth as being beneath him but his heart tells him otherwise. Ile feels attracted by the liveliness, the charm, the wit and intelligence of Elizabeth and it is these feelings which lead him to overcome the imprudence of such a match and propose to her. But it is only after his pride is totally humbled that his feelings really rise to the fore.
Triumph of Feeling
It is his feelings for Elizabeth, his love fcir her which eventually triumphs over his pride or her prejudice. Had pride won the day he would have held his tongue, let her marry Wickham and be miserable. But he writes to her explaining and justifying some of his actions towards Wickham and Jane and Bingley. Begun in bitterness and mortification he ends with an involuntary 'God bless you,' By this letter, conceived in a moment of great feeling, he opens the whole train of circumstances leading to their eventual reconciliation and happiness.
Once he has admitted to his love for Fli7abeth, he is governed by these feelings in everything. He realizes that meanness and vulgarity or refinement and grace are not qualities typical to either the rich or poor. Lady Catherine can be as vulgar and mean as Mrs. Bennet Elizabeth and Jane can be more refined and graceful than the conceited Bingley sisters. Finally he can let emotion overcome prudence to such an extent that he is even ready to associate himself with Elizabeth in spite of the scandal of the Wickham-Lydia episode. Advised by his heart, he can act for the best, overcoming his disgust for Wickham and even paying him to marry Lydia.
The same is true of Bingley. He is at his best when advised by his heart. When prudence plays no part, he is affable and friendly, ready to find everything good in his neighbourhood, associating himself with everyone in an easy-going manner with no thought for social rank or snobbish pride. He can fall in love easily with Jane for he sees only her loveliness and her good nature and does not, like Darcy, think of her low family status. But he is pliable and allows himself to be advised by Darcy to prudently reject such an ill match. Acting according to prudence, he errs in leaving Netherfield, abandoning Jane and taking up residence in London. It is only when influenced by his heart that he is at his best.
Elizabeth, prides herself on her discerning intelligence, on her ability to study characters. And yet her intelligence fails her with respect to Darcy. She can attribute all his actions to his pride and is blindly prejudiced against him. It is only during the moment of great feeling — the agony that she undergoes on receiving Darcy's letter of explanation after she has refused his proposal — that she first begins to see him and Wickham in the proper light.
Conclusion
Thus, Elizabeth and Bingley and especially Darcy seem to elucidate Margaret Kennedy's remark about Jane Austen that 'Her characters are at their best when advised by their hearts and most of their errors come from their heads'.
Q.9. Virginia Woolf remarks: ' Jane Austen is mistress of much deeper emotion than appears on the surface.' Discuss with reference to Pride and Prejudice. Or Charlotte Bronte criticized Jane.Austen for not knowing the `passions' at all. Do you agree with this criticism?
'The nature of her talent imposed a third limitation on her; it made her unable to express impulsive emotion directly.' Discuss. Or 'She rubles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him by nothing profound.' What defence is possible against Charlotte Bronte's criticism of Jane Austen?
Ans. Jane Austen's Limited Range and Theme
Jane Austcn is a novelist of a very limited range. But her limitations are self imposed and within the parameters she sets herself, Jane Austen's art is perfect.
David Cecil tells us that Jane Austen's limitations stemmed from her choice of themes. She could only be successful with themes that turned on personal relationships and were capable of being treated satirically or ironically. He further says in this connection. 'This nature of her talent, imposed a third limitation on her, it made her unable to express impulsive emotion directly. She surveyed her creatures with too detached an irony for her to identify herself with them sufficiently to voice their unthinking gushes of feeling.'
Emotion Not Directly Expressed
To a great extent, it is true that Jane Austen cannot or rather does not express emotion directly. The world of Pride and Prejudice is a limited world of Longhoum. Netherfield, Hunsford and Pemberley and it is entirely placid with no instance of violence or agitation. There is no frightful or pathetic scenes of death and even the Lydia-Wickham elopement is settled before it can create any rift. Therefore we may agree with Charlotte Bronte that there is an absence of vehemence and disturbing scenes.
However, if the implication is stretched further to include the suggestion that there is a deplorable want of emotion, a general disdain of passion as Charlotte Bronte says, that would be an injustice to Jane Austen. It is true that family gossips, drawing`the entanglement of errors, misunderstandings cross purposes and view - point of comedy all seem to point a good deal to the influence of drama! Baker points out that she has greater affinities with dramatists like Congreve and Moliere than with other novelists.
He has rightly pointed out that Pride and Prejudice has a 'dramatic subject treated dramatically'. The plot can be divided into five acts and has all the elements of a drama;
Act-I
The Exposition or Introduction. It extends approximately over the first eighteen chapters and establishes all the major characters and the meeting of Jane and Bingley, Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy and Bingley's departure to London.
Act-II
Brings in the complication. It unfolds the arrival of Mr. Collins, his proposal to Elizabeth and her rejection of it, his marriage with Charlotte Lucas and Elizabeth's growing intimacy with Wickham.
Act-III
Presents the climax in Elizabeth's rejection of Darcy's offer of marriage and later on the realisation of her mistake in understanding Darcy and Wickham.
Act-IV
Presents the denouement or the resolution of the conflict. In this act there is the sudden meeting of Elizabeth with Darcy in the congenial environment at Pemberley. It marks the movement of Elizabeth and Darcy towards each other. However, just when events seem to be moving towards a happy union of the two there is the unexpected complication of Lydia's elopement with Wickham which casts doubts on the Bennet family's suitability with regard to Elizabeth-Darcy marriage.
Act-V
It is the final stage where all events move to a resolution. Darcy proves his nobility, gallantry, and love for Elizabeth by doing everything in his power to bring about the Lydia-Wickham marriage. Lady Catherine's visit to Elizabeth to warn her against marrying Darcy, Elizabeth's refusal to abide by her wishes and Lady Catherine's subsequent report of this to Darcy all expedite Darcy's proposal and his marriage to Elizabeth. Bingley and Jane are also engaged. Thus, all conflicts are resolved.
Dramatic Irony
We therefore, see that the plot of Pride and Prejudice is dramatic, coherent and well integrated. Dramatic Irony is one of the prominent features of Pride and Prejudice and the difference between appearance and reality is emphasised at every stage. Wickham is apparently refined and well-mannered but turns out to be an unprincipled rake, Darcy is seemingly ill-mannered, but is really a fine gentleman; Elizabeth is proud of her perceptions but fails to judge the intricate characters correctly; Lydia's elopement with Wickham is supposed to jeopardise Elizabeth's marriage with Darcy; it brings it about; Lady Catherine wants to prevent the marriage, she simply facilitates it. Darcy checks Bingley from marrying a Bennet girl but ends up marrying one himself. And many such instances abound in the novel making it closer to a drama.
The narrative mode is also dramatic With action and character being developed through dialogues effectively. Some of the scenes have great dramatic vividness and intensity — Darcy-Elizabeth repartees at Netherfield, the two proposal scenes, the clash between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth. In such scenes Jane Austen reveals herself as a 'master dramatist—with a perfect ear, a perfect sense of timing, a shrewd instinct for climax and anti-climax.'
Conclusion
Jane ,Austen's incidents are -natural, her characters have an independent reality and yet they all fall into a neat logical scheme—a well knit integrated coherent plot — where no incident or character is out of place.. In spite of such a calculated composition the characters of Pride and Prejudice and indeed of her other novels give us a 'sense of spontaneous life we get from a play of Chekov. The precision, simplicity and symmetry of Pride and Prejudice evoke instinctive appreciation. So well is it constructed that the plot has the symmetry and structure of a drama with the action proceeding logically from exposition, complication and climax to the denouement and finally the resolution. Jane Austen uses the dramatic narrative mode and irony so effectiN4ly to build her complex plot that it would not be amiss to say that she 'is the most perfect dramatist who never wrote a play'
